LOGINShe loved him in silence. Then the world made him her brother. Cassie Bennett has spent years quietly loving Zoren Marlowe, the future Alpha of Arlowe Pack and heir to Lunara Corps. When her parents die, the Marlowes adopt her, turning the boy she loves into her brother overnight. With this change, Cassie is forced to stifle those feelings. Desperate to secure pack alliances and protect what remains of her place, Cassie enters a contract marriage with Austin Riven, only to discover he and Katherine have been secretly involved the entire time. Austin treats her like a convenient nobody while draining her rare healing blood to keep Katherine alive. Broken, used, and pushed past her limit, Cassie collapses. The pack believes she is dead. She is not. With Zoren’s help, Cassie disappears and rises again under a new identity. Together they build a new identity. When she finally returns, the girl they discarded is gone. In her place stands a woman who knows exactly how much her blood, her power, and her heart are worth. And who is no longer willing to bleed for people who never valued her.
View MoreCASSIEThe hope I’ve been clinging to for three days quietly slips away. I hate myself for feeling disappointed. After Zoren’s explanatory phone call, why am I still looking for him?Mr. Marlowe closes the distance. Instead of greeting me with the confident smile I’ve known since childhood, he pulls me into a gentle embrace. I freeze. Until his hand rests softly against the back of my head, the same way my father used to comfort me whenever I was upset.“Little one, I’m so sorry,” he whispers.The tenderness in his voice almost breaks me.“Me too,” I manage to say, though I’m not even sure why.He smiles sadly. “You have nothing to apologize for.”When he steps aside, Mrs. Marlowe wraps her arms around me, holding me tightly as tears roll freely down her cheeks.“If there was anything I could do to take your pain away, I would,” she whispers.Unable to find words to reply, I hug her back. Katherine waits until her mother lets go before rushing forward. The moment she hugs me, neither
CASSIEThe first day after my parents’ death disappears in a blur of police statements, endless phone calls, and strangers offering condolences I can barely hear. On the second day, I wake up to the persistent ringing of my phone.My eyes are swollen from crying. I stare at the screen, struggling to gather enough strength to answer it until I spot the caller ID.Zoren. The sight of his name makes my chest tighten. I swipe across the screen and hold the phone to my ear, but neither of us speaks immediately. The silence stretches between us until Zoren finally lets out a shaky breath.“Cassie… I’m sorry.” He sounds exhausted, and the guilt in his voice makes my eyes sting again. “I only found out this morning. Dad kept everything from me because of the pack emergency we were handling. He didn’t want me distracted until it was over. But the moment I found out, I called you.”What emergency? But I don’t ask. I close my eyes as fresh tears roll down my cheeks. Part of me wants to blame him
CASSIE“Bye,” I call out to my parents.But the kïssing couple don’t even spare me a glance or notice me leave. I hurry toward the entrance where Austin is already waiting. Emilia staggers beside me, the half-empty wine glass dangling from her fingers.“I guess we’re leaving now,” she mumbles as we head for Austin’s car parked out front.“Yeah?” I laugh. “You’re already drunk.”“No, I’m not.”“You almost walked into a flower pot.”“That flower pot attacked me,” she bites back.Austin laughs hard, and it melts the lingering tension. As we approach his car, he walks ahead of us and opens the passenger door to retrieve something from the seat. When he straightens up, he hands me a neatly wrapped gift bag.“Congratulations, Cassie.”“This should go to my dad,” I say. “Thank you.”“It’s nothing. I’m happy for you.”There isn’t a trace of jealousy in his voice. Despite our families’ rivalry, Austin has always been able to separate business from friendship. The way he looks at me when he say
CASSIEIt’s been over an hour since Zoren left, and yet the party isn’t close to ending. The night is growing late. Emilia is half-drunk and still partying, social and easy-going as ever.I don’t blame her. Her parents would never let her drink. For us wolves, our alcohol tolerance is high, so our parents aren’t that strict about it. Still, they tell us to be careful about being caught. We have to follow the law after all.The bonfire is still burning, but many more people have left. I stand in the same spot Zoren left me, enjoying the night view of the ocean.Austin appears beside me as I slip my phone back into my purse. And I try to mask my disappointment at the lack of calls or messages from Zoren. Did he get home safely?“What did I miss?” he asks, slipping his hands into the pockets of his tailored pants. “And you smell good.”“Thanks.”He inhales softly. “Very good.”“Really?” I mutter. He nods. I lift my wrist to my nose. I smell the same as always. Unless it’s Katherine’s per






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