LOGINHarley’s P.O.V.Carlos’s voice was so raw, so unguarded that it pierced straight through my heart. I could feel his guilt and pain as my own, his every word dripping with raw honesty. He wasn’t an alpha or a calculative leader while pouring his heart out in front of me. In that moment, he was just Carlos. The man whose one glance captivated me completely at the moon bar that night.He spoke in a shaky voice, his tone deep yet laced with countless emotions.“You remained patient with me, Harley. You compromised; you gave me chance after chance to become better.”His jaw clenched as his crimson eyes darkened. “But in the end, I couldn’t change. I didn't have the guts to improve. What everyone says is true. I am a monster, Harley.” My breath hitched at his words filled with self-hate and disgust. That was what I feared the most. The darkness tended to engulf Carlos as a whole whenever he hated himself.His hands slipped from my shoulders as he stepped back, dragging a shaky breath from
Harley’s P.O.V.Silence!“I asked where Carlos is,” I repeated it when no one answered me, hoping to get a reply. Honestly speaking, I meant to say it calmly, but it didn’t come out that way. A low, thunderous growl rolled out of my chest, vibrating the air, rattling the glass on the windows.Everyone in the room froze at once.Lena’s smile vanished. Freya stiffened. Her sons gawked at me wide-eyed. Only Derek was the one who took my growl normally.He reacted first and straightened slowly, his gaze sharpening. It was not on my face but on my eyes. His pupils dilated, his body tensing as his wolf surged forward.“Wait a minute,” he muttered under his breath. “That aura… it's compelling.”He looked directly into my eyes, and then his body shook uncontrollably.Gasping loudly, Derek took a step back as if struck by lightning, his shoulders bowing. His head lowered instinctively, spine bending in a way I had never seen before.Submission.My stomach dropped at once. “Derek?” I asked, pan
Harley’s P.O.V.Pain was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry, and my head hurt from the dull ache I was feeling. That ache was not sharp enough to make me scream, nor dull enough to ignore. It lived inside my bones, deep and relentless, as if my body had been torn apart and stitched back together by unskilled hands. A weak groan escaped my lips when I tried to move, “Did I get run over by a truck or ten of them?” I muttered hoarsely as the pain completely settled in. My eyes were still knitted close from the pain. And before I could open them fully, a voice reached me from within my head as a whisper.“Relax.” A chill ran down my spine as it sounded like me. Like it was my voice, my tone, but stripped of all the warmth. It sounded cold, controlled, and almost inhumane.“The pain will subside,” it continued calmly, “You are awake now.”What the hell?My heart thumped as my eyes flew open in panic. I was in my room, the familiar stone walls
Carlos’s P.O.V.The world seemed to stop altogether as I looked down and found an obsidian-tipped arrow jutted from Harley’s back. Black veins spread rapidly through her fur where it pierced flesh, making my heart pound crazily against my rib cage. It wasn’t even a mystery to me who would be so cruel to attack my innocent mate like that!“No!” I yelled in agony and grabbed the other arrow hurled at her midair, my body shaking with fear. Fury erupted like a storm inside me, my vision staining red as I spun and spotted my Grandpa Lucian from some distance. He stood there with his elite guards, holding that deadly bow with poison laced arrows. I groaned, “He has to come now! Why can’t I just protect my mate from my own family?”The words tore out of me in raw frustration as I felt Harley’s weight sag fully against my arms. My heart pounded violently, every instinct screaming to shield her, to undo the damage that had already been done.Carefully, I lowered her to the ground, easing he
Carlos’s P.O.V.No response!A complete silence met my warning as I stepped forward cautiously, trying to figure out what kind of lycan I was dealing with. And to my dismay, it wasn’t an ordinary or young one.That massive, hulking Lycan crouched beside the pond, fur bristling, eyes glowing unnaturally in the moonlight. I could easily tell even from a distance that it was an adult warrior lycan.My instincts exploded into chaos. Fight, flee, or kill. Every ancient lesson Lucian had drilled into me screaming at once.Lycans were merciless by nature. Bloodshed was their language, slaughter their entertainment. They didn’t negotiate. They didn’t hesitate before ripping their opponent apart.But that lycan’s silence stirred unease in my chest. Even after my warning, it stayed frozen in its place, as if ignoring me completely. This reaction was indeed odd for someone who broke into our territory at such an hour.As this eerie silence seemed like the quiet before a great storm, I asked agai
Carlos’s P.O.V.The word ‘trouble’ left no room for hesitation. The moment it left Derek’s mouth, my body reacted on instinct.I vaulted through the shattered window after his massive brown wolf, the night air slamming into my face like a warning. Glass cut my palms, but I barely registered the pain. My mind refused to process what had just happened. Harley was completely gone. She was not in the room, nowhere to be found. This was sufficient for me to leave all my reasons aside and follow Derek.I didn’t even waste my time shifting into my wolf form. Well, I didn’t need to. My vampire side was still fully awake from the recent feeding, raw, powerful, and predatory. Blood thrummed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat, sharpening my senses until the world felt painfully clear. I hit the ground, running, catching up to Derek with humiliating ease. “What happened?” I asked, keeping pace beside him. “Where is Harley?”I demanded answers. I needed to know where Harley was right now!







