로그인Dominic's P.O.V.I could feel his pain.It was raw, explosive with so much sadness and frustration that made my skin crawl, my soul desperate to escape the weight of it. His agony overwhelmed our link, stretching it to its very limits as emotional torment, as I'd never felt it before, poured through.I'd never felt Lucian's emotions like this, so open and exposed in a manner I knew he wouldn't usually allow. His misery crippled my own, which was fueled by remorse and shame. Lucian's was raw and soul-deep, making the fragments of my already shattered heart erode within my chest.As Iris's words echoed through my mind alongside Lucian's pain, I knew that every word she spoke was true... and that's what hurt the most."What are we going to do?" Cara asks in a fragile whisper that made my chest tighten."I don't know," I reply honestly, because I truly had no clue how any of us were going to get through this.There was so much pain, so much regret and shame that imprisoned all of us, maki
Iris's P.O.V.With Adele's 21 playing from my record player and a pan full of chicken sizzling to perfection on the stove, I find myself cooking dinner with my mind in an entirely different place.I'd already fed Blaze, making sure to send him back the same hateful glare he gave me the entire time I filled his bowl—ungrateful, that's what that bunny was. With the fatass fed and nothing to distract me, I was already about halfway through making the chicken alfredo for Lucian and me.Moving freely, I sprinkle some more basil and thyme onto the chicken thighs before I flip them and give the boiling fettuccine a stir. It had taken me some time to grow familiar with this kitchen, the layout a polar opposite to my apartment and much bigger as well. At first, I moved very carefully around the space while doing pretty much anything, afraid of sending things tumbling to the floor or burning myself by accident.But that fear was gone now, even though my vision was still as fucked as always. Bei
Lucian's P.O.V.Sassy trots in front of Jace and me, holding her head high as if she wasn't internally shitting herself from all the surrounding scents of wolves. But she was a great actress and was much better at not letting her true fears show on the outside. I was pretty sure Jace could smell the way I was shaking with every step, as if I was about to face my biggest fear instead of my older brother.Jace had always been a constant for me.All my life, it always felt as if it was Jace and me against the world. Maybe because from the moment I was born he'd been there, smiling and ready to help me through it all, or maybe it was because as we grew up, he actually lived up to that.I'd never thought twice about going to Jace when I needed him, not until now."I didn't know you liked dogs," Jace says after several minutes of silence carrying us through the beginnings of our talk, disguised by a walk."I don't," I reply with a sneer that Sassy pointedly ignores. "She is Iris's stupid do
Lucian's POVI always liked reading.From the moment Dad stopped reading them aloud for me and taught me how to construct a story for myself, it became a favorite of mine.But then, I'd stopped, and I went on without that feeling.It wasn't until recently, when I was in that little town with nothing but me, my thoughts, and Iris, that I'd revisited what it was like to read.It was just as perfect as I remembered."Humans who become part of a pack, whether by mating or other means, can engage in a partial shift," I read out when my eyes snag on a line of interest four pages deep. "This is limited to the ability to develop canines and talons. With the bite of the Alpha, this shift can take place."I look to Iris with wide eyes, the new information sparking wonder in my chest, while Iris simply looks up at me with a look of disinterest."At the moment, I don't think that's something I want," she says honestly, blinking a few times before continuing. "You said that shit hurt, right? Yeah,
Lucian's P.O.V.The archives.Our pack's history was all here, shoved into books of all shapes and sizes with varying ages for anyone curious enough to explore them. There were also the books that almost every pack had, books that held all the secrets and inner workings of our species throughout their pages. Among those, there were the generic species history books that most wolves studied as pups and forgot soon after.The archives were organized by year and species through an unnecessarily complex system, littered throughout various spaces of the pack library and easy to miss among the millions of books collected here. Most wolves relied on a worker to locate the materials they were looking for, but I didn't bother looking for one as I led Iris through the library.I knew all parts of this place better than most. Dad had made sure of that, only waiting until I'd uttered my first syllables to give me a personal tour of his favorite place throughout all the pack lands.We all spent ma
Iris's P.O.V.Lucian, in this form, was entirely massive, standing taller than me as he stood patiently in his place. But still, looking up at a wolf that had no business being this big, I wasn't scared.I felt nothing but warmth inside as I finally linked the mental picture he'd described to me to the physical one before me. He wore the white coat he'd previously boasted to be for the strongest among his kind, and it was gorgeous under the early morning light. Familiar blue eyes glowed continuously now as they focused on me, full of both hope and caution.I take a small step forward, testing the waters, but Lucian only stays still. So I continue my advance toward him until I can feel the warm puff of air leaving that mouth of pointy canines, brushing against my skin."Can I touch you?" I ask, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't talk like this, but Lucian nods anyway.Lowering his head slowly, Lucian offers me the top of his head, giving me a view of the white fur that sat there s







