LOGINThird person’s pov Cold water splashed violently against the marble sink.Gripping the edges of the counter, Halil stared at his own pale reflection in the restroom mirror. His chest heaved. Oxygen simply refused to fill his lungs. Drops of water slid down his jaw, soaking into the collar of his expensive dress shirt, but he did not care.She was alive.Pressing his forehead against the freezing glass of the mirror, a ragged, broken sound escaped his throat. Two years of suffocating guilt completely shattered in a matter of seconds. Nora survived the snow. She survived the shadow beast.But the image of the second child anchored itself deep in his brain. Dark hair. Calculating eyes.A son. His son.Pushing off the counter, Halil did not bother drying his face. He ripped the heavy wooden door open and marched directly back out into the crowded ballroom.Music thumped softly through the massive space. Guests laughed and drank, entirely oblivious to the catastrophic reality shifting rig
THIRD PERSON’S POV Crystal chandeliers threw harsh, glittering light across the grand ballroom.Music thumped softly beneath the heavy murmur of a hundred conversations. The annual Winter Solstice Gala was always a suffocating display of wealth and ego. Alphas from all over the continent gathered here to drink expensive champagne, forge alliances, and lie directly to each other's faces.Standing near the center of the room, Kai played the part of the untouchable King perfectly. He wore a crisp, tailored black suit. His jaw was clenched tight. He nodded mechanically as a nervous Alpha from the western plains rambled on about trade routes. Kai did not actually care about the trade routes. He hadn't cared about anything for two years.Clinging tightly to his left arm was Chloe.She wore a stunning, backless red gown. Flashing a brilliant, practiced smile at the visiting delegates, she looked every bit the perfect Royal Luna. Nobody in the room knew the miserable truth hiding behind her
THIRD PERSON’S POV Cigar smoke hung thick and heavy inside the soundproof VIP room.Sitting in a red leather booth, Celeste checked the gold watch on her wrist. It was a quarter past midnight. Tapping her perfectly manicured nails against the dark wooden table, irritation burned hot in her chest. She hated waiting. At twenty-one, she had clawed her way out of poverty to become Aiden’s personal assistant, his secret lover, and the real brains behind his pathetic pack.She did not achieve all that by being patient.Heavy footsteps finally echoed in the narrow hallway outside. The brass doorknob turned.Three men walked into the dim room. They did not wear suits. Leather jackets, combat boots, and heavily scarred faces marked them instantly as high-level mercenaries. The man in the middle, a massive Lycan with a graying beard and a missing left eye, pulled out a chair and sat directly across from her."You're late, Garret," Celeste stated coldly, not offering a handshake.Garret leaned
NORATucking the heavy quilt around Kaelen’s shoulders, a soft sigh escaped my lips.He squirmed instantly, kicking the thick fabric away with a frustrated grunt."Too hot, Mama," my son grumbled. His golden eyes glared at the blanket like it had personally insulted him."It’s freezing outside, little wolf," I countered, pulling it firmly back up to his chest. "Keep it on. Just for tonight. The heaters in this wing are struggling."Sitting up perfectly straight in the opposite bed, Hayes watched the exchange with serious, dark eyes. "Kaelen doesn't like the quilt because it smells like the warehouse."Frowning, I leaned over and sniffed the fabric. It smelled like lavender detergent and fresh cotton, completely normal to my human nose. But Lycan senses were incredibly sharp, even at two years old. The trauma of the ambush was clearly lingering in their minds."It smells like home," I promised, brushing a dark curl away from Hayes's forehead. "Not the warehouse. There is no gunpowder h
NORA"I was trying... to save... the pack," Liam gasped, his face turning a deep, ugly shade of purple."You were trying to save your own fragile ego," I corrected, walking slowly around the edge of the desk.Stopping right next to them, I looked into Liam’s terrified eyes. He was suffocating. Silas was fully prepared to crush his windpipe and drop his corpse right onto the rug."Silas," I said quietly, placing my hand gently on the old Alpha’s tense arm. "Put him down.""He committed treason, Nora," Silas growled, not loosening his iron grip. "The punishment is death. I will execute him myself.""No," I insisted, squeezing his arm slightly. "You are an honorable man. I will not let you stain your own soul by murdering your biological son. He isn't worth the guilt you will carry."Silas breathed heavily through his nose. He glared at Liam for ten agonizing seconds. Finally, disgusted, Silas tossed him aside.Liam crashed onto the floorboards, coughing violently and clutching his deepl
NORATires crunched loudly over the fresh snow as the SUV pulled through the main gates of the estate.Staring down at the silver pistol resting in my lap, the metal felt heavy and freezing against my skin. My finger traced the trigger guard slowly. Thirty minutes ago, I fully intended to walk straight into the east wing and put a bullet directly into Liam’s chest. He absolutely earned it. Hiring mercenaries to slaughter my two-year-old sons crossed a line that demanded blood.However, the blinding rage slowly started to cool.Killing Liam would be incredibly easy. Dealing with the fallout would destroy everything. Alpha Silas took me in when I was nothing. He gave me a home, a name, and absolute protection. If I murdered his only biological son, it would completely break the old man’s heart. I couldn't repay his kindness by putting him in a grave of grief.There was a much better way to handle a traitor. Death was quick. Stripping a proud, power-hungry Lycan of his rank and wealth wa
NORA’S POV. I groaned, struggling to pry my eyes open. “Our Luna decided to grace us with her consciousness.” A stern voice cut across the room. I made to sit up, but all my bones felt like they were crushed under the weight of a boulder. My eyes lingered around the room. It wasn’t like my room i
AIDEN’S POV I did the right thing. I was sure of it. Nora was no good. She couldn’t even bear me a pup, not even a female. Her body was frail, and clearly cannot carry my seed. I tightened my grip around my pen, as I scribbled some words onto the document, my heart in a completely different place
KAI’S POV You’ve got to be kidding me. A stray. A fucking stray that had tinges of rejection all over her. To make it worse, she was wolfless. My eyes hovered all over her, and my heart boiled with a mixture of disgust. Why on earth would the moon goddess think she could link us to a stray as a s
HALIL’S POV I clenched my hand around the edge of the Ebony table, as surges of electric current splintered through my chest. Fucking hell! A devilish smirk lined the corner of my lips. “This might just be our chance at easing the grief.” I spat. Kai grunted, and didn’t say a word. My Gamma Chi







