LOGINIke’s POVThe door clicked shut behind Kora, but the tension in the room didn’t ease. If anything, it thickened. I turned back to Zara, who was lying in the bed looking far too pale and fragile for my liking. Her red hair was still damp, spread across the pillow like spilled blood. I pulled a chair closer to the bedside and sat down, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees.“What actually happened out there?” I asked quietly, studying her face. I didn’t believe the vague story she’d given the healer earlier. Not for a second.Zara shrugged weakly, avoiding my eyes. “I already told you. I went out to the ocean to clear my head. Then I felt dizzy and fainted. I woke up here.”I watched her closely. The way her fingers twisted in the blanket, the slight tension in her jaw. She was lying. I could feel it in my bones.“The doctor said you were hit over the head with something heavy,” I said, keeping my voice steady even though anger and fear were battling inside me. “That doesn’t sound
Kora’s POVThe sound of my name on Zara’s lips hit me like ice water down my spine.“Kora…” she muttered again, her voice hoarse and weak, barely more than a rasp. Her eyes, still glassy from near-death, slowly focused on me. There was recognition there. Confusion. And something far more dangerous — accusation.I stood frozen, the pillow now lying innocently on the floor where Ike had thrown it. My mind raced for an escape, for the perfect lie, but for the first time in a long while, words failed me. Ike’s gaze burned into the side of my face, sharp and unforgiving.“What the hell were you doing with that pillow?” Ike demanded, stepping between me and the bed like a snarling guard dog. His voice was low, lethal, even though he looked like he could collapse at any moment. “Answer me, Kora.”I forced a soft, concerned laugh, raising my hands slightly. “Ike, please. You’re overreacting. I told you — I was only trying to make her comfortable. The healer said she might have trouble breathi
Kora’s POVMy heart nearly stopped when I saw him.Ike — looking like death itself, pale and trembling — carried Zara’s limp body through the hallway and straight into the prepared guest room they had turned into a makeshift infirmary. Her red hair hung wet and tangled, her once-beautiful white mating dress clinging to her like a burial shroud. She was alive. Barely. But alive.Shock slammed into me so hard I had to grip the wall to keep from staggering. *How?* The currents should have taken her. The cold should have finished the job. I had planned it perfectly.I quickly schooled my expression into one of concerned surprise and stopped a passing guard. “Is she…?” I let my voice trail off, wide-eyed and trembling just enough to look worried.The guard nodded grimly. “She’s alive, Miss Kora. Barely. The Alpha and Ike pulled her from the water just in time. The healer is with her now.”Alive.The word echoed in my skull like a death knell. Panic surged through me, hot and suffocating. I
Kora's POVI paced the length of my room like a caged wolf, my nails bitten down to jagged stubs. The familiar sting in my fingertips did nothing to calm the storm raging inside my chest. Every second that ticked by felt like a noose tightening around my neck. They can't find her body. They simply can't.Zara had to die. It was the only clean solution.That meddling red-haired bitch knew too much. She knew my secrets, Kali’s secrets. If she survived and dragged herself back here, she would run straight to Emmett and spill everything. And then my entire future would crumble.I stopped in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. My face was still pale from the earlier injury, all thanks to Zara, but my eyes burned with determination. Emmett was going to be mine. I was going to stand beside him as Luna, ruling this pack with an iron fist. No one, especially not Zara or that pathetic white haired freak Kali, was going to take that away from me.I shook my head sharply, forcing my b
Ike’s POVI pushed harder, eyes stinging from the salt, hands groping blindly in the murky depths. My fingers brushed something soft, a fabric. I grabbed it and pulled with everything I had left. The current fought me, dragging us both down, but I kicked upward, refusing to let go.I broke the surface gasping, Zara’s limp body clutched tightly against my chest. Her red hair was plastered across her face like blood in the water. She wasn’t moving. Wasn’t breathing.“No… no, no, no,” I choked out, swimming frantically toward the shore. Every wave tried to pull us back under. My arms trembled violently, legs growing heavier with each kick. The disease clawed at my heart, squeezing it like a vice, but the terror of losing her hurt worse than anything my body could throw at me.I finally dragged us onto the wet sand, collapsing to my knees as I laid her down. Her white dress clung to her like a second skin, torn and soaked. Her lips were blue. Her chest was still.“Zara!” I shouted, voice
Ike’s POVThe moment I stormed out of the cabin, the cool evening air hit my face like a slap of reality. It did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. My chest heaved with every breath, sharp and painful, but I welcomed the burn. It kept me moving when panic threatened to root me in place.I had come here with one desperate purpose: to stop the mating ceremony. To look Zara in the eyes and beg her to choose me instead of Isaac. Even if I was dying. Even if I had no right. And now she was missing.Because Isaac was too incompetent to keep her safe.I dragged a hand through my hair, heart hammering with fear and fury. Emmett’s heavy footsteps followed close behind me.“Ike, stop,” he called. “You are not thinking straight.”I didn’t slow down. My legs carried me straight toward the stables at the edge of the property. The horses shifted restlessly in their stalls as I threw open the door, the scent of hay and leather filling my lungs.Emmett grabbed my arm again. “We are going to
Kali’s POV Hot. That was the first thing I felt The burning heat wrapped around me so violently it felt like I had been thrown into the center of a furnace. My skin prickled as sweat coated my body instantly. I tossed restlessly beneath the covers, breathing harder with every passing second. B
Zara's POV “What the hell is going on, Isaac?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, when he didn't answer right away.Isaac didn’t answer immediately. He was definitely stalling or maybe trying to cook up something to tell me He just… looked at me.Or rather, through me and for a split seco
Zara's POV I twisted and turned in bed, sheets tangling around my legs like they were trying to trap me. Sleep wouldn’t come. How could it? Kora was the silver wolf. The flame sapphire had proven it, glowing like a damn star in her hands. And Maduro had just… handed her over to Emmett. No fight.
Kora's PoV The sapphire flared to life in my hands, a sudden burst of silver-white that flooded the room like moonlight breaking through storm clouds. For one frozen heartbeat, panic clawed up my throat. I had been so sure that I was the silver wolf but what if I had misheard? What if the words m







