LOGINXavier's POVSixty seconds. Fifty-nine. Fifty-eight.Victoria's countdown echoed in my head as I stared at my mother. She was crying, but she'd also shifted into a fighting stance. Ready to defend herself. Or ready to attack me? I couldn't tell."I won't do it," I said. "I won't kill her.""Then Thelma dies," Victoria said simply. "I have wolves positioned at the healing center right now. One word from me, and they'll inject her with a toxin even Elder Thomas's antidote can't cure. She'll die screaming, Xavier. And it will be your fault for not making the hard choice.""You're bluffing.""Am I?" Victoria pulled out a phone, pressed a button. A video feed appeared, showing Thelma's room at the healing center. Three wolves I didn't recognize were standing around her bed, which was empty. "Oh dear. Where is she? Did someone help her escape? How unfortunate. I suppose I'll just have to kill everyone in the healing center until someone tells me where she went. Starting with the children in
Thelma's POVThe secret passage was narrower than I'd expected, barely wide enough for us to move single file. James led the way, with Elizabeth behind him and me bringing up the rear. My wolf was stronger now, but still not fully recovered. Every step was an effort."How much farther?" I gasped."Ten more minutes," James said. "Maybe fifteen. The passage opens into a natural cave system that runs beneath Silver Ridge. We'll come up right under the old Alpha's mansion, that's where Victoria will have taken Xavier.""Assuming we're not too late," Elizabeth muttered.I felt the mate bond twist, a sharp spike of pain that made me stumble. Xavier was hurt. No, not hurt, emotionally devastated. Something terrible had just happened."He's in pain," I said. "We need to move faster.""We're going as fast as we can," James snapped, then immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry. I just... if anything happens to him because of what I did...""Then you'll spend the rest of your life making it right,
Xavier's POVThe water was freezing, but that wasn't what made my blood run cold. It was the look in my mother's eyes, not triumph, not cruelty, but something worse. Resignation."I'm sorry it had to be this way," she said, and her voice cracked. "I truly am.""Sorry?" I treaded water, my wolf screaming at me to attack, to escape. But something held me back. "You poisoned Thelma. You've been manipulating my entire life. You faked your own death and let me grow up thinking you were gone!""I did what I had to do to keep you alive!" Her composure shattered. "You don't understand, Xavier. You've never understood. Everything I've done, every terrible choice, every sacrifice, it was all to protect you!"Victoria laid a hand on my mother's shoulder, silencing her. "How touching. But we're running out of time. Xavier, I'm going to give you a choice. A real one, not like the illusions of choice you've been living with your whole life.""I'm not interested in anything you have to offer.""Not
Thelma's POVThe antidote had worked. I could feel my strength returning, my wolf finally able to push back against the poison. But something was wrong.James stood by my bed, smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. And there was something in his hand, hidden behind his back."How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice too casual."Better," I said carefully, not sitting up fully despite wanting to. "Where's Xavier?""He'll be back soon. Had to take care of something urgent." James moved closer. "Thelma, I need to ask you something. Those past lives you have memories of... do you remember anything about a prophecy? Something called the Silver Wolf?"Every instinct I had screamed danger. "Why do you ask?""Just curious. Xavier mentioned you might know things from your past lives. Things that could help us understand what's happening." His hand shifted behind his back. "Did you know that Xavier carries three ancient bloodlines? That he might be something more than just an Alpha?"I
Xavier's POVI was two miles from the pack house when my phone rang again. Elder Thomas."Xavier, stop running. Don't come back yet."My wolf stumbled mid-stride. "What? Why? Is Thelma…""Thelma is stable. The antidote is working. But Xavier, we have a problem. A big one." His voice dropped to barely a whisper. "James is gone."I shifted back to human form, my chest heaving. "What do you mean, gone?""He left the healing center twenty minutes ago. Said he needed to check the perimeter. But Xavier... I just reviewed the security footage from the past week. James has been meeting with someone. Someone who matches the description of that third woman from the photograph."The world tilted. "That's impossible. James has been my Beta since we were teenagers. He's been loyal…""I'm sending you the footage now."My phone buzzed. I opened the video file with shaking hands.There was James, clear as day, meeting with an elegant older woman in the shadows behind the training grounds. The timesta
Xavier's POVI was halfway to the northern mountains, running flat out in wolf form, when something strange happened.A tingling sensation at the base of my skull, right where the mate bond anchored. Then words, faint but distinct, echoing in my mind in Thelma's voice:Feverfew. Milk thistle. Hawthorn.I nearly stumbled. Thelma? Was she conscious? Was she trying to tell me something?The words repeated, growing fainter with each repetition. *Feverfew. Milk thistle. Hawthorn.*They sounded like... ingredients? A recipe?I shifted back to human form and pulled out my phone, calling Elder Thomas. "I need you to check something. Feverfew, milk thistle, and hawthorn. Do those mean anything together?""Those are herbs. Medicinal plants. Why?""I think Thelma is trying to tell me something through the mate bond. Could they be an antidote?"There was a pause, then rapid typing. "Feverfew is used for neurological issues. Milk thistle is a detoxifier. Hawthorn is a cardiovascular support and a







