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
ELENAAiden was awake. I should have felt nothing but joy, and I did. I did.His eyelashes fluttered like bird wings before they opened, and his little fingers twitched around mine like he was afraid I might disappear. But with the joy came something else—an ache. Because some of the first words ou
She looked up when I entered, surprised but not unpleasantly so. “Hey.”I nodded. “Can we talk?”She closed the book. “Of course.”I walked closer, rubbed the back of my neck, then sat in the chair across from her. “I’ve been… distant. I know that. And I know it’s not fair. Especially with everythin
I looked between her and Cassandra. “Then what if I pay you privately to come by? You could do sessions just for us. I’ll cover whatever it costs.”Amy’s eyes darted to Cassandra.“I’ll… I’ll think about it,” she said quickly, then began wiping off the probe and shutting everything down.She packed
I let the silence hang for a moment, then nodded. “Set it up. I’ll go.”***They chose a neutral site. An old roadside motel two towns over—the kind of place where the front desk clerk didn’t ask questions, and the walls were thin enough to hear secrets bleed through.The stucco exterior was cracked







