LOGINKnox's POV I look at my sister, noting the flush on her cheeks. The way her hand moves unconsciously to touch her shoulder— where a wolf's mark would appear when they find their mate.“You found your mate,” I realize, shock and joy flooding through me.Maya nods, a small smile playing at her lips. “Last night. During the fight. My wolf... she'd been dormant for so long, I thought she was dead like Mom's. But when I shifted to protect Cassie, when I fought Warren—” she pauses. “She woke up. And she recognized him immediately.”“Him?” I prompt. “Maya, who?” “Adrian.”The name hangs in the air for a moment.Then Cassie gasps. “Adrian Voss? Your brother's rival? The future Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack?”“Yes,” Maya says, her flush deepening. “I know it's complicated. Our packs aren't exactly allies. And he and Knox have been competing for years. But the Moon Goddess—”“Doesn't care about pack politics,” I finish, a grin spreading across my face despite everything. “Maya, that's... that
Knox's POVMorning light filters through the windows of the pack house, casting long shadows across the hallway as we make our way to my mother's room.Cassie walks beside me, her hand firmly in mine. She's nervous— I can feel it through the bond. The anxiety rolling off her in waves.“She's going to love you,” I murmur, squeezing her hand reassuringly.“I killed her husband,” Cassie whispers back. “Even if he was a monster, that's not exactly the best first impression.”“You killed her mate's murderer,” I correct. “There's a difference.”Maya walks on my other side, quiet. She's been subdued since last night, processing everything we learned. Everything that changed.We reach my mother's door. I hesitate for just a moment, my hand hovering over the handle.What do I even say to her? How do I tell her that I know the truth? That Warren's dead? That she's finally free from the man who killed her true mate and forced her into a living nightmare for twenty years?“She already knows,” May
Knox's POVMy mate is a werewolf. The thought keeps circling through my mind, over and over, like I'm trying to convince myself it's real.Cassie. My Cassie. The girl I thought was human. The girl I nearly died protecting because I believed she was fragile, breakable, incompatible with my world.She's a werewolf.And not just any werewolf. She shifted for the first time tonight, fought Alpha Warren— her own father— and killed him to save me.Pride swells in my chest so fierce it almost hurts.‘Our mate is incredible,’ Nyx rumbles in my mind, his presence stronger now that the bond is complete. ‘Strong. Fierce. Perfect.’‘She is,’ I agree, my eyes tracking Cassie as Adrian helps her into some clothes he retrieved from nearby. She's still covered in Warren's blood, her movements stiff from exhaustion and injury.But she's alive. We're both alive.And we're mated.Finally, completely, irrevocably mated.“Knox?” Maya's voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Are you okay?”I tear my gaze from C
Cassie's POVThe bond explodes to life, not gradually or gently.It slams into me with the force of a tidal wave, drowning me in sensation, emotion and pure, overwhelming connection.Knox's pain. His exhaustion. His desperate, clinging hold on life. But also his relief. His love. His absolute, unwavering certainty that I'm his and he is mine.The mate bond snaps fully into place like a lock finding its key. Golden light erupts from where my hand touches Knox's chest. It spreads across his skin, glowing bright enough to illuminate the entire clearing.“What's happening?* Maya's voice sounds distant, awed.“The bond is completing,” Adrian answers, his tone filled with wonder. “I've never seen it this strong before. This... intense.*The light grows brighter. I can feel it working through Knox's body, searching out every injury, every broken bone, every failing organ. And healing them, not completely, but enough.Enough to pull him back from the edge. Enough to give his body the strength
Cassie's POVThe words hang in the air like a death sentence.“What?” Maya's voice is barely a whisper, broken and disbelieving. “What did you just say?”Alpha Warren doesn't look at her. His eyes remain fixed on us, cold and calculating despite the blood streaming from his wounds.“Knox isn't my biological son,” he says flatly. “Neither is Maya.”“No.” Maya's voice cracks completely. “No, you're lying. You have to be lying. Mom said—”“Your mother said what I told her to say.” Alpha Warren's tone is dismissive, like he's not just destroying his daughter's entire world. “After I killed your real father.”The clearing goes deathly silent. Even the wind seems to stop. The trees hold their breath.Maya makes a sound that's half sob, half scream. “You... you killed our father?”“He was the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack,” Alpha Warren continues, his voice devoid of emotion. “Strong. Respected. Everything a leader should be. And I wanted what he had. The position. The power. The pack.”“So yo
Cassie's POVAlpha Warren's wolf goes completely still beneath us. His eyes— those cold, merciless eyes that had watched Knox die without flinching— now hold something else entirely.Confusion. Shock. And something that looks almost like... fear.“You're not supposed to be alive," he whispers, his voice shaking. “You can't be. She said… Elena said you were dead.”Our claws press harder against his chest, right above his frantically beating heart. “What are you talking about? How do you know that name?”He doesn't answer immediately. Just stares at us with those wide, disbelieving eyes. Like he's seeing a ghost.“Your mother,” he finally says, his voice barely audible even in our mind. “Tell me about your mother. What was her name?”“Why?” We snarl, suspicion and confusion fighting inside us. “Why do you care?”“Please.” The word sounds wrong coming from him. Desperate. Broken. “Just tell me. What was her name?”Something in his tone makes us hesitate, makes us answer despite every ins
Knox's POVGarrett's fist connects with my ribs again and I hear something crack. Pain explodes through my side, sharp and immediate.I stumble backward, my hand instinctively pressing against the injury. Broken rib. Maybe two.The crowd's murmurs grow louder. No longer whispers of discomfort but a
Cassie's POVIt's been three days since Knox left for the pack. Three days of waiting for answers that never come, and questions Maya won't answer. Three days of slowly dying from the inside.The pain in my chest has returned. It started as a dull ache the first day. By the second, it was sharper a
Knox's POVThe training grounds are empty at this hour. Dawn has barely broken, most of the pack is still asleep which is exactly why I'm here.I don't want witnesses to my failure.Maverick stands across from me, his expression a mixture of determination and concern. He's been helping me train for
Cassie's POVI don't remember leaving my last class. One moment I'm sitting in Advanced Anatomy, staring at diagrams of the circulatory system I can't focus on. The next, I'm walking across campus with no destination in mind.My body moves on its own. My legs carry me forward even though I don't kn







