I studied her profile. The way her eyes darted toward the trees, always alert. “You were incredible, you know.”She let out a breath. “I was furious.”“Still incredible.”She tilted her head up, eyes catching mine. “You took a hit pretty well.”“I’ve had worse.”“That’s not the flex you think it is.
ELENAThe medallion caught the light again as Logan turned it slowly in his hand, making sure everyone could see it. Whispers had already started rippling through the crowd before he even spoke again, but when he did, his voice was sharp and commanding—meant for everyone.“A Silverclaw crest,” he sa
“Children!” the Luna called, sweeping her hands wide. “Those of you who placed in the scavenger hunt—please come forward!”Aiden bolted ahead so fast I didn’t even have time to call his name. His ribbon from the hunt was still in his hand, and he waved it in the air as he ran.My mother stepped forw
ELENAThe embers of the children’s Bondfire still glowed behind us, pulsing warm and steady like the heartbeat of the pack.Aiden had long since been swept off by one of the older cousins, yawning mid-sentence and insisting he wasn’t tired. I’d kissed the top of his head before he vanished into the
ELENAHis lips brushed mine.And then—The kiss wasn't soft. It wasn't hesitant. It was heat and hunger and six years of ache collapsing into one breathless, impossible moment. He kissed me like he needed it to live. Like if he let go, the world would vanish around us.And I kissed him back.The mom
DEREKI stayed in the grotto long after she was gone.The trees didn’t move. The water barely rippled. The only sound was my own ragged breathing and the distant echo of paws crashing through underbrush.I can’t.That’s all she’d said.Just those two words, strangled and breaking, before she shifted
She turned to the four who stood at each corner of the platform: the Alpha, the Luna, Mason, and Elena.My breath hitched.Elena looked radiant, even in the firelight. Composed. Fierce. The flicker of the torch in her hand mirrored something wild in her eyes.Together, they lowered their torches, sl
DEREKThe clay felt cool in my palm—damp, smooth, still soft enough to shape but beginning to dry around the edges. It had been warming by the Bondfire for hours, waiting for hands like mine. And yet… I had no idea what to carve.The priestess who gave it to me said nothing. Just handed me the blank
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
ELENAThe fire pit was little more than a ring of scorched stones now, filled with white ash and the collapsed skeletons of logs. Charcoal dust stained the edges of the grass, a faint outline of where the flames had lived. The scent of woodsmoke still hung in the air, sharp and lingering, but it was
My son turned toward him. “Yeah?”“Why don’t you go tell Caroline how you want that room decorated?”Aiden’s face lit up like someone had flipped a switch inside him. “I get to decorate it?!”“You get full artistic control.”He gasped like he’d been offered the moon on a stick. “Cool! Bye, Mom!”And