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
DEREKThe press conference had only been two days ago, but it felt like a lifetime.I still hadn’t slept. Not really. Not in any way that counted.I’d crashed for a few hours on the couch in my office the night after—boots still on, half-dressed, a mostly full glass of whiskey sweating rings into my
I wouldn’t fall.I crawled. I growled. I bled into the moss.And then, out of nowhere, the air changed. A new sound cracked through the woods.Thwack.The rogue in front of me dropped, his body jerking sideways like something yanked the life out of him. An arrow jutted from his spine.Another turned
ELENAWeddings were supposed to be joyful. Uplifting. Not nerve-wracking and vaguely horrifying.I adjusted Aiden’s little bow tie for the third time as he stood in the staging room just off the chapel’s main aisle, looking far too calm for someone about to be paraded in front of a hundred people. M
DEREKCassandra’s father, Alpha Bruce Laurent of the Eastern Ridge Pack, was the kind of man who didn’t believe in personal space or indoor voices. He had a laugh like an avalanche and a handshake that could fracture bone. We were only two courses into dinner and already I was counting the minutes u







