LOGINPOV: EVANAI read the letter three times.Each time, the words remained the same.Your mother did not die.My mother was alive.Somewhere.After twenty-four years of believing I had lost her before I was old enough to remember her properly, I suddenly had to consider the possibility that she had been living all this time.Hiding.Waiting.Or perhaps running.I lowered the letter slowly.“Who sent this?”The messenger shook his head.“They didn’t leave a name.”“Where did they find it?”“Near the northern border.”Arthur took the letter from my hand.He studied the seal.“This isn’t a pack seal.”“What is it?”“I don’t know.”I looked at him.“You said we’d find her.”“We will.”“You don’t even know where she is.”“No.”“Then how can you promise that?”Arthur’s gaze held mine.“Because I’m not going to let another person decide what you deserve to know.”The words struck something inside me.Once, I would have believed them immediately.Now, I simply nodded.“We start with my father’s
POV: EvanaI had spent my entire life believing my parents were ordinary.That was the first lie.The second was believing I had simply been abandoned.The third was believing my past had nothing to do with the life I was living now.By the time Arthur entered the room that morning, I already knew something was wrong.He looked different.Not angry.Not cold.Haunted.“What happened?” I asked.He looked at me for several seconds.Then he sat across from me.“I found something.”My stomach tightened.“About your father?”“About both our families.”I waited.Arthur placed an old document on the table.I looked down.There was a name written across the top.My father’s.My breath caught.“Where did you get this?”“My father’s records.”I touched the paper carefully.The moment my fingers touched it, something inside my head shifted.A flash.A woman running through a forest.A man beside her.A baby crying.Me.I jerked my hand away.Arthur noticed.“Evana?”“I saw something.”“What?”“I
POV: ArthurI found my mother in the old Alpha wing.She stood beside the window, staring into the darkness beyond the pack grounds.For years, that room had belonged to my father.For years, I had avoided entering it because every corner reminded me of him.Tonight, I didn’t care.I pushed the door open.She didn’t turn.“You knew.”My mother’s shoulders stiffened.I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.“You knew about Evana.”She remained silent.“You knew what she was before I did.”Still nothing.My wolf growled beneath my skin.“I asked you a question.”My mother finally turned.Her expression was tired.“You shouldn’t be investigating this.”“That’s not an answer.”“Arthur…”“No.”I walked toward her.“You knew someone wanted her gone. You knew the council was watching her. You knew my father had records about her bloodline.”My voice cracked with anger.“And you said nothing.”She looked away.“I was trying to protect you.”I laughed bitterly.“Protect me?”“Yes.”“By
POV: ArthurI had spent my entire life believing the Alpha Council existed to protect the pack.Tonight, I realized I might have been wrong.The guard was found before dawn.My warriors cornered him near the eastern boundary while he was attempting to leave the territory.He fought.Not well enough.By the time I entered the interrogation room, his hands were bound behind his back.His face was bruised.His eyes remained fixed on the floor.I recognized him immediately.He was the same guard Evana had described.The same man who had stood behind Elder Corwin during the council meeting.I closed the door behind me.Evana wanted to come.I had refused.Not because I believed she was weak.I had finally learned better than that.I refused because if the person behind the attack discovered that Evana was investigating with me, they might strike again.My Beta stood beside the table.“He was carrying a council-issued blade.”I looked at the guard.“Who ordered you to attack my mate?”The g
POV: EvanaI woke up because something was wrong.Not because of a sound.Not because of movement.Because my wolf was screaming.My eyes snapped open, and for one terrifying second, I couldn’t see anything except darkness.Then the moonlight shifted through the curtains.A figure stood beside my bed.Tall.Masked.Still.My heart slammed against my ribs.My wolf surged forward before fear could paralyze me.I rolled off the bed just as a blade came down.It sliced through the pillow where my head had been.I landed hard on the floor and kicked upward, catching the attacker’s wrist.The blade flew from his hand.He staggered.I didn’t wait.I grabbed the edge of the bedside table and swung it toward him.He blocked it with his forearm, but the impact forced him backward.For a moment, we stared at each other.His face was covered, but I could see his eyes.Cold.Focused.Not the eyes of someone who had come to frighten me.He had come prepared to kill me.My wolf snarled inside my che
POV: EvanaThe first guard reached for my arm.I stepped back. “Don’t.”He stopped. The chamber went silent around us.I looked at him. Then at the elders. Then at Arthur.Nobody was going to move me like some animal they’d finally managed to corner.“I said no.”The council member frowned. “You don’t understand the danger you’re in.”“I understand it perfectly.” I looked him dead in the eye. “You’re afraid of me.”“That isn’t the issue.”“It is.” I took a step forward. “You don’t want to protect me. You want to control me.”Murmurs rippled through the chamber. The elder raised his voice over them. “You are an untrained Moon-Blood.”“And I’m still a person.”“You could lose control of your abilities.”“Then teach me.”That silenced him.“Teach me what I am,” I said. “Teach me how to control my wolf. Teach me how to use whatever strength I have. But don’t lock me away because you’re afraid of what I might become.”“You are being emotional.”I almost laughed. “Of course I’m emotional. I







