LOGINPOV: VeraThree days. Someone walked in and took it.The walk home was cold. The kind that starts in your chest, not your skin. I shoved my hands deeper into my jacket and stared at the ground passing under my boots. Tyler's voice, Caius's eyes, the empty velvet stand. They circled behind my temples
POV: VeraTyler pulled himself to his feet. He brushed the dust off his shirt, wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, and looked at me one last time."Think about what I said, Vera. Before it's too late."He walked away without waiting for an answer.I watched him disappear around t
POV: VeraTyler's cologne was too strong. It always had been — something sharp and woody that sat at the back of my throat like a warning.He stood too close. His forearm rested against the wall above my head, boxing me in without touching me. The beta's son knew how to make a cage out of empty air.
POV: CaiusVera punched like a woman twice her size.The wound had barely bled, truth be told. The gash she'd reopened was already knitting shut beneath the fresh bandage — lycan blood did its work fast, faster than any herbal paste or clean cloth could account for. I'd have to be more careful. She
POV: VeraMy fist connected before my brain caught up.The impact was wet. His skin was still damp from the shower, and the sound it made against his stomach was flat and awful. Caius doubled forward with a grunt, and the towel slipped an inch lower on his hips.I yanked my hand back. Blood seeped t
POV: Vera / CaiusI told myself I'd imagined it.I crossed the kitchen and set my bag on the counter. Started unpacking the groceries. Onions, dried herbs, a tin of salve for his bandages. My hands needed something to do.Caius wasn't jealous. We were strangers who'd struck a deal so I could keep my







