LOGINLayla POVI had believed dad. That there would be an age of peace someday. And as the first daughter of the Beta, I would be mated to an important male of the pack. I'd even fantasized that we would be fated not mere chosen mates.Instead, there had been a massacre.Our lands had been taken. Our family and pack members had been scattered. And I had forgotten that I had ever belonged to anyone at all. Worse, I had been fated to the very enemy whose people had destroyed everything I once called home."How did I forget you?" I gasped, tears racing down my cheeks.Luca's expression crumpled slightly."I don't know." He crouched in front of me. "But I know you didn't forget because you wanted to. How are you even wolfless? Something was done to you, Layla."His jaw ticked as he gently brushed the tear from my cheek. "Jared told me what he discovered about you. He said you've been living in the neutral lands all these years. That was probably the safest place for you."He hesitated. "And he
Layla POVI regained consciousness in a dimly lit room that smelled faintly of coffee and something musky, almost animal-like. For several seconds, I kept my eyes closed, afraid that opening them would confirm whatever my instincts were already telling me. My wrists were tied behind me, and my ankles were bound to something solid beneath me, probably a heavy wooden table or shelf. The restraints weren't cutting into my skin, but they were tight enough to make escape impossible.I wasn't alone."You're awake."The familiar voice made my entire body go still.I didn't open my eyes immediately. I couldn't. The moment I heard it, something deep inside me stirred, dragging memories from a place I hadn't known still existed. They came so suddenly that for a few seconds, I wasn't in this room anymore. I was a little girl again, no older than Aiden had been when I'd first held him in my arms, hiding behind a cupboard while screams and crashing sounds filled our home.I remembered Dad.He was
Draven POVThe desk phone rang before I could say it.Travis snatched it up. “Send them in.”He hung up.George and I exchanged a look. Neither of us needed to ask who he had summoned. Whatever was happening, Travis had decided this conversation was no longer something he intended to handle privately.“Chief,” George warned.“I have no quarrel with you, Alpha Hunt,” Travis said without looking at him. “I hope we continue that way.”“Maybe we will,” George replied coldly, “if you stop hiding your scent under expensive perfume and whatever else you're using.”For the first time, something flickered across Travis's face. It disappeared so quickly I couldn't tell whether I'd actually seen it. He turned his attention to me instead. “As for you, Darkwood, there's one thing I can tell you. The Bronze Crescent is not yours. Take your hands off those fucking lands and let those people know peace.”My blood ran cold as the words struck something in my memory.The Bronze Crescent. Nash's voice
Draven POV“He’s…” The werewolf who appeared to be the senior security officer hesitated, his gaze darting toward the chief.Travis’s eyes snapped toward him, and whatever answer had been forming died immediately.George stepped forward before the silence could stretch any further. “Chief Martin, why don't you take us somewhere private to talk? We can clear up this misunderstanding quickly. That’s all this is, isn’t it?”Travis didn't answer him. Instead, he gave a bitter little smile that contained no amusement whatsoever, then turned toward the guards and ordered them back to their duties. The staff slowly dispersed, though several of them continued to glance over their shoulders at us as they went.I wanted this to be a misunderstanding. Yet I didn't want it to be. I didn't regret striking the doctor in front of his staff, and I certainly didn't want to feel guilty about attacking a respectable male without knowing the full story. I wanted to be wrong because, if Travis was not in
Draven POV"Aiden." My son was in this hospital close to the enemy. I needed to get him away from this chief."Really?" George said through clenched teeth, his grip tightened as he glanced toward the corridor. "You want him to see this?"That wasn't the point, and George knew it. I didn't want Aiden anywhere near Travis. I didn't want him close enough to hear whatever might happen next, let alone witness what I would do if the chief gave me one more reason to believe he was responsible for Layla's disappearance. I needed our son safe, away from this male and whatever danger he represented.I dragged a hand through my hair, trying to get control of myself. It did nothing to quiet the images crowding my mind.Layla in an unfamiliar place. Layla struggling against someone stronger than her. Layla calling for help while I stood here, wasting precious time fighting a male who might know exactly where she was.I had made a terrible mistake. I got clear reports about Travis Martin. I'd kno
Draven POVFor a moment, I couldn't find anything to say.The child spoke with such easy acceptance, as though waiting for his mother in an empty office was an ordinary part of his life. He wasn't frightened or suspicious. He simply believed she would come back because she always did. There was no reason for him to imagine that tonight might be different, that the familiar delay he'd learned to tolerate could mean something far more terrible.The ache in my chest became almost physical. How many evenings had he spent sitting alone in that office, watching the time pass, waiting for Layla to finish work? How often had she been late because she was working herself to exhaustion to give him a life he could depend on? And now, when he was finally old enough to know me, when I'd barely begun to find my place in his life, I was standing here with no idea where his mother was or whether I could bring her back to him.I was about to ask Aiden to give me a moment with the chief when Travis







