LOGINBetty POV
"You need to leave, Adriel."
My own voice sounded thin, cutting through the crisp air on top of the stone wall.
Adriel froze. His hand was still wrapped around my wrist, warm and heavy from where he had just hoisted me up beside him. His dark eyes scanned my face, searching for the punchline.
"Betty?" Adriel dropped his hand, his brow furrowing as he glanced between me and his father. "What is this?"
"Go," I repeated, pushing again
Betty POV"You need to leave, Adriel."My own voice sounded thin, cutting through the crisp air on top of the stone wall.Adriel froze. His hand was still wrapped around my wrist, warm and heavy from where he had just hoisted me up beside him. His dark eyes scanned my face, searching for the punchline."Betty?" Adriel dropped his hand, his brow furrowing as he glanced between me and his father. "What is this?""Go," I repeated, pushing against his chest. My palms hit solid muscle, but he didn't budge until I glared up at him. "Please. I need to talk to your father. Alone."The former king sat a few feet away on the wide stone ledge, his boots dangling over the sheer drop. He did not look up. He didn't even flinch. He just kept his eyes fixed on the distant tree line of the forest, his shoulders unnaturally rigid.Adriel looked back at his father, then at me. His jaw clenched so hard a small vein twitched in his cheek.
Adriel POV"Take the forest green shirt," Betty says.She holds the fabric up against my chest. Her fingers brush my collarbone, and a spark of electricity shoots straight down my spine. She does not even notice what she does to me. She just keeps looking at the clothes on the racks."The green suits you," I say, my voice low. "But that midnight blue one next to it is more for Mitchell."Betty smiles. It is a soft, small thing that makes my chest tighten. She is shopping for my brother too. I pretend to look at a rack of leather jackets, but my eyes never really leave her.She thinks she is isolated. She thinks she is just a broken girl from a forgotten pack. But she knows a team leader inside the hunter organisation. She knows secrets that should be buried six feet deep. Every single day, this female shows me she is far more dangerous than I thought."Are you going to keep staring at me, Adriel, or are you going to help?" Betty asks.
Betty POV"Hunter!" Novalee screams, bursting through the narrow stockroom door.The word slices through the air like a silver blade. My heart hits my ribs. Beside me, Adriel’s posture goes completely rigid. The air in the convenience store instantly turns suffocating."Get back," Novalee hisses, her palm flat against my chest as she shoves me into the shadow of the metal shelving units."How many?" I whisper, my throat completely dry."Five," she breathes, her fingers digging into my arm. "They’re sweeping the street.""Who are they looking for?""I don't know," Novalee whispers back, her eyes darting toward the front glass windows. "They marched straight into the restaurant. They targeted Adriel the second they smelled the royal blood. He deflected them, then mindlinked me to hunt you down and hide you."A sudden, sharp pressure stabs behind my temples. The connection opens.
Mitchell POVThe phone screen flashes. A black-and-gold notification pops up from my banking app. Flagged.I stare at the digits. The transaction amount makes my jaw tighten. Adriel is with her, and my little brother does not know the meaning of a budget. He just swiped my black card.Another alert pings. A second request for authorization. This one is from Betty.My thumb hovers over the green button. Girls are a different kind of monster when they get inside a shopping mall. Especially my girl. I tap approval, but my chest feels tight.I press her contact name. The phone rings twice before her voice fills my ear."Hi, love," I say, leaning my shoulder against the cold stone wall of the corridor. "Yeah, it is all good on this end. Adriel and I just finished moving your things into your new room."I listen to the sweet sound of her breath over the static. My wolf stirs inside my chest, lifting his head at her voice."I am stand
Betty POV"Pick a target, Betty, or I will pick one for you."Adriel drops his hand on the metal handle of a massive, industrial trolley. The screech of the wheels echoes against the concrete floor of the warehouse. This furniture store is massive. It is a maze of wood, metal, and glass, deep inside werewolf territory. A few human scents drift through the aisles, but they stay low. They know their place."I do not know what I am looking for," I say. I turn my head to look for him, but my eyes hit empty air. "Adriel?"He is gone. He moved without a sound. The crowd of tall, broad-shouldered wolves shifts around me, blocking my view. Panic tightens my throat."Nina, get over here," I bark, my voice sharp. "Help me."Nina steps out from behind a stack of flat-packed wardrobes. She grips my elbow, her fingers digging in just enough to anchor me. "Do not let the scale of it freak you out. What room do you want to break first? The bedroom? The off
Adriel POV"Move your feet, Mitchell, before I dump this entire pizza box right onto your head," Betty snapped, her voice cutting through the damp chill of the subterranean corridor.Mitchell did not move. He stood three paces ahead of us, his broad shoulders squared, his nose twitching as he drew the heavy air deep into his lungs. "Shut up for a second, Betty."I reached out, my fingers wrapping tightly around the soft leather of Betty’s jacket sleeve to pull her back. The hallway leading to her quarters was usually thick with the scent of pine and old stone, but right now, a sharp, metallic copper tang scraped against the back of my throat."Blood," I muttered, my chest tightening as my inner Lycan stirred, claws straining against the skin of my knuckles. "That is fresh blood."Mitchell gave a sharp nod, his amber eyes flashing in the dim light of the overhead bulbs. "It is not an attack. The scent is heavy, but there is no pheromone of fea
Adriel POV"Get the hell away from her door, Mitchell."My voice is a low, vibrating snarl that rattles the heavy oak panelling of the corridor.My brother doesn't flinch. He stands there in the dim light of the west w
Betty POV"Your mother is a liar, Betty."Adriel didn't yell. He didn't have to. The sheer weight of his voice cut through the heavy heat of the training arena, freezing the blood in my veins.My mother flinched beside him, her fingers curling into the fabric of her faded tunic. "Adriel, please. Th
Betty’s POV"Mine!"The roar ripped through the garden, heavy enough to vibrate the gravel under my slippers. A hand slammed into Luka's chest, throwing him back two steps. He stumbled, his boots skidding across the dirt before he hit the ground.My chest tightened. Inside my head, a rhythmic, fran
Betty’s POV"You need to leave before I tear your throat out," Luka growled, his massive Lycan jaw snapping inches from Madeline's face.The three triplets scrambled backward, their heels catching on the gravel as they shoved Madeline into the passenger seat of their sports car. The engine screamed







