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
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
DEREKThe scream tore through me like a blade.Aiden.I shifted mid-motion, bones snapping, fur ripping free of skin, the world sharpening into Erebus’s senses before the tent flap even hit the ground. I lunged straight through the sliced back panel, teeth bared, paws hitting earth as I hit the wood
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







