LOGINHis voice was soft when he asked, “Are you mad at Daddy?”My breath caught.I didn’t answer right away. I just held him tighter, brushing my lips against the top of his head, breathing in the familiar scent of shampoo and dreams.“No, baby,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. “Just sad
ELENAHe said it. Just like that."Because I was a coward."And for a moment, I didn’t breathe. Didn’t blink. I just stared at him, this towering Alpha, folded in on himself like the weight of everything he’d done was finally more than he could bear.It wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t defensive. I
DEREKI was more nervous than I had ever been in my entire life.And that included some truly horrible moments. Moments when life and death had been in the balance.Worse than when Aiden had been in the hospital, his little body limp and pale against white sheets, machines screaming at me that I mig
ELENA"I’m strong enough to travel," I said.The words came out firmer than I expected. My voice still felt like it didn’t quite belong to me—too quiet, too dry—but I forced strength into it anyway.My mother narrowed her eyes at me across the hospital room, arms folded, posture stiff with tension.
ELENAThe first thing I felt was cold.Not the kind of cold that settled into your bones. Not the chill of snow or wind. It was sterile, dry, antiseptic. The kind of cold that came from machines humming, filtered air, fluorescent lights. A hospital.I blinked slowly, and the world came into focus in
DEREKToday was going well.Which, lately, felt like a miracle.The meeting room was warm with early sunlight, and the Stormfang delegation finally looked less like they wanted to skin me and more like they might—possibly—listen. The Icelandic pack had been guarded since our arrival, especially with
ELENAWhen Derek finally emerged back into the waiting room, my breath caught in my throat.He looked pale. Worn. His shirt was wrinkled, his sleeve rolled halfway up, and there was a small bandage on the inside of his arm. But it wasn’t just his appearance that stopped me—it was his silence.I stoo
But nothing could stop me now.When I reached the rogue camp, the tension hit me like static. You could feel it in the way people shifted, the way eyes darted, the way no one spoke above a whisper. They were waiting for someone to tell them what came next.They were waiting for him.But he wasn’t co
His voice was calm. Measured. But I could feel the weight of it settling over all of us like a thundercloud.Logan shifted on his feet.Mason glanced between them, but didn’t speak. He was still at the foot of Aiden’s bed, his eyes glassy and fixed on the boy, one hand lightly resting on the rail li
ELENAI paced outside the hospital, one hand pressed to my forehead as the other gripped my phone so tightly I thought it might crack.The air outside was thick with humidity, the kind that clung to your skin and refused to let go. Somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed.The night should have bee







