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
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
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
DEREKThere were only so many cold showers a man could take.I gritted my teeth, sweat dripping from my brow as I drove my elbow into Kieran’s gut and pivoted just in time to avoid a sweeping leg kick from Brock. The Silverclaw training grounds echoed with the sound of fists hitting flesh and bodies
“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







