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
DEREKElena had denied cheating on me with Logan. But she hadn’t denied that Aiden was his.The realization had settled into my ribs like a slow, festering wound, burning through every rational thought I had left.She could have corrected me. Could have told me I was wrong.But she hadn’t.That was
ELENAThe air in the amphitheater still carried the weight of last night’s Alpha Ball. It had been a triumph of an evening—everything that the Alpha Council had hoped it would be and more. But I couldn’t enjoy my achievement.The glow of candlelit lanterns had long since faded, the laughter and musi
I couldn’t help but smile. “You too. And hey—take care of her alright?”“I always do.”He hung up without waiting for a goodbye, and I found myself staring at the phone in my hand long after the line had gone dead.It was too easy to picture him. Too easy to hear our bond in his laugh.I pushed to m
***"She’s a rogue," Caroline was saying, her voice clipped with annoyance, as if the very topic exhausted her."She’s Moonstone," I corrected, sipping my whiskey. "Try again."Cassandra leaned against my desk, arms crossed, her gaze careful and assessing. "She wasn’t always."“Actually, she was,” I







