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
ELENAThe path wound back toward the packhouse, soft and familiar beneath my boots.The sunlight had grown sharper, more golden, but it did nothing to thaw the knot of cold sitting heavy in my chest.I walked beside Derek, every step humming with tension I couldn’t fully name.He didn’t say anything
DEREK"I’ve been expecting you," the Priestess said.She stepped back and opened the door wide, the folds of her silver robes whispering against the stones.The air that spilled out was cool and heavy, scented with sage and damp stone and something older that had no name—something that prickled alon
DEREKI stood outside the heavy reinforced door, my arms crossed, my wolf pacing just beneath my skin.I hated this.Every instinct screamed at me to be in there, standing beside her. But Elena had asked to speak to Maggie alone, and I understood why.Maggie would never talk freely with me sitting a
I didn’t ask where she got it.I didn’t want to know.“Ready?” she asked, voice flat.I looked past her to the trees—dense, black, and wrong. The shadows between the trunks were too deep. The forest ahead breathed in long, silent rhythms.I swallowed hard. “Not really.”She stepped into the trees wi







