MasukZANE “Where the hell have you been?” I shout into the shadows, my voice echoing off the walls of the office. As the red head steps into view, my wolf’s instincts flare. My alpha power coils around me like a whip ready to strike. I’m prepared to slam damn Selene against the wall—until I notice the child in her arms. The boy sits perched on her hip, with a head full of thick black curls. The irises of his eyes are as dark as the abyss, similar to Damian’s. Yet where the rogue’s gaze unsettled, this child’s eyes are… mesmerising. My gaze flicks between the child and Selene. He can’t possibly be hers… can he? But the resemblance is undeniable. The high cheekbones, the same subtle curve in the jaw, a hint of that familiar shape in his tiny face. And then he reaches for me. I freeze, my heart hammering, as Selene steps closer. The pup stretches toward me, and then slowly—almost hesitantly—she hands him over. What the hell? Is she not afraid of what I could do to him? I reach to t
LYRA I wake for what feels like the fifth—or fiftieth—time, my vision swimming until the cabin sharpens around me. Breathing still hurts like a bitch, and that toxic heat from the wolfsbane in the air is becoming unbearable now, but I fight through it. I can barely feel my lycan’s presence, and honestly? It’s pretty terrifying. As I look across the cabin, I notice several of the tea light candles have burned low. Thank fuck. Across the room, Aurora is sprawled on the single bed in the corner. Her eyes are closed and her breathing even. She’s finally asleep. Thank double fuck. My gaze continues to skim the room, hunting for… I don’t even know. A key. A weapon. A miracle. A dagger I could fling across the room and pray it finds her small throat. I turn to lie on my side and a groan slips out before I can stop it. Damn it, of course, she stirs. Her eyes flutter open, landing on me with that poisonous smile. Aurora stretches languidly, then slowly crosses to the fire. “Te
ZANE I’m losing my mind. The chaos inside me has teeth now, digging deeper with every passing second. The relic hangs heavy against my chest, its chain biting my skin. Completely useless. The witch, Aurora, that I have been hounding for assistance? Silent. Selene? Absent. Lyra’s family—her supposed unconditional love? Not a single word. Not even Alpha Alexander. Her own brother has his mental walls up, blocking every mindlink I send. All my phone calls go straight to voicemail. Even Beta Talia is beyond reach. It has been hours. Hours since she was taken. And I do not even know if she is alive. My wolf is pacing in my mind, snarling inside my skull. The constant buzz is maddening. My heart slams against my ribs, my body strung so tight I’m ready to break. I used my Alpha command on my sister. My baby sister. Ordered her to stay in her room until I say otherwise. Because right now? I just might rip apart anyone who so much as looks at me wrong. Where the hell do I g
LYRA My head is splitting open. Every pulse is like a hammer against my skull. My body feels like it’s carved from fucking stone, and just prying my eyes open is a battle. When I finally manage it, I’m blinded. Not by sunlight—nope. By a fire. A roaring blaze in a huge fireplace across the room. Orange light paints jagged shadows across the wooden walls of… a cabin? What the fuck? How long have I been out? I roll from my back onto my side and metal clanks beneath me. Heat prickles every inch of skin not covered by my tiny pajamas. It’s not painfully hot, just very uncomfortable. My fingers land on the cold steel next to my head. In front of me, there are bars, obviously made from a much shinier metal than what I am lying on. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me… I’m in a damn cage… a metal fucking cage. It looks like something straight out of a bad kidnapping movie. Whoever the hell put me in here… do they really think this will hold me once my strength returns? B
ZANE I don’t think I’ve ever been this bloody angry in my life. At Lyra. At Maria. At the bloody wolf goddess. At myself. What the hell had we all been thinking? Diana—pairing me with Maria of all people. Why? What was the divine plan there? What purpose could possibly be served other than to rip hearts apart? Why give me a fated mate when my soul was already tied to Lyra? When I already had a bond so fierce that the notorious fated mate pull felt pale by comparison? Lyra is not just love. She is gravity. The force keeping me grounded. Everyone else is a flicker; she is my sun. And then Maria—thinking that just because the goddess branded us as “fated,” my feelings for Lyra would vanish. That we should have marked and mated on the spot. The way she grabbed me… the tingles when her lips brushed my neck. I hated that I felt them. Yet the moment I sensed her canines extend, I pulled away. And the look on her face when I did… gods, it made me feel like a monste
LYRA The next morning, I wake up in my bed. Alone, of course. And my first thought is Zane. I fight through the fog in my head, trying to piece last night together. The full moon. His office. Zane kissing me. The knock at the door. Maria. Her fucking lipstick smeared on his neck. Damn. By now, they’re probably marked. That thought alone has me sprinting for the bathroom, where I lose every drop of alcohol, every crumb of food from yesterday. I heave until there’s nothing left, until I’m empty in more ways than one. When I stumble back to my room, the clock mocks me. It’s just past 2 p.m. “Fuck,” I mutter, collapsing backwards onto my unmade bed. Rion and I must’ve kept drinking until late… but what time had Zane busted us? I can’t even remember. I stare at the ceiling, my mind racing a hundred miles an hour. Because, what the hell happens now? I grab a pillow, press it to my face, and scream until my throat burns. As I finally stop screaming, a soft knock sounds at my doo
LYRAHis deep commanding voice has a shiver running down my spine.I get on my hands and knees on the couch, and a low hum of approval vibrates in his chest from where he is standing behind me. That sound alone has my thighs clenching so hard I almost gasp. His approval should not turn me on so mu
LYRAThe air inside the hall feels different. It is cooler, heavier, almost like it’s been sealed off from the rest of the world. The space is massive, the ceiling so high it disappears into shadows, and for one stupid second I wonder if that’s intentional. Disorientation first. Fear second.Right
LyraOnly six of us stand in the long hall leading to the obstacle course.Six.The other fourteen were hurt badly enough in the hunt that the hour between tests wasn’t nearly long enough to heal them. They are still being treated in the pack hospital, waiting until they’re fit to continue with the
LyraTest 2There is a knot in my stomach as we line up at the edge of the forest again. The other cadets are all already in their wolf forms, and standing in their packs.Behind us, the warriors who will be hunting us, are all still in human form, preparing for their shifts.The instructor explain







