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
ELENAShifting was always strange. Like being peeled apart and stitched back together, breathless and brimming with something ancient.And then I was Nox.The world changed. Light fractured sharper. Sounds layered in ways the human ear could never catch. I could hear Derek’s heartbeat hammering in h
DEREKThe moment the emergency response teams cleared the worst of the wreckage, the adrenaline began to fade—and reality set in.The Alliance Summit had been attacked. Not just disrupted. Not just interrupted. Attacked.Bombs, blood, death. Alphas injured. Lunas crying. Warriors dead. I had bruise
A few words, murmurs from the crowd. I let them settle.“This was guerrilla warfare,” I said. “A tactic used for centuries by smaller, less-equipped enemies to strike fear into more powerful ones. They use the shadows. They bait and bleed. They think fear is our weakness.”I looked at the Alphas bes
ELENAThe scent of smoke still lingered in the hallways, clinging to the stone like a memory that wouldn’t wash clean. No matter how many air purifiers buzzed or how many cleaning crews had been rotated in and out overnight, the Summit venue still felt scorched. Haunted.My boots echoed softly again
The Roguelands stretched wide and lawless in every direction, but this place—this little pocket of ruin—had been ours. A nowhere place, halfway between exile and obscurity, so far from the power struggles that most wolves didn’t bother looking for us out here.Which was the point.A thin ribbon of s
DEREKThe air still smelled like ash.Even though the fires had long been extinguished and the debris mostly cleared from the summit grounds, the scent of smoke clung to everything—our clothes, the walls, the people. A reminder of just how close we'd come to losing it all.I stood on the temporary c
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
ELENAThe low fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, washing everything in a sterile, humming glow.Maggie sat across from me, wrists cuffed, the chains on the table between us rattling softly every time she moved. Her eyes were red, her mouth pressed into a thin, trembling line. She looked like a ghos
I gave a dry laugh."Welcome to being the Moonstone Princess," I muttered.He smiled faintly."You need a vacation."I arched an eyebrow at him."Last time I tried to take a vacation, I was held hostage and nearly lost our son."He winced. "Fair point."The corner of my mouth twitched despite myself
ELENAThe car hummed steadily beneath us, eating up the endless miles of asphalt stretching toward the northern border.I sat stiffly in the back seat, arms crossed tightly over my chest, watching the pines blur past the windows in shadowy smears.Derek sat beside me, his presence filling the small
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
We walked in silence for a few minutes, the air between us thick with unsaid things.Finally, I broke it."If you wanted spiritual guidance," I said, glancing sideways at him, "why not ask your own pack’s spiritual counselor?"He hesitated.I caught it—the subtle stiffening of his shoulders, the fli
ELENAThe phone was slipping in my sweaty palm, but I refused to hang up."I understand protocol," I said tightly, forcing my voice to stay even. "I’m not asking for full disclosure. I’m trying to ascertain if Maggie is being treated fairly and afforded her right of due process."Static crackled on
Elena followed us inside the packhouse, the three of us moving in slow, heavy silence up the staircase to the family wing.Elena nudged Aiden’s door open with her hip, carrying him inside.We tucked him into the bed together, smoothing the covers over him, brushing his hair back from his forehead.T
DEREKThe door to the Alpha’s office shut behind us with a heavy click, sealing the tension inside.Elena stalked ahead of me down the hallway, her bare shoulders tight with fury and frustration.I caught up to her in three long strides."I want to talk to her," she said, voice low and feral. "Now."