FAZER LOGINCaelan had driven his old jeep as far as the old logging road would allow, tires crunching over gravel and fallen branches, until the path simply ended. Swallowed by forest.Then they'd walked.Nearly five miles through woods that grew denser with every step, Vivienne's boots sinking into soft earth that smelled of decay and renewal. Her breath came in white clouds in the cold night air, and her thighs burned from climbing over fallen logs and navigating slopes slick with moss. Now they stood in a clearing no larger than a living room, surrounded by trees that seemed to lean in and listen. The coordinates had led them here, to the middle of nowhere, deep in the neutral territories where no pack held claim. The kind of place where people came to conduct business they didn't want witnessed.They had been waiting nearly an hour now with no sign of anybody else coming.Vivienne wrapped her arms around herself, but the chill had settled into her bones long ago. Beside her, Caelan shifted
Caelan woke to cold sheets beside him - again.He lay still for a moment, staring at the ceiling of his room in the pack house, listening to the silence where Vivienne's breathing should have been. This had become their pattern. She would slip into his bed after midnight long after everyone else had gone to bed. Then he would wake alone.It had been months now. Ever since Vivienne returned from the capital, she'd grown distant in ways he couldn't name. He dressed quickly and made his way downstairs, his wolf restless and uneasy. The pack house was quiet this early, most of the pack still sleeping off the Moon Harvest Festival celebrations. The basement computer room hummed with the sound of cooling fans and electricity. Vivienne sat alone at a terminal, her face bathed in the blue glow of multiple screens, fingers flying across the keyboard. She didn't turn when he entered. "You're awake," she said.Caelan crossed the room and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Her skin was warm, but
The underground settlement glowed warmly beneath hanging lanterns while voices echoed through the tunnels long before Damien and the others fully entered the community.Children ran ahead excitedly, shouting over one another as the rescued families rushed forward through the crowded pathways.“Mira!”Sophia’s voice echoed loudly through the settlement the moment she spotted her sister climbing out of one of the transport vans.The younger girl broke into tears instantly and ran straight into Sophia’s arms while their parents followed close behind them. Their mother held both daughters tightly against her chest as if she never intended to let go again.Around them, similar reunions unfolded everywhere.Parents crying openly. Children clinging tightly to family members. Voices shaking with relief.Emily stood quietly beside Damien watching everything unfold while warmth slowly spread through the underground tunnels like a living thing.Then suddenly…The werewolves froze.Several heads
Cold night air swept through the forest while Damien crouched beside the outer perimeter fence with Zane and Emily close behind him.From where they stood, the facility looked even larger up close.Tall concrete walls stretched across the property while security lights swept slowly across the surrounding woods in careful intervals. Armed guards moved near the entrances, their boots crunching softly against gravel paths as radios crackled quietly from their belts.A few blocks away, hidden beyond the trees, police vehicles waited silently with their headlights off.Morgan’s voice crackled softly through Damien’s radio.“You still alive over there?”Damien pressed the button quietly.“So far.”Morgan sighed.His voice lowered slightly. “I really need better hobbies.”Despite everything, Damien smirked faintly.“You can complain after we’re done.”“Oh, I fully intend to.”Static crackled briefly before Morgan continued.“You ready?”Damien looked toward the facility again.“As ready as w
Cold wind moved quietly through the trees surrounding the facility while Damien crouched behind a fallen log near the edge of the wooded perimeter, his eyes fixed on the distant building partially hidden between the forest shadows.From where he and Zane were positioned, the facility looked almost ordinary at first glance.Gray walls. Minimal lighting. Security fences stretching around the property.But the closer one looked, the more unnatural the place felt.Too quiet. Too controlled.Even the guards patrolling near the perimeter moved with military precision.Zane adjusted the small radio clipped near his jacket before glancing toward Damien.“You still think splitting the operation is a good idea?”Damien kept watching the facility.“We get the children out first.” His voice stayed calm and low. “Then Morgan brings the police in.”Zane nodded faintly.Neither of them trusted what governments did with power.And children with supernatural abilities represented exactly the kind of p
The soft clicking of keyboard keys filled the safe house office long after midnight while Damien stood beside the large monitor with both hands resting against the desk.Several files remained open across the screen. Bank transfers. Property purchases. Construction permits. Shell corporations.Zane sat nearby scrolling through another set of records while empty coffee cups crowded the table between them.Neither of them had slept much.Rain tapped softly against the balcony windows outside while the city lights glowed faintly beyond the glass.Damien lowered his eyes toward the photograph resting beside the keyboard again.Young Emily smiling beside Helena.Even hours later, the image still unsettled him.Zane noticed where his attention drifted.“Staring at it won’t give you automatic answers.”Damien exhaled quietly before straightening.“I keep feeling like I’m missing something obvious.”Zane leaned back in his chair.“Father said Helena was clever.” His eyes returned toward the s







