로그인Bella's POVI ran the third switchback eleven times before I let myself stop.Draven hadn't come down to the track that morning — pack business. Thor had said something about the southern boundary that needed his attention before midday.I told myself I was relieved, and that it didn't matter whether he was here or not, but these days I'd told myself a lot of things that didn't hold up well under examination, and this was one of them.His absence let me focus on the bike instead of him, which was its own kind of relief since I didn't have to listen to him nitpick everything I was doing wrong.By the time I cut the engine, my arms were shaking in a good way — the evidence that I'd actually pushed myself instead of just going through the motions.I walked the bike back to the garage myself, waved off Gordon's offer to help with the post-run check."I'll be back in an hour to do this," I said.I was hungry enough that lunch came before the shower.Jamie rushed to me the moment I walked i
Ronan's POVSeven days.I had been counting the days constantly. One would think I had gone mad.It had been a long time since I had been this excited for anything. But it didn't matter, because I would soon get what I wanted.Seven days and Bella would be on a course.Against me.She was frail but determined and stubborn, so I knew she wouldn't reject the challenge.I stood at the window of the temporary quarters the council had arranged, close enough to the rogue territory that I could smell the pine and woodsmoke of it on a clear morning, if the wind was right.Both parties were required to be within a day's ride of the course by race week. My men had set up three miles east in a cluster of buildings the council used for exactly this purpose — neutral ground, close enough for inspection rights, far enough from both packs that neither could claim provocation.I had been here for four days.Four days of looking at that treeline and wondering if I would catch a glimpse of her, even th
Bella's POVThe moment I got on the bike, everything felt wrong before I even started the engine.It wasn't the bike itself — Cade had built this one and I had worked with it a few times with him so I knew every bolt and cable and the particular way the frame sat under pressure.The bike was right.It was me doing something wrong, the way I was sitting on it, the way my hands found the grips and then second-guessed the finding, my body had forgotten what it felt like to be on a bike for the thrill of it.Ten years.I hadn't let myself count it until now, sitting on the bike in the early morning with the crew ranged along the run-off and Draven standing three feet away watching me with his arms folded and nothing on his face that could tell me what he was thinking.Ten years was a long time to forget something that had once been as natural as breathing."You're sitting too far back," Draven said.I adjusted."Further."I moved forward on the seat and felt the weight distribution shift
Bella's POV"I think I'm going to leave," I muttered as I rose to my feet, running my hands through my hair."We need to talk about this," he roared but I waved him off."I need some air, we can talk about it later," I hissed as I walked out of Draven's office the same way I had entered it.This time though my mind was in more turmoil than when I had walked in.I understood why Draven wanted to talk about this now. If I was the one racing then a lot of things changed. I would need a new bike and I would have to relearn how to ride. I hadn't done it since my parents died.But I didn't work that way. I needed to process things for a while and make my own decisions. I had planned to use this race to free myself from Ronan's control, to take my revenge. This changed things."Where are you going?" I turned to the voice. It was Thor leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest looking like he'd been through hell and back."I need some air," I mumbled and he nodded."I can un
Bella's POVThor found me as we made our way back to the garage. I saw his face before he said anything and I stopped walking.Jules nearly walked into my back."What?" I said.Thor looked at Jules, then at Gordon, then back at me."Draven needs you," he said shortly. "Now."Jules and Gordon exchanged glances but I ignored it and waved them off."I'll catch up, tell Cade," I said to them. Gordon nodded but Jules looked like he was about to say something until Gordon dragged him off. I fell into step beside Thor going the other direction."What is it?" I asked."Council representative," he said. "He arrived forty minutes ago.""No advance notice?" I asked, frowning and he nodded."None," he confirmed. "Full documentation, council seal, everything legitimate on paper.""Why am I going?""He asked for you specifically," Thor said. "By name. Has a report that apparently requires your direct acknowledgment. Can't go through Draven."I kept walking, keeping my face neutral while my mind wor
Draven's POVRain was coming, I could smell it in the air as my paws pressed against the dry soil.I had been running for almost three miles past the northern border stretch when Thor's howl echoed along the forest. That was an alarm.My paws scratched along the grass as I pushed a burst of speed flying across the plain to catch up with his howl. The closet I got my wolf caught the scent of the runner before I heard the footsteps — one of the younger pack members, barely patched in, moving fast enough through the trees that I shifted my direction without breaking pace.He slowed down when he found me, breathing hard. I shifted to my human form in barely two minutes exhaling sharply, grabbing the folded note he held in his hand without speaking and I opened the message.Representative from the Alpha Council. Arrived twenty minutes ago. Waiting in your office. Come back.I read it twice.Then I folded it and looked to the young cub“ Tell him I'll finish the run,the rep can wait” I mu
Draven’s POVThe Bloodline Council hall had never been a place I entered willingly. Nor have they ever dared to summon me before.Even the air inside it felt controlled in a way I did not respect. Too many signatures of power. Too many wolves who believed that age and titles were enough to command
Bella’s POVThe days after the dinner returned to something dangerously close to normal.Not peaceful. Not comfortable. Just… quiet in a way that felt temporary, like the pack itself was holding its breath and waiting for something else to happen.I told myself that was better. Quiet meant fewer ac
Bella’s POVThe dining hall felt too large for just the two of us.Not because it was empty, but because everything inside it seemed carefully arranged to remind me that I did not belong here.The polished table stretched endlessly between Draven and me, filled with food I barely touched, silverwar
Ronan's POV“You shouldn’t be speaking to your father like this, Ronan,”Jennifer said sharply, her voice trembling but firm enough to push through the tension in the room. “Even if he has committed mistakes in the past, he is still your father, and he is still the one who built the foundation you







