Mag-log inIRENE.The first incident happened four days after the rogue tracks.I was in the pack kitchens, grabbing a late dinner after a long day in the medical wing, when a commotion erupted outside. Shouts, running footsteps, the sound of someone screaming in pain.Finn burst through the kitchen door, his face ashen. "Doctor, you need to come. It's Marcus. He collapsed during training."I followed him outside, my heart pounding. Marcus was one of the pack's senior warriors, a man in his forties with a reputation for being unshakeable. Now he lay on the ground, his body convulsing, dark veins spider-webbing across his exposed skin.The curse.It was the same pattern I had seen in Tom. But this time, it was different. This time, it was moving faster, spreading through Marcus's body like wildfire."Get him inside," I ordered. "Now."The warriors carried Marcus into the medical wing, laying him on the nearest bed. I pushed through them, my hands already reaching for his chest."Everyone out," I
IRENE.The first sign that something was wrong came on the morning I found the rogue tracks.I had risen before dawn, unable to sleep, and decided to walk the perimeter of the pack grounds. The forest was quiet, peaceful, the kind of stillness that usually calmed my racing thoughts. I had been walking for nearly an hour when I noticed them, footprints, fresh and deep, pressed into the soft earth near the eastern border.They were not pack prints. I had learned to recognize the difference during my year away. Pack wolves moved with purpose, with confidence, their tracks straight and deliberate. These were different. These were the tracks of wolves who were hiding, creeping, watching.Rogues.My blood ran cold. I crouched down, examining the prints more closely. There were at least five of them, maybe more. They had been here recently, within the last few hours. And they had been watching the pack grounds.I needed to tell Ashford.I turned to leave, and that was when I saw her.Lyra st
IRENEI met his eyes. "Sure that I can trust you. Sure that this…." I gestured between us "...is real, and not just the bond forcing us together."Ashford nodded slowly, his jaw tight. "I understand. Take all the time you need. I'll be here."I walked out of the library, my heart pounding.I had almost told him. I had almost told him everything, about the stripping, about Lyra, about the year I spent rebuilding myself from nothing. I had almost laid my soul bare and trusted him with the pieces.But I was not ready. Not yet.Maybe not ever.That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, and felt Ashford's presence like a shadow at the edge of my awareness.He was outside. Prowling, as he did every night. I could feel his restlessness through the bond, the way his wolf paced and growled, desperate to be near me, to touch me, to claim me.He never came inside. Never knocked on my door or tried to push past my boundaries. He simply walked the perimeter of my quarters, his footsteps sof
Irene.The days blurred together, each one bleeding into the next until I lost track of time entirely.Tom's recovery consumed me. I woke before dawn, visited his bedside before the sun had fully risen, and stayed until the moon hung heavy in the sky. His progress was steady but slow, the curse had done so much damage that even my gift could not undo it all at once. Every day brought small victories: deeper breaths, stronger pulses, the faint return of color to his cheeks.Margaret and Finn had stopped questioning my methods. They watched me work with a mixture of awe and wariness, bringing me supplies when I needed them, staying out of my way when I did not. I caught Margaret staring at me sometimes, her eyes sharp and calculating, but she never asked the questions that hovered on her lips.Good. I did not want to answer them.The pack had accepted my presence, if not warmly, then at least without open hostility. The warriors nodded to me in the hallways. The omegas brought me meals
IRENE"You said I don't know you. You said the bond was forced, that I took your choice away." He leaned forward, his hands on the table. "So I'm going to do this right. I'm going to court you properly, earn your trust, show you that I'm not just the Alpha who made a terrible mistake. I'm going to give you a choice.""You can't just…""I can. And I will." He smiled, and the expression transformed his face. "I'm not going to push you. I'm not going to force you into anything. But I'm also not going to give up. I'm going to prove to you that I'm worthy of being your mate."I stared at him."Are you insane?" I finally asked. "I came here to break the bond. I don't want to be your mate.""Then you can say no." He straightened, stepping back. "All I'm asking is that you give me a chance. A real chance. Let me court you the way I should have from the beginning.""And if I say no?"His expression flickered, but he held firm. "Then I'll accept your decision. I'll help you break the bond if th
IRENE"That's not…" I stopped, pressing my hand to my forehead. "That's not how this works. You can't just claim someone. You can't mark someone without their consent and call it fate.""I know." His voice broke on the words. "I know, Irene. I've spent every day since that night hating myself for what I did. For losing control. For hurting you. I never meant…" He stopped, his hands clenching at his sides. "I never wanted to take your choice away."The room was too small. Too close. The bond between us pulsed with his anguish, and I could feel his wolf crying out for mine, desperate and confused by my silence."Then why did you do it?" I asked. "Why did you mark me?"Ashford was quiet for a long moment."Because the moment I saw you," he finally said, "my wolf knew. Before my human mind could catch up. It recognized you as its mate, and it couldn't stop itself. All that mattered was claiming you, protecting you, making you mine." He met my eyes, and there was nothing but honesty in his
IRENE The first week at Crescent Moon Pack passed in a blur of sleepless nights and careful deception.I learned the layout of the pack's medical wing within hours. It was smaller than I expected, more intimate than the human hospital where I had trained. Three beds, a surgical table that looked d
Irene. The car stopped at the edge of pack territory, and my hands trembled against my medical bag.One year. One year since I had crossed this border as a broken, wolfless failure. Now I was returning as Dr. Irene Cross."You sure about this, Doc?" The human driver looked nervous. "This place giv
Ashford.ONE YEAR LATER.I stood at my office window, watching the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the pack grounds. Somewhere out there, she existed. My mate. The she-wolf I had marked a year ago and lost in the same breath.The bond mark on my shoulder burned, a constant reminder of my fai
Irene.I woke to silence.Not the comfortable silence of sleep, but the empty silence of something vital missing. I reached for my wolf, the way I had done every morning since I was twelve, and found nothing. Just a vast, aching void where she used to be.A sob tore from my throat before I could st







