I looked at myself in the mirror one more time. My “Lisa” persona was complete. Humberto had done an amazing job, as always, but still, when I looked at myself, I felt like something was missing.“Aunt Lisa, you need to smile!” Caroline reminded me. She was right—Lisa was spontaneous and open. I just needed to let that energy flow, and everything would fall into place.I sat down in the chair while Liliane finished adjusting the camera. Who’s the best wolf in the world? I asked Lisa silently, letting her joyful energy take over as I began the intro.“Hey, it’s Lisa here, talking to all of you. My dear fans, you’re amazing! You’ve turned my whole team upside down!” I let out a soft laugh, giving the chair a gentle spin before leaning a little closer to the camera. “We got so many messages it’s impossible to answer them all, but don’t be sad if your email doesn’t make it into the Lisa Answers segment. I’m reading as many as I can, and I’ll carry each and every message in my heart.”I be
"Why would Damian send a message through you guys?" I asked Liliane. If he wanted to say something to me, he could’ve just gone through my parents."It was just something we decided on when you said you were coming. Didn’t you check your profile?""What was I supposed to see?" Even though I had an account, I didn’t really keep up with social media."Lisa Replies!" Caroline said, raising her hand."Exactly!" Liliane gave Caroline a thumbs-up. "Lisa Replies is the name we gave to a video series you’ll be recording over the next few days, answering fan messages. We’ll post the videos in a dedicated section on the official Lisa profile three times a week over the next few months. The inbox we set up for it filled up in just a few days."I should’ve known they’d squeeze every last drop of my time while I was here. I already felt exhausted just thinking about all the content I’d have to create to keep fans entertained while they waited for my next album."Submissions for Lisa Replies are al
The second part of the plan to keep the trip under wraps was avoiding the Siram condo. The moment we stepped foot in there, we’d be identified—and that was neither good nor safe, especially for a kid like Caroline. Like it or not, Heington was still the least secure place among the clans for any wolf, let alone a small, fragile child directly descended from the alpha. With no military presence and no way to shift in the city, there were always going to be fugitives and rogue wolves lurking around, just waiting for a chance to take advantage and set up an ambush. On top of that, even among humans, the area was full of dangerous criminals, so we had to stay alert and keep our guard up.Caroline was already awake, her hands pressed against the window as she admired the cluster of tall buildings around us."Wow!" she said as we entered a tunnel. I couldn’t help but laugh—and I wasn’t the only one..."First time in the big city, kid?" Marcos asked. Caroline shrank a little closer to me and
As soon as the song ended, Caroline started clapping, followed by the alpha himself. I looked at them and couldn’t help but smile."That was amazing! Hearing it live is even more exciting," the alpha said. "That song... is it new, by any chance?""It is," I replied, a little shy. "It’s going to be released on my next album. But how do you know that? Did you...?""I showed him all your songs," Caroline said, proudly grinning. "He was the one who asked!""What an honor!" I blurted out. I could feel my cheeks heating up. The alpha himself had taken an interest in my music—and even noticed the one I played wasn’t among the released ones. That meant he’d really been paying attention."You’re part of my people—your talent can’t go unnoticed." It was kind of funny watching the alpha trying to explain himself. He couldn’t even look me straight in the eye. "When she told me, I had no idea how famous you really were. I figured if you were even half as famous as you said you were, you’d have bee
"Hi, Dad. Hi, Mom. I just wanted to say I miss you! Even though we can’t see each other, I want you to know I carry you in my heart. Happy New Year, both of you!"I sent the voice message to my mom and went back to piecing Preciosa back together—something I’d been pouring myself into these past few days. Ever since I moved, I’d spent most of my time indoors, cleaning and organizing everything. I only went out to buy what I thought the house still needed. I wasn’t the only one who had moved. Annie had decided to move in with Liam, and she’d been swamped with everything lately, so it had been hard for us to meet up.Nicolas still wasn’t answering my calls, but his family told me he was doing better—that the pain from the breakup wasn’t hitting him as hard anymore. Even though he could’ve come back, he chose to stay in Heington, far from everything that had made him suffer.Grandma had returned home after a week in the hospital. She didn’t ask about me, and whenever my aunt tried to brin
William Goddamn it! I thought as I got into the car. What the hell was wrong with Eliza? No—what the hell was wrong with me? Every word she said kept echoing in my head, over and over, with the sickening certainty that this time, it was really over. Not like the other times. Something about her was different this time. I sped down the road, while my wolf, Will, cursed me with every mile. Sometimes I swear he’s my worst enemy—always fighting me for control. You’re a fucking idiot! Didn’t you see how much our mate was hurting? Keep this shit up, and we’re gonna lose her! he snapped at me. “Shut up!” I yelled, slamming my foot harder on the gas, trying to drown out the chaos inside me with the roar of the engine. In a flash, the car skidded off the road, and I had to slam on the brakes to keep from crashing. Lose her? Wasn’t that what I wanted all along? I kept pushing her away, convincing myself it was for the best. She never seemed ready to be Luna—it’s a responsibility that could
Dinner went more smoothly than I expected. The moment William saw me sitting at the table, he walked out on his own—his brief appearance wasn’t enough to ruin my appetite. After dinner, I helped Caroline with her bedtime routine and then put her to sleep with a lullaby.The Alpha gave us a pretty soft punishment, Lisa said from within me. Without Caroline around, my day would’ve been just another lonely one. It felt more like I’d been given a gift than a punishment. But as I walked through the streets, I could sense my real punishment creeping up behind me.“Why aren’t you going home?” William asked. I ignored him and kept walking. I was going home—but how would he know I’d moved, when he never gave a damn about anything happening to me? More than that, he was the reason behind most of my problems.“Don’t you fucking dare!” I snapped, grabbing William’s hand just inches from me. With a swift move, I threw him to the ground right in front of me. Seeing him like that, I was more shocked
“Auntie!” the girl shouted the moment she saw me walk through the door. She’d been reading a book and dropped it right away to run over to me. “I missed you!”“I missed you too!” I said warmly, wrapping her in a hug.“Why haven’t you come to see me these past few days?” she asked, eyes pleading.“I’ve just had a lot going on lately,” I explained. “Because of that, I’ll have to push back your piano lessons for a little while.”“What happened? Can I help you, Auntie?” I gently ran my hand through her hair. She was so innocent…“I should be asking you that. Why are you still in your pajamas? Do you know what time it is?” She was wearing light pink pajamas with little white teddy bears on them. Her hair was a total mess, like she’d just rolled out of bed.“Well, I’m not going anywhere, so why bother getting ready?” She shrugged, which made me laugh.“You’re the little princess of Siram—you can’t think like that! Whether you’re going out or not, you should always be dressed up and looking
I entered the Alpha’s house through the front door. Since I had permission to visit Caroline whenever I wanted, none of the guards dared to stop me. Obviously, I had a different goal this time.“Where’s the Alpha?” I asked a maid walking by.“Miss Eliza, if you’re here to see him, I’m afraid I can’t help you. He just went into a meeting, and I don’t know how long it’ll last.”“Where is it?” I asked her.“Miss, you can’t go in there.”“Don’t worry, I’ll just wait outside,” I said, trying to put her at ease. It seemed to work, because she led me down a hallway and pointed to a room with two guards posted outside. There was a bench in the corridor, so I sat down calmly. The guards looked at me, puzzled, but neither tried to make me leave.Drawing on Lisa’s energy, I heightened my senses to the max, identifying the scents in the room and listening closely to the conversation inside.“I don’t think what you’re doing is right! You should wait until my father gets back before discussing this