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
She was so distressed. And then it occurred to me.“He’s your mate,” I guessed. “You’re fated mates.”She nodded slowly.I sank back against the wall, trying to catch my breath. “Why didn’t either of you say anything?”“We wanted to. After the summit, once things settled. But then the explosions hap
DEREKThe car ride back to Silverclaw was silent. No music. No chatter from Joe. Just the low hum of the tires on pavement and the occasional crackle of the radio scanning for a signal we never let it settle on.I stared out the window, watching the trees blur into shadowed green. Every turn of the
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
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







