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
ELENAI couldn’t stop talking about the date.Erin. Mason. The maids. Dawn. Even Chad.It was like my mouth had no filter anymore. Everything that usually kept me a little reserved—my instinct to be discreet, to keep things private, to protect the sacred things in my life—had been torched the second
More than before.More than I ever thought possible.***The next day, I had barely made it back to Silverclaw before Joe flagged me down.“Don’t forget,” he said, dropping a folder on my desk. “You’ve got that trip coming up.”I blinked. “What trip?”Joe gave me a look. “The one you insisted we boo
DEREKshouldn’t have done that.Goddess help me, I shouldn’t have fucked her in the car.Not in a public alley. Not in a luxury vehicle with windows that weren’t even tinted dark enough to shield us from passersby. Not with photographers crawling through every backstreet hoping to snap a scandal.Pa
ELENA"Silverclaw," Derek said.It was quiet. Just the word. One word, one name—but it detonated in my mind like a stone cracking glass.Silverclaw.I blinked at him.Moonstone’s generational enemy.The pack our grandparents warned us about. The one they said would slit our throats in our sleep if w







