CASSANDRAI’d been avoiding Derek for days, ever since that damn sonogram machine showed up at Silverclaw. But now, I was ready.The next move in my plan was already in motion, and if I’d learned anything about Derek King over the years, it was that he couldn’t help but rush toward someone who looke
ELENAThe silence Derek left behind was louder than anything he'd said all night.Aiden stirred the melted remains of his ice cream with the tip of his spoon, not looking up. The happy chatter from nearby tables felt like it belonged to a different world—one where parents didn’t rush off to the side
Derek didn’t hesitate. He stripped off his shirt and stepped forward, every inch of him radiating authority.“You’re formally challenging my station as Alpha?”“I am,” the other wolf said.“I accept.”The fight was brutal.The challenger was older, heavier, but Derek was faster—more precise. Every m
ELENAThe breeze off the lake carried the promise of rain, but I barely noticed it as I moved through the courtyard, searching for Mason.I found him where he always went to think—on the back porch, leaning against the railing, arms crossed, gaze locked on the tree line like it might shift if he sta
DEREKCassandra had been floating around the estate like a tragic heroine in a stage play—barefoot, silent, draped in gauzy robes like she’d wandered out of some gothic poem. She made a show of being too weak to eat, too dazed to sleep, too devastated to speak in full sentences.More than once, I fo
But then something shifted.I felt it in the way she started fidgeting. How she kept glancing at me, then at the horizon, then back again. Her laughter grew tighter, her smiles didn’t quite reach her eyes.It was like she was waiting for something.And whatever it was… I wasn’t giving it to her.By
ELENAThe drive back to Moonstone was quiet, but not uncomfortable.The sun was dipping behind the trees, casting long streaks of gold across the windshield. Pine shadows flickered over the hood as we followed the winding road north, back toward our father, our pack, and the very carefully maintaine
So I stepped forward.“I know how it looks,” I began, keeping my voice calm. “But it’s not what you think.”My father stared at me like I was an insect he wasn’t sure he wanted to squash or interrogate. “Oh? Do enlighten me.”I took a slow breath. “Do you remember Erin and Carly? And Maggie? The wom
The temperature in the room shifted.Not dramatically, but enough. Like a subtle drop in pressure before a storm. Erin straightened, her laughter tapering. I smoothed the sample fabric in front of me and didn’t look up right away.“Hey,” Logan said casually. “What’s so funny?”Erin glanced at me. “J
ELENAThe Moonstone packhouse was a flurry of motion and color. Fabric swatches fluttered like flags in a breeze as pack members carried bolts of cloth up the stairs. Someone was arguing loudly in the hall about whether “frosted lilac” was different from “lavender fog,” and a delivery of beeswax can
ELENAThe metronome was ticking again.That steady, deliberate rhythm that Dr. Voss insisted helped center my recall—though half the time, I wasn’t sure if it helped or just made me hyper-aware of how fast my thoughts were spinning.I sat back in the reclined chair, palms resting against the fabric-
“A silver claw?”I nodded. “Yeah. The first. The only. It seared his flesh every time he used it. Every swing hurt. But he used it anyway.”“That sounds… awful.”“It was,” I said. “But he made that pain his purpose. Every battle, every fight he walked into—he carried the silver claw. And with it, he
DEREKThe room still smelled like fresh paint.The new bedding hadn’t quite lost its store scent either—crisp fabric, a little too new, the faint chemical undertone of being unboxed that morning.But it didn’t matter. Aiden was already halfway under the covers, head turned toward the window, blanket
DEREKIt all slammed into me at once.The office, the old leather chair beneath me, the taste of whiskey still lingering on my tongue—and Maggie’s name reverberating like a bell that wouldn’t stop ringing in my head.Maggie. Pierce’s daughter.A rogue who had saved Elena’s life, who had helped her e
I gasped against him, and his tongue slid in—deep, claiming, desperate.I should have shoved him off. Should have screamed at him, reminded him what he was, what I was. But my body betrayed me.I kissed him back.Hard.My fingers curled into the front of his shirt, dragging him closer as his hands s
MAGGIE“Bastard.”It was the first word out of my mouth as I shoved open the grimy motel room door. The air inside was stale—sweaty sheets, old coffee, the reek of damp carpet and desperation. Logan looked up from where he sat on the edge of the lopsided bed, one foot resting casually on the ratty h
I froze, inhaling again, trying to find it.“Elena?” Derek’s voice was cautious behind me. I could feel him watching me, could hear the faint shift of his weight in the needles.I didn’t answer right away. My head turned slightly, following where I thought the scent had drifted. I took a step, then