LOGINDANIELLE'S POVThe officer escorts me down a corridor I don't recognize, and I realize, with a fresh wave of dread, that they're taking me somewhere new.My new cell.I hate it before I even step inside.It's smaller than the holding room. Stained concrete walls, a thin mattress on a metal frame, a toilet in the corner with absolutely no privacy whatsoever, and the smell of bleach fighting a losing battle against a stench far worse under it.The officer shoves the door shut behind me, and the sound of the lock slamming into place sends a bone-deep and final shiver crawling down my spine.I sink onto the corner of the mattress and let the tears come again, because what else is there to do.I can't believe this is my life now.I can't believe loving Xarion, genuinely, completely loving him, has landed me here, in a concrete box, wearing an ugly jumpsuit, separated from everyone and everything I've ever known."Stupid," I whisper to myself, pressing my palms against my face. "Stupid, stu
DANIELLE'S POV"I told you."Skye drops a plastic tray of food onto the table between us and sits down across from me, her expression a careful mix of exasperation and something that might be pity, which is somehow worse."I warned you, Danielle," she continues, folding her arms. "I told you to be careful. I told you not to do anything reckless. And what did you do?"I stare at the tray instead of looking at her, because if I look at her right now I'm going to cry again, and I've already cried enough today to last several lifetimes."You don't have to remind me," I murmur, my voice scraped thin."I think I do," Skye replies, though her tone softens slightly. "Because clearly the lesson didn't land the first hundred times I said it."I press my palms against my eyes, my elbows on the table, the orange jumpsuit they made me wear scratching uncomfortably against my skin every time I move. I never thought I'd be wearing something like this. I never imagined a version of my life that invo
MEGAN'S POVMaverick and Makayla are standing there, and the second they see me, their faces light up, and they walk in without waiting for an invitation."Mommy!" Makayla announces, already climbing onto the couch. "How are you feeling?""We wanted to check on you," Maverick adds, settling beside his sister, his eyes scanning my face with that unsettling attentiveness he always has.Guilt tightens in my chest. They're four years old and they're checking in on me like seasoned caretakers."I'm feeling well, sweethearts," I reply, walking over and sitting on the corner of the coffee table across from them. "Thank you for asking."But Maverick's frown deepens, and he leans forward slightly. "Are you sure?""You look like something happened," Makayla adds, cocking her head, studying me the way she studies everything, like a tiny, suspicious detective."I'm okay," I insist, keeping my voice light. "Maybe it's just the healing. My body's still putting itself back together. That can make a
MEGAN'S POVI close my hotel room door behind me and lean back against it, closing my eyes.For a second I just stand there, letting the silence of the room settle over me, and I feel everything I just did outside the hotel entrance crash into me all at once, delayed, like the aftershock of something that already happened too fast to process the first time.I genuinely wasn't expecting to see Xarion today. Not there. Not with flowers, of all things, standing outside like he'd rehearsed how he'd hand them to me and still couldn't quite land it.Turning them down nearly broke something in me right there on the pavement. I had to dig my nails into my own palm just to keep my voice even, just to keep my face arranged into an expression that looked like resolve instead of the mess I actually was underneath it.That was hard.That was, without question, one of the hardest things I've had to do, harder than I expected it to be even though I knew it was coming.A tear breaks free before I can
XARION'S POVMegan's expression becomes noticeably colder the moment she hears the question. "That's none of your concern, Xarion."Fair enough.Brutally fair, actually, and I don't push it, mostly because I already know I won't like whatever answer she'd give me.I clear my throat and steer the conversation somewhere safer instead."Your driver," I say. "John. He's been caught."Megan's posture changes slightly, her attention locking in."He admitted his family was threatened," I continue. "That's why he assisted in your kidnapping. He didn't have a choice. They told him cooperate or watch his wife and kids pay for it."Megan's lips press together, but the hardness in her eyes softens fractionally. "I'm glad he's been caught at least. Regardless of his reasons.""Yeah." I nod once. "We shouldn't dwell on it though." I murmur, and then, because I can't think of a better transition and the flowers are starting to feel heavier by the second, I just hold them out to her. "Here."She loo
XARION'S POVI've been leaning against my car for almost ten minutes, holding a bouquet of flowers in front of this hotel like an idiot, trying to talk myself into walking inside.This is ridiculous.I'm a thirty-year-old Alpha. I've negotiated treaties with hostile territories and faced down rogue packs without breaking a sweat, and right now I'm leaning against my car in a parking lot, staring at a bunch of white peonies, wondering if they're too much, too little, or simply the wrong flower entirely. I'm also genuinely unsure whether walking through the hotel doors is a good idea or the worst one I've had all week.I should've asked Andrew. Andrew would've had an opinion, even an annoying one.But I didn't ask him, because Andrew would've made a comment about my hands shaking slightly, and my hands are not shaking, they're just resettling their hold on the stems.I keep running the scenario in my head.Megan opens the door and sees the flowers. She either softens, just a bit, enoug
XARION'S POVThe second I push through the glass doors of my company, my employees start greeting me."Good morning, Alpha Xarion.""Morning, sir.""Welcome, Alpha."I nod at each of them, offering polite smiles and calm responses as I make my way through the lobby.And then I see him.Andrew.He's
XARION'S POVI adjust my tie in the backseat of the car, checking my reflection in the window as my driver navigates through the city streets.The suit's perfectly tailored, jet black with subtle silver pinstripes, paired with a crisp white shirt and well-polished black leather shoes.I look good.
MEGAN'S POVThree months.It's been three months since the attack on my home, and standing here in this immaculate venue, surrounded by clean crystal floors and windows that look out over the city, it's almost hard to believe any of that even happened.Almost.But not quite.Even though they caught
XARION'S POVI’m leaning against the side of my car in the underground parking garage beneath the pack house, my hands braced on the hood, trying to get my breathing under control.But I can't when all I can think about is Megan.The taste of her lips when I kissed her. The way she kissed me back,







