Mag-log inThe Alpha’s Mother(Isabella’s POV)“Come,” she said. “You look frozen. We will sit somewhere warmer. There is tea.”We moved down a side corridor off the main hall, then into a smaller sitting room. It was all stone and soft rugs, with a low table, two couches, and a wide window that looked over the snowy valley.A young maid waited inside with a tray. Her dark hair was in a neat bun. Her eyes flicked to me, then away fast.“Joy, more hot water,” Lucas’s mother said. “And bring that honey I like.”“Yes, Luna—” Joy started, then bit the word off, eyes wide.Lucas’s mother paused.My heart stuttered.But she only smiled, that same calm, unreadable curve of lips. “Old habits,” she said lightly. “It is ‘Madam’ now, remember? My son wears the title.”Joy flushed pink. “Yes, Madam,” she whispered, and hurried to the sideboard.Lucas’s mother sat on one couch and gestured to the other. “Sit, Isabella.”I sat, back straight, sleeves pulled down over my wrists out of old habit. Lucas stayed n
Gates of Frostveil(Isabella’s POV)I woke to the steady hum of an engine and the quiet crunch of tires over ice. Aurora stretched. “We are close,” she murmured. “This is his home.”I pushed myself up. I was still in the car, cloak around me like a cocoon. My neck hurt from sleeping half-curled against the door. The sky outside the window was pale gray, full of soft light. Frost-covered pines slid past, taller, denser, thicker than the trees near Silvercrest.Lucas drove, both hands on the wheel, jaw shadowed with stubble. Jax’s bike followed behind us in the mirror.“How long was I asleep?” I asked, voice rough.He glanced at me, eyes softening. “Long enough for Jax to complain three times about the distance,” he said. “We got a ride from one of my patrol units at dawn. We’re in Frostveil territory now.”Frostveil.My heart gave a strange twist.“The car?” I asked.“Jax will drag it back later with a tow,” Lucas said. “Right now, getting you inside the borders was more important.”
Campfire Secrets(Isabella’s POV)Stuck.That one word hung in the cold air between us, heavier than the smoke leaking from the car.Jax swore under his breath. “We can’t stay on the road,” he said. “If Damien sent one group, he can send more.”Lucas’s eyes lifted to the dark trees. His jaw tightened. “We move off the road. Fifty meters in.” He glanced at me. “You can walk?”“I just fought off a wolf with a sword,” I said. “I can walk to a tree.”Jax snorted. “She’s got a point, Alpha.”Lucas sent him a look, then jerked his head toward the forest. “We make a small camp. Jax, see what you can do with the engine once we’re hidden. Isabella, you rest.”“I don’t need—”“You rest,” he repeated, voice quiet but firm.Aurora hummed. He is not wrong.I rolled my eyes at both of them. Still, when Lucas slid an arm under my elbow to steady me as we left the road, I didn’t pull away.The forest swallowed us fast. The trees here were tall, dark shapes against a pale sky.We found a small hollow
Border Ambush(Lucas’s POV)Isabella still had my shirt in her fists when the first howl cut through the night.It ripped down the dark road ahead of us, sharp and close. Jax’s bike engine roared in answer.“Ambush!” Jax shouted through the mind-link and aloud at the same time. “Front and left, Alpha!”I eased her grip off my shirt. Her eyes were wide, breath still ragged from the nightmare.“Stay low,” I said. “Do not open the door unless I tell you.”Her chin lifted like she was about to argue.The car lurched as something heavy slammed into the side. Metal screeched. Isabella grabbed the handle above her head, teeth bared.“Stormridge!” Jax’s voice snapped in my skull. “Four wolves, maybe more. Silvercrest scent, but they look like rogues.”Of course they did.I growled and shoved my door open.Jax skidded his bike sideways, using it as a shield as three hulking wolves lunged from the tree line.“Stay in the car,” I shouted over my shoulder and stepped away from the door, giving m
Sky Between Us(Isabella’s POV)The car felt too small for me.I sat stiff beside Lucas on the back seat, wrists aching where the shackles had rubbed my skin raw. I kept my eyes on the floor mats. If I looked at him, I might remember how he ripped the bars apart with his bare hands. How he bled for me. And I didn’t know what to do with that.My teeth chattered once, out of nowhere.“Isabella,” Lucas said quietly.I didn’t answer.Something heavy brushed my shoulders. I flinched, but it was only fabric. He settled a dark cloak around me, careful not to touch my skin more than he had to. Cedar and smoke wrapped around me with it.“I’m not cold,” I muttered.“You’re shaking,” he said.“That doesn’t mean I’m cold.”He did not take the cloak back.I clutched the edges without meaning to. It was warm. It smelled like him. My chest tightened, annoyed at myself.“Jax is keeping an eye out,” Lucas said, as if he needed to fill the quiet. “He’ll warn us if anyone follows.”“Good,” I said. “I
The Severed Bond(Isabella’s POV)Jax’s curse still rang in my ears as we burst out into the main courtyard. Vanessa clung to his arm as usual, eyes all big and shiny. Her red hair fell over her shoulder in perfect waves. Frostveil warriors fanned around me and Lucas, breathless and bloody. Silvercrest warriors closed in, forming a circle. Wolves lined the balconies and steps, watching.No more corridors. No more side paths.We were trapped in the open, under the sky, with every eye on us.Damien lifted his chin, aura pressing down over the courtyard. “Isabella,” he called, voice booming. “Enough.”My steps slowed. Lucas moved slightly in front of me, one burned hand lifted a little, like a shield.“Stormridge,” Damien went on, “you have violated my territory, attacked my guards, and stolen my prisoner. This ends now.”“She’s not a prisoner,” Lucas said, voice calm and deep. “She’s my fated mate.”Growls rippled through the crowd. Some shocked, some disgusted.Vanessa flinched and







