FAZER LOGINThe trail stopped being a trail about an hour in.After that, it was just mountain — loose shale, dense tree cover, the kind of climb that doesn't apologize for itself. My guards had gone quiet. Even River, who ran fifty miles on a bad week, was conserving breath.I didn't ask for help.I didn't need to.That was the thing about the two of them — I'd stopped noticing exactly when it happened, but somewhere in the last hour they'd positioned themselves without discussion or signal. River ahead, Cade behind. Not hovering. Not making a show of it. Just — there. Every time the shale shifted under my boot, one of them was already in position. A hand at my elbow before I'd registered losing my footing. A shoulder within reach before I'd thought to look for one.Sentries. That's what they were.I had two sentries who happened to love me, and they were doing their jobs like they'd been born to it.I didn't say anything about it.Neither did they.And then the mountain opened up, and everythin
“Please… It’s a long story, and I am not a threat to anybody,” I said, pausing before adding carefully, “Who is not a threat to me and mine.”I looked at both my mates before gesturing toward those standing behind me.She waited. Watched. Calculated.Then the air softened again, settling into that uncanny stillness around her that felt unnatural, like a predator deciding whether I was worth the effort.I didn’t tell her about Sirus. Not yet.I needed to feel her out first.No matter whose sister she was.A breeding program designed to create and control destroyer wolves.And Korr had been part of it from the beginning."You've seen the files," I said slowly.Brianne nodded."Then you know about the betrothal contract."Her gaze sharpened."You were promised to Korr when you were an infant. Marked. Claimed." She paused. "But you already know that.""I found the letters.""Good." Brianne's voice was approving. "Then you understand what you are.""A bargaining chip.""No." Her tone was f
"What if they were testing us?" I asked the crew.Both Shianne's and mates expression shifted.But no surprise. Instead of recognition, because that is what she would do.Like they had been waiting for me to say it out loud. She nodded in approval. River and Cade just waited, letting me learn my role as Alpha. Respecting this was my journey. No one had been killed; I suspect they would have guided me more had one of us been seriously threatened. "Testing for what?" one of the scouts asked.I didn't answer.Because Rose was already moving in my mind, restless and alert.She's close, Rose murmured. Right now. Watching.I turned toward the tree line.Nothing moved.But the air had changed.It was heavier and charged with energy.Like the moment before lightning struck."Laney."River's voice.Low.Careful.I looked back.He was staring into the forest, body coiled tight, every muscle locked.Cade had gone still beside him.Not defensive and not aggressive, alert, aware, testing the a
Shianne insisted on coming despite my objections. The look she gave me when I suggested staying behind ended the argument before it started. The missing Black Talon wolves had once been hers, too. Her people. Her responsibility.Beta Antonia stayed behind with Garrett to manage both Ashwood and Black Talon while continuing the investigation into Alpha Tomas’s pack.Oddly, things had gone quiet there.No more contact from the farmer. No additional poisonings of the river or livestock.Nothing.Which somehow felt worse.Silence didn’t mean safety.It meant whoever orchestrated the sabotage knew their operative had been discovered. And if one infiltrator existed, there were likely more.Sleeping inside our packs.There were still acts of sabotage, one after another. Designed to keep the packs off balance. It worked.First, fuel disappeared.Then our food stores were contaminated with dirt and blood.Dead crows hung from branches above the camp.Perfectly spaced.Watching. Clearly a warni
Alpha Korr hadn't just been corrupt. He'd been a criminal mastermind, using his position to manipulate, control, and profit from every pack in the region. “Sirius is going to inherit all of this,” I said.Shianne’s expression darkened. “Yeah. He is.”Then her gaze settled on me, serious.“But right now, Laney… all of this is legally yours.” She paused. “No matter what happens to Ashwood Pack. You were his proposed mate and heir, and he verbally passed everything to you in front of more than fifty pack members.” Shianne said in awe. "All legally binding."We kept digging.Hours passed. The sun moved across the sky. My back ached from hunching over files, and my eyes burned from reading Korr's cramped handwriting.And then I found it.A single sheet of paper, tucked into the back of a ledger marked "Personal Holdings."A property deed.I pulled it out slowly, hands trembling."Shianne."She looked up. "What?""Did Korr ever mention owning property south of here? About a hundred and f
After carefully searching all of my father's documents and re-reading my mother's diaries, I learned nothing new. Time to search Black Talon, of course, River and Cade insisted on coming, along with four Iron Fang bikers and Antonia.The convoy was excessive and obvious and exactly the kind of show of force that would make everyone nervous.But I didn't argue.Not after the lake. Not after the silence that had settled between us like a wall.Beta Shianne met us at the border, her expression carefully neutral. "Alpha.""Shianne." I climbed out of the SUV, leaving my entourage behind. "I need to see Korr's office."Her eyebrows rose. "Any particular reason?""I'm looking for answers. And I think he might have left some behind."She studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "This way."Korr's office was exactly what I expected—dark wood, leather furniture, the kind of space designed to intimidate. Bookshelves lined two walls, filled with ledgers and files and documents that probably ha







