LOGINJuno hauled himself out of the passenger side, his face contorted in pain. His legs, already mangled from the torture in the cells, buckled beneath him. He had to grip the side of the car just to stay upright, his breath coming in ragged, wet gasps.Even broken, his eyes were full of venom. He pulled a heavy black pistol from his waistband, leaning his weight against the tilted frame of the vehicle."Don't listen to him, Seth!" Juno shouted, his voice rasping through the wind. "He’s an Alpha. They’re trained to lie. They’re trained to make you feel like the dirt under their boots just so you’ll stay in line. You wouldn't have felt this way for twenty years if they treated you fairly. You wouldn't have sought me out if they loved you like they love their Golden Boy."Travis didn't look at Juno. His eyes remained locked on Seth, who was still holding Aubrey, the knife trembling in his hand. Travis noticed something else. A small, red glint of a laser sight dancing across the mud near hi
Outside, the world was a nightmare of orange fire and grey smoke. Explosions rocked the ground, sending showers of dirt and stone into the air."Seth!" Travis roared, springing forward.Seth spun around, the knife still biting into Aubrey’s neck. "Stay back! I told you! I’ll do it, Travis! I’ll end them both right here!"Travis froze at the top of the porch steps. His chest heaved, his eyes darting between the blade and Aubrey’s pale, terrified face. Behind him, his mother, Hilda, scrambled forward. She tripped, falling to her knees and grabbing Travis’s hand with a desperate, crushing grip. Her face was streaked with tears and soot."Travis, please," she sobbed, her voice thin and breaking. "Don't let him go like this. Whatever he’s done... whatever he’s doing to us, to the pack... please. He’s your brother. Spare him, Travis. Please, just bring him back to us."Travis looked down at his mother. The fury in his gut was a living thing, screaming for blood, but seeing her broken like t
Seth didn’t answer with words. The moment Travis took a single step forward, Seth’s arm hooked around Aubrey’s neck. In a flash of silver, a jagged dagger was pressed hard against her throat."Stay back, Travis!" Seth screamed. "I mean it! One more step and I’ll open her up right here!"Aubrey let out a choked sound, her hands flying up to grip Seth’s forearm. She tried to pull away, but Seth’s grip was like iron, his body trembling with a violent, nervous energy. Travis froze, his hands hovering in the air, his face turning ghostly pale beneath the soot and blood of the battle."Seth, put the knife down," Travis said, his voice dropping into a forced, low calm. "What the hell is happening to you? Why are you doing this to your family?""Family?" Seth let out a jagged, hysterical laugh. He started backing toward the door, dragging Aubrey with him. Her heels scraped against the stone as she struggled to keep her balance with her heavy belly. "Is that what we are? Because I’ve felt like
The North Wing was eerily quiet compared to the war zone in the courtyard. The stone walls muffled the distant pops of gunfire and the muffled thuds of explosions. Aubrey sat on the edge of the bed, her hands resting protectively over her swollen stomach. Each time the floor vibrated from a blast, her heart hammered against her ribs.Travis had told her to wait. He told her someone would come for her if he couldn't. But as the minutes stretched on, the silence in the hallway felt more dangerous than the noise outside.Footsteps. Heavy and hurried.Aubrey stood up slowly, the weight of the pregnancy making every movement a chore. She moved toward the door, her eyes fixed on the handle. She wanted it to be Travis. She needed it to be him."Travis?" she whispered as the door creaked open.A figure stepped into the dim light of the room. He was tall, with the same broad shoulders and dark hair as the Alpha, but as he stepped forward, the candlelight caught his face.It wasn't Travis."Set
The second explosion was still ringing in their ears as Sky and Caspian stumbled toward the prison exit. Caspian was leaning heavily on Sky, his face tight with a mix of agony and adrenaline."Keep moving," Sky grunted, her shoulder aching under his weight. "We have to get to the surface."They had just reached the top of the stairs when the heavy iron doors flew open. Travis burst in, his face smudged with soot and his eyes burning with a cold, predatory light. He wasn't wearing his Alpha cloak anymore; he was in tactical gear, a heavy knife strapped to his thigh and a pistol in his hand.He stopped dead when he saw them. His eyes drifted from Sky to the mangled, bloody mess that was Caspian’s back."Sky? What the hell happened to him?" Travis’s voice was a low growl."My father," Sky said, her voice trembling with anger. "He ordered the torture while you were busy with the 'transition.' He went behind your back."Travis’s jaw tightened so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek. He looked
Sky walked to the front of Juno’s cell, her boots grinding against the grit on the stone floor. She looked at him through the rusted bars, her teeth gritted so hard her jaw ached. The man in the shadows looked back at her with a smug, knowing grin, but Sky didn't flinch."What I did before was giving you a chance to think of your wrongdoings, Juno," she said, her voice low and sharp like a blade. "I let you go because I was foolish enough to believe you still had a shred of humanity left in you. I believed you could change."Juno chuckled, the sound dry and raspy in the damp air. "And yet, here I am. Still a thorn in your side.""That mistake will stay with me forever," Sky continued, her eyes cold. "It’s a weight I carry every single day. But don't think for a second that I’ll repeat it. I was wrong about you then, but I’m right about you now. This is it, Juno. This will be your end. You’re never leaving this cell again."She didn't wait for his reply. She turned her back on him and
Back at the Castile estate, Aubrey’s phone vibrated incessantly on her nightstand. She stared at the screen, seeing Danica’s name flash. She picked up on the second ring.“Aubrey! Oh my god, are you okay? I heard about the ambush. How are you holding up?” Danica’s voice was frantic, laced with raw
“Why are you smiling? They didn't even succeed in killing Aubrey, did they?” Myra asked, her voice cutting through the tension of the room as she watched Eileen lower her phone.Eileen turned toward her friend with a look of pure, unadulterated triumph. The rage that had shattered her glass moments
Sky stood paralyzed in the shadows of the doorway, having just arrived as Travis’s final, cold declaration echoed through the room."This is the woman I actually want to marry. And I will burn this city to the ground before I let anyone touch her."The words were a physical blow. Sky had spent year
Travis stood in the dimly lit living area of the Castile estate. The moment he heard footsteps on the stairs, he straightened, his Alpha presence instinctively flaring before he forced it back down. Aubrey appeared, looking small and weary. It was then that Travis realized she hadn't been asleep at







