LOGIN"I know what I just did." She met my eyes, and for once, the iron mask slipped entirely. Underneath it, she looked terribly young and terribly old all at once. "I also know there are more where these came from. So keep your eyes open, Angie. Please."I reached for her hand. She let me take it.We stayed like that until the shouting started outside.Dr. Liana and several Guards rushed over to us."Luna, are you alright? Did they hurt you? Oh my god, what happened? How did we get caught off guard like this? Oh, Moon Goddess."Dr. Liana immediately began checking my condition while the Guards handled the two mysterious men."Get up!" a guard shouted, yanking each of them to their feet. "You stupid fool, did you really think this place wasn't guarded?"Dr. Liana dropped to her knees beside my bed before I could answer, her hands already pressing against my stomach with firm, practiced urgency. Her scent, sharp antiseptic and nervous sweat cut through the lingering copper of the attack."L
"You would have made it worse," I said gently. "They needed to say it. And I needed to hear it. Even the ugly parts."Mom studied my face for a long moment. Then she shook her head slowly. "When did you get so wise?""I had a good teacher." I squeezed her hand back. "Stubborn. Loud. Runs across the territory in slippers.""I might be wearing slippers," she muttered, her thumb tracing a frantic, repetitive circle over my knuckles, "but I’d still snap a neck or two if they dared to come back for you.""Nobody is coming back," I told her, trying to keep my tone steady. "The guards are doubled on this ward.""Guards," she scoffed, a harsh, clipped sound. "Half of them are still wet behind the ears. I saw the way that boy at the door was shaking whilst clutching his rifle. He’d be absolutely useless against a coordinated strike.""He's only nervous because you let out a warning growl on your w
"Who is she?" Mom asked, crossing her arms tightly over her chest."If I remember correctly, she was second-in-command of the highest rank at the time. But she was betrayed by her mate, who cheated on her with her own sister. She was ultimately branded a witch and cast out by Nathaniel," I explained. My words were brief, yet they painted the entire, tragic picture."That bastard was a fool," Mom spat. "Throwing away a diamond for a piece of worthless gravel."Mom turned back from the doorway, her hand still on the frame, her face tight with restless energy. "Do you know where she is, Angie? do you have any idea where she's hiding?"I shook my head, frustration burning in my throat. "I don't know. South forest, maybe. Or somewhere else entirely. I don't have a clue.""Oh, damn it." Mom cursed under her breath, her claws tapping an anxious rhythm against the doorframe. The sound grated against my already frayed nerves.Malcolm’s voice cutting through the tension with quiet resolve. "En
The doorframe shudders as my mother barrels into the room, her scent sharp with ozone and crushed lavender, the telltale sign of a wolf who just ran halfway across the territory at full tilt.Her eyes darted between the ultrasound screen, the dried blood on my shirt, and Malcolm’s protective stance before zeroing in on Dr. Liana.“Allison said Kyle’s girl put her damn foot in my daughter’s ribs.” One claw-tipped finger stabs toward the monitor, where the pulsing luminescence still frames the baby. “Is that why she’s glowing like a goddamn firefly?”The heart rate monitor spikes briefly. The baby shifts as if responding to Grandma’s fury.“M-mom—”“Stop it, Angie.” Her tone is sharp enough to draw blood. “You know damn well what that means.”Dr. Liana stepped forwar
Malcolm’s hand came to rest at the small of my back. Just his hand, warm and steady, and somehow it cut through every protest I had lined up.I closed my mouth.Dr. Liana exhaled like she’d been holding her breath since the waiting room.“Thank you,” she said, and it wasn’t entirely clear which of us she was thanking.Two nurses appeared with a gurney, wheels rattling against the tile floor, and Dr. Liana was already rattling off instructions, ultrasound, fetal monitoring, blood pressure, the specific clipped language of someone shifting from frightened to focused.I sat on the edge of the gurney and let them work around me, which was about the best cooperation anyone was going to get out of me tonight.Malcolm stayed at my side. He hadn’t moved an inch.“You’re hovering,” I told him quietly.“I know,” he said. He didn’t stop.D
Malcolm caught him mid-stride."I'll never let that shit happen! You got that, bastard?!"He'd shifted mid-run—a massive black wolf slamming into Ronin's chest, jaws closing around the giant's throat. Ronin choked, clawing at the wolf's muzzle, but Malcolm didn't let go. He shook once. Twice.Ronin went silent.The wolf dropped him and turned to face the remaining rogues.That's when the first twin came out of nowhere.Not the one with the arrow in her thigh she was still dragging herself toward the trees. This was the other one. The one who'd thrown the second vial. She'd circled around through the smoke, silent as a snake, and now she was on me.I felt her claws sink into my bad shoulder, the same wound from earlier and I screamed."Die, die, die—" she hissed, yanking me down. Her weight pinned me to the dirt. Her face was twisted, nothing left of the child she should have been. Just rage. Just grief turned rotten
“I’ll swear it on the Goddess Herself if I have to, Luna. During the height of midsummer, when our grain harvests were at their peak, she was bleeding us dry. She siphoned off the Pack’s supplies and sold them to rivals, pocketing the gold for herself. She even snatched the wages right out of the k
Dr. Liana looked up at me, then at Malcolm, her expression a mixture of shock and something that looked almost like awe.“Luna…” Her voice trembled slightly. “You’re pregnant.”The world stopped.Malcolm’s hand tightened around mine so hard it almost hurt.“W-what?” I whispered, the word barely
Malcolm's grip tightened protectively, but his gaze swept the darkness with predatory focus. He inhaled deeply, his expression turning grave.“Angie... I don't smell anything but rain and exhaust.”The certainty in his voice made my own doubt scream. But the scent was already fading, slipping awa
“Damn. Why did that look so terrifying?” Jane muttered, rubbing the back of her neck like she could scrub away the chill. “Check on her. Now, Malcolm… let’s go,” I urged, already pushing off the wall. But before we could move, Jane’s fingers closed around my wrist. “Wait. Look.” Through th







