LOGINMy pace slowed.I was close.The grove opened ahead of me, circular and impossibly quiet. The ground was covered in dead moss. Stones lined the perimeter, carved with symbols so ancient they seemed to hum.And in the center, she stood.The dark priestess.Tall. Shrouded in a veil of black. Skin like
CASSANDRADerek knows.The thought pounded in my head like a war drum, louder than the creaking floorboards beneath my feet as I stumbled back inside my cottage. I couldn’t breathe. My skin was ice. I gripped the edge of the counter like the world might slide out from under me if I let go.He knows.
"As a matter of fact," I said slowly, "it was."She nodded. "That was from one of my favorite shirts. My mother was furious when she saw that I’d torn a piece from it."The air went out of my lungs.Her favorite shirt.I blinked, trying to picture that day clearly. Cassandra had been there—that much
DEREKI didn’t move.Didn’t nod. Didn’t speak.I just stood there, letting her see it in my face. Because yeah—it was me.Every call, every closed-door meeting, every favor I cashed in to fast-track the permits they needed before anyone could find a reason to stall or block it. I’d done all of it. Q
DEREKThe crowd had already begun to gather when I arrived.The courtyard in front of the new Rogue Foundation was cordoned off with velvet rope and lined with silver-and-navy banners. The city's emblem flew alongside Moonstone’s and Red Ridge’s on tall flagpoles, and a heavy length of ribbon stretc
DEREKThe growl of the four-wheeler under me did nothing to quiet the growl inside my chest.I’d been patrolling for hours.The wind whipped against my jacket, tugging at the collar as I tore down another ridgeline, the sun low and angry behind me. Dust kicked up behind the tires in plumes. My hands
ELENAThe summit was winding down.The final signatures had been inked, ceremonial photos snapped. The halls of the venue were quieter now. Not empty—there were still guards, staff, a few straggling Alphas and their entourages—but the storm had passed.Blood and scorching covered and erased with fre
DEREKThe world narrowed to teeth and fury.Erebus was in control now—no hesitation, no strategy, just raw instinct. He tore through the rogues with savage efficiency, blood and fur flying, jaws snapping, claws ripping. This wasn’t the ballroom. This wasn’t ceremony or restraint.This was war.And E
I hesitated, then moved to the sideboard and poured another drink. He probably didn’t need it, but a controlled Derek didn’t suit my purposes. The bottle sloshed too loudly in the stillness.“Here,” I said, kneeling slightly to offer it to him.He took it without looking. Our fingers touched. No spa
DEREKI straightened my tie in the mirrored window, adjusting the knot for the third time even though it hadn’t moved. The glass reflected a version of myself I recognized—groomed, composed, steady. But on the inside? I was coiled wire.Elena stood nearby, quiet, trying to keep her breathing steady.







