ALPHA DRAVEN'S POVHer scent, honey and frost had filled my lungs, wrapped around my heart like barbed wire, and for a moment, I’d almost leaned in. Almost claimed her mouth just to silence the storm between us.But she’d said “stop.” And I had.I dragged a hand down my face, my jaw tightening. The pack had seen me break bones without blinking, command men with a flick of my wrist. But in front of her, I’d been a man unraveling.Inside, the house was quiet. The maids were pretending not to notice. They had learned long ago to make themselves invisible when my mood soured.Even the scent of pancakes lingered faintly in the hall, my pathetic attempt at something normal. I had been up since dawn making them myself, flipping them one after another, as though that would erase years of my cruelty. As though I could cook my way into her forgiveness.It had been a joke to them at first. Alpha Draven in the kitchen. But when they’d seen my face, the laughter had died quick.I turned from the r
The words fell from my lips, brittle as glass, but my body betrayed me, pressing itself against the cold wood of the door as if seeking an anchor. His scent, dark pine and smoke, drifted closer, and something hot, primal, and unwelcome clawed up my throat. The bond always did this; it made my heartbeat a weapon turned against me, every breath of his presence a temptation I couldn’t entirely smother.I tilted my chin up, forcing my eyes on his. “I’m serious. Don’t push me.”He smiled, not a smirk, not that familiar cruel curve, but something deeper, softer, as if my defiance amused him. “You’re trembling,” he said quietly, voice dipping low, intimate. “And you think I don’t notice?”My pulse roared in my ears. “I’m trembling because I hate you.” My hand gripped the doorknob tightly, a white-knuckled anchor. “Don’t assume it’s anything else.”He leaned in slightly, not close enough to touch, but enough for his breath to ghost my cheek. Warm, steady, infuriating. “It’s not assumption, Li
LIORA’S POVThe morning came heavy, thick with the sound of rain pattering against the windows. I had hardly slept. My mind was still replaying last night, the image of Draven standing in my doorway with those lilies, the small box of chocolates, the softness in his voice that felt wrong on his tongue. I wanted to erase it, scrub it from my memory, but it kept circling back, pulling at me in ways I refused to admit.The tray of untouched broth sat where he had left it. Cold now, the surface congealed, mocking me.A knock broke through my thoughts, gentle, steady. Always that patience.“Liora,” came his voice. “It’s morning. I brought breakfast.”I pressed my palms against my temples. “Leave it at the door.”But when the door creaked open, he stepped in anyway, carrying a tray. This time, it wasn’t eggs or broth, it was pancakes. Light, golden, stacked high with butter sliding down the sides and a drizzle of honey. And beside it, a cup of black coffee, steaming.He set the tray careful
LIORA'S POVThe walls of the pack house felt heavier than I remembered, as though every beam and stone had absorbed years of my fear and humiliation. It smelled the same, cedar, leather, and something wild underneath but it wasn’t home. It was a cage I had walked back into with my eyes open.I sat on the edge of the bed, fingers knotted in my lap, staring at the breakfast tray on the nightstand. The eggs were still steaming, the bread soft and warm, but my stomach turned. Draven’s touch was everywhere in it. His effort. His need. His guilt.I forced myself to look away and breathed slowly. For Marga, I reminded myself. Every second here is for her.A soft knock broke through my thoughts. Before I could answer, the door creaked open and Luna slipped in, her long brown hair tied loosely at the nape of her neck. She looked surprised to see me sitting there.“I thought you weren’t coming back,” she said quietly, her eyes darting to the tray on the nightstand, then back to me. “When I saw
The sun rose heavy over the estate, light spilling through the wide windows like it wanted to expose me. I hadn’t slept. Not because I couldn’t but because every time I closed my eyes, I saw hers. That look she’d given me last night… calm, cold, and final.I’d heard enemies spit worse things at me. I’d faced rogues who snarled their hatred with teeth bared. But this? Coming from her? It hollowed me out in a way no blade, no wound ever had.And yet I couldn’t give up.Not this time.For so long, I’d told myself I didn’t care if she broke. That if she hated me, so be it. But I’d been lying to myself. I wanted her love. Needed it in ways I couldn’t admit, even to my wolf. And if that meant swallowing my pride, if that meant changing piece by piece, I would.So when the first rays of morning warmed the kitchen, I rolled my sleeves, ignored the curious looks of the omegas, and took a pan in hand.“Alpha?” one of them stammered. “You… you don’t need to..”“I do,” I cut in, sharper than I me
ALPH DRAVEN'S POINTThe ride back to the pack house should have steadied me. The wind, the steady roar of my bike, the night pressing close, it usually grounded me. But tonight, it only made the silence behind me heavier.Liora didn’t hold me. Didn’t cling like she once had when she was young and afraid of the speed. She sat stiff, her arms locked around herself, as if my back were a wall she wanted no part of. I reached for her hand once, tried to force her to wrap around me, but she yanked it back, her body cold with refusal.That refusal burned hotter than any brand.I told myself I didn’t care. That I’d done what was necessary. I had no plan to kill Marga, never did. She was just a name, leverage, because I knew Liora’s heart was soft for her friends. I knew threatening Marga would pull her back to me. But as the bike ate the miles, as her silence pressed against my spine, I couldn’t shake the weight of what I’d done.I’d forced her hand. Again.The pack house rose into view, its