Hey everyone,I wanted to take a moment to apologize for the slower chapter releases lately. I'm currently away from home with very limited power access, which means I'm working exclusively on battery life - and my laptop isn't exactly winning any longevity awards these days!I've been trying to make the most of the few hours of charge I get each day, but it's definitely affecting my ability to maintain our usual posting schedule. The chapters might be coming out a bit rougher than usual too, since my editing time is so constrained.I'm really sorry about this disruption. I know many of you look forward to regular updates, and I hate letting you down. Please know that I'm just as eager to get back to our normal rhythm as you are.The good news is this situation is temporary. I'll be back to full writing capacity soon, and I promise to make it up to you all when I return.Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during this time. Your support means everything to me.See yo
RobinI watched her chest rise and fall, each breath shallow and unsteady. Evelyn lay motionless on the infirmary bed, her skin ashen where it wasn't bruised or bandaged. Elena had cleaned away the blood, but nothing could hide the damage done to her body. Wolfsbane poisoning was just the beginning."Alpha?" Mark stood in the doorway, shoulders squared in that stiff way of his. "You asked for a report."I nodded, not taking my eyes off Evelyn. "Go ahead.""We tracked their path from the eastern river all the way to where we found them." Mark stepped closer, lowering his voice. "They were definitely running from the Northern Rogues. Rennick's faction, based on the markings we found.""And the woman? Hilda?"Mark shifted his weight. "Hard to say. She doesn't talk much, but she's protective of the child. Unnaturally so.""She's not Moon Pack." It wasn't a question."No. Her scent is... different. Nothing I recognize."I brushed my thumb across the back of Evelyn's hand, careful to avoid
RobinI watched her chest rise and fall, each breath shallow and unsteady. Evelyn lay motionless on the infirmary bed, her skin ashen where it wasn't bruised or bandaged. Elena had cleaned away the blood, but nothing could hide the damage done to her body. Wolfsbane poisoning was just the beginning."Alpha?" Mark stood in the doorway, shoulders squared in that stiff way of his. "You asked for a report."I nodded, not taking my eyes off Evelyn. "Go ahead.""We tracked their path from the eastern river all the way to where we found them." Mark stepped closer, lowering his voice. "They were definitely running from the Northern Rogues. Rennick's faction, based on the markings we found.""And the woman? Hilda?"Mark shifted his weight. "Hard to say. She doesn't talk much, but she's protective of the child. Unnaturally so.""She's not Moon Pack." It wasn't a question."No. Her scent is... different. Nothing I recognize."I brushed my thumb across the back of Evelyn's hand, careful to avoid
HildaA healer brought me fresh clothes while I waited in a small anteroom connected to the infirmary. I changed quickly, tossing my blood-stained garments into a heap in the corner. The soft cotton shirt and leather pants fit better than expected. Wood Pack clothing—practical, durable, nothing like the decorative trash Susan insisted I wear at Moon Pack.I sat on a wooden bench, watching sunlight shift across the floor. Hours had passed since Robin's confrontation. Healers moved in and out of the room where they'd taken Evelyn, but none spoke to me. Twice I'd asked about her condition. Twice I'd been ignored.The door opened. Mark the scout leader stepped in, his posture stiff."Alpha Robin wants to show you where you'll be staying," he said, not quite meeting my eyes.I stood, stretching my stiff limbs. "Where's Ava?""She's eating." His answer came too quickly.I followed him out of the infirmary and into the afternoon light. Wood Pack members stopped to stare as we passed, their e
DamonMy finger had worn a groove in the map. Somewhere in these mountains, these forests—somewhere in all this goddamn territory—Ava was out there. Without me.I traced the same path again. Eastern quadrant. River crossing. The old hunting trails. My eyes burned from lack of sleep, the lines on the map blurring together.Cole's knock—three sharp raps, always the same—pulled me from the spiral."Eastern patrols just reported in. We've got a situation at the riverbank, Damon." His voice was tight, controlled. Dark circles hung beneath his eyes. He looked like shit. Probably matched how I looked."What kind of situation?" I straightened, immediately alert."We need to expand the search grid." Cole moved to the map, indicating areas beyond our borders. "Past our usual territory, into these sectors here.""Into Wood Pack territory?" My voice sharpened. "Robin's scouts are watching our every move. One wrong step and—""We need to push further." Something in Cole's expression made me stop. "
HildaThe sun had barely risen when we reached Wood Pack territory. Mark the scout leader and his team moved efficiently, having treated Evelyn with herbs and a painkiller strong enough to keep her stable through the night. By dawn, they'd fashioned a stretcher from branches and blankets, and we set off through the forest.I walked beside Ava, who hadn't slept more than an hour. Her eyes were fixed on her mother's still form, carried between two burly wolves ahead of us."How much farther?" she asked, her voice raspy from exhaustion."Not far," Mark the scout leader answered from the front of our procession. "See those trees with the red markings? That's our outer boundary."He pointed to a cluster of pines with deep slashes in their bark, red sap oozing down the trunks like blood."The pack house is just beyond the ridge," Tessa added. She'd stayed by Evelyn's side all night, monitoring her breathing and changing the dressings on her wound. "Our medical facilities are there."I nodde