LOGINThe moment I hear footsteps coming closer, panic grips me instantly.My heart pounds so hard against my chest that I can barely hear anything else. All I can think about is the scent of sex still clinging to the air around us.Thank goddess we are outside.The cold night breeze sweeps across the balcony, carrying most of it away, but I still feel exposed standing here beside Alpha Aiden after everything that just happened.I glance toward him and see him calmly adjusting his jacket like nothing happened at all.Meanwhile, my thoughts are spiraling.What happens if someone sees us together?I quickly smooth down my wrinkled dress, trying to make myself look normal again just as the balcony door swings open.And then I see her.Shirley.My stomach drops instantly.To everyone else in the pack, Shirley is sweet, graceful, perfect. People adore her. Ever since her brother left her under Alpha Aiden’s care, she’s been treated like someone precious.But I know exactly who she really is.A t
I can’t explain it.It feels like something has taken over every thought in my head, like pieces I never understood are finally starting to fall into place.But none of it makes sense.Why didn’t I feel the bond before now?Could Vera really be my mate?My second chance mate?“No,” I mutter under my breath, dragging a hand through my hair as I pace across my office.The word feels impossible, yet my wolf refuses to reject it.Instead, he’s restless. Awake. Obsessed.And suddenly every moment with her starts replaying in my head differently.The pull toward her.The way my wolf always reacted around her.The possessiveness I could never explain.Goddess.Was this the reason all along?I stop pacing and stare at the journal sitting on my desk.My mother gave it to me weeks ago, but I never bothered reading it. At the time, it felt like just another one of her secrets.Then Troy showed me the camera footage.And now everything surrounding my mother’s death feels twisted together like a j
“We can’t do this.”My voice comes out breathless, barely sounding like mine. Every part of my body feels set on fire, like the bond between us finally snapped into place after the truth came out.And I can see it in his eyes too.Maybe he feels it now.Maybe that’s why he looks so torn, so desperate, like he no longer knows what to do with himself. Yet the only thing grounding him is the way he keeps holding onto me.Still, he nudges my thighs farther apart, his forehead resting briefly against my shoulder.“Yes,” he says roughly, his hands tightening on my hips. The heat in his voice sends another wave of weakness through me.“Ready for me?” he growls against my ear, the sound vibrating through my entire body.“Y-yes.”He pushes into me in one hard thrust, and the breath leaves my lungs instantly. I’ve been anticipating this moment from the second he touched me. The stretch burns at first, overwhelming and intense, but it quickly melts into something dangerously good as he fills me
Vera The world tilts beneath me, and suddenly I feel so damn dizzy. My knees nearly give out.“My real mother…” My voice comes out small, barely louder than a whisper, so faint I can hardly hear it myself.He doesn’t soften.“What are you talking about? You were never born into the Vale family.”A sharp ringing fills my ears. Loud. Hollow. Like something deep inside me has been struck awake. My heart twists painfully in my chest, squeezing so hard it steals my breath.“You were taken,” he says calmly, like he hasn’t just ripped my whole world apart with a few cold words.My body feels strange, tight, restless, almost trembling like some hidden part of me is fighting to remember what my mind refuses to accept.He steps closer, his eyes fixed on me.“And whatever is inside you, it’s not a curse. It’s awakening. Slowly. You do not belong to the Vale bloodline. You were never meant to survive.”Pain pounds behind my eyes. My head feels like it might split open, and all I want is for him
I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. I don’t know who I'm expecting her mate to be. “My mate is Troy.”My eyes widen as I stare at her.“Oh, goddess. You finally snatched the pack sweetheart, huh? He has such a good heart. You’re so damn lucky.”“I know, right?” she says with a soft laugh. “He’s been nothing but sweet to me, Vera. He adores me, and the mate bond between us is so intense that whenever I’m not near him, I crave him more than anything else. Sometimes it even scares me.”I understood the mate bond more than anyone, but my story was different. My mate didn’t accept me.“Trust the process,” I say quietly. “Even before Troy became your mate, he was already a sweet guy. You shouldn’t be scared.”“You sure?”Before I could answer, I felt a presence around us.Mai’s eyes widened instantly, like she already knew who it was. I turn and see Troy standing a few feet away, staring at her like I wasn’t even there, like she was the only person on the balcony.He br
“Are you okay?”I see the concern in Alpha Damon’s eyes as I stumble, his arm quickly tightening around my waist before I can fall. My breath catches in my throat. I still can’t believe I slipped into Alpha Aiden’s mind and called him an asshole. It’s not what he might do that shakes me—it’s the fact that I did it at all. There are things happening inside me that I don’t understand, powers waking up without warning, and that fear sits heavy in my chest.Then I feel his stare.It's like a hand around my throat, impossible to ignore. A second later, I hear through the crowd. My heart starts pounding so hard it feels loud in my ears. My body remembers him before I even give it permission—the crushing weight of his presence, that dark pull, that same suffocating dominance that once kept me trapped beneath him.For one weak moment, my knees almost give in.But I force myself to stay still.He doesn’t get that power over me anymore. I am no longer his slave. I may be cursed enough to be tie







