LOGIN"The pull is different now, isn't it? That fierce need to shield the flicker of life inside you?"Willow Grant Log met Roman Vale Ro’s gaze, her fingers trembling as she pressed them against the flat skin of her abdomen. "It’s a tidal wave, Roman. I didn't expect the wolf to claim this so quickly."Roman didn't speak, but his golden-gray eyes never strayed from her hand. He shifted on the edge of the infirmary cot, his large fingers twitching at his sides. He looked like a predator trying to hold back the urge to pounce, desperate to feel the warmth of her skin where their future was knitting itself together."You’ve spent your whole life hunting for a pack to call your own, haven't you?" Willow whispered, her heart aching for the Alpha who had spent years in a cold, solitary reign. "You’ve wanted the warmth of a hearth and the laughter of pups since the day you were exiled.""I have survived," Roman rumbled, his voice thick. "But I have never truly lived. Not without you."Willow too
"The blood has already left your face, Vincent. You look as though the moon has abandoned you," Roman Vale Ro rumbled, his voice echoing like shifting stone within the iron-clad walls of the silver pits.Vincent Hale scrambled back, his shackles rattling against the damp floor. "You cannot do this to me! The Council will never allow it! I am an Elder of the Southern Verge!"Willow Grant Log felt the ground begin to heave beneath her boots. The scent of damp stone and the sharp, acidic tang of silver in the air made her head swim. The world tilted, the torchlight on the walls blurring into long, jagged streaks of amber."The Council follows the Alpha, and the Alpha has seen your treason," Roman replied, stepping away from the bars to wrap a steadying arm around Willow’s waist. "I offered you the respect due to your age for years. Now, you will face my wrath. You should have considered the cost before you conspired with Luca Ferraro to ambush my mate. You sought to bleed the Vale; now y
"So? How was the audience with the Great Mother?"Willow Grant Log released a heavy breath, sinking into the furs of the sofa. "It was civil. She was welcoming enough, but the tension was thick. Roman Vale Ro warned me she would be guarded, and he was right."They had detoured to the high-altitude sanctuaries of the Italian Alps to seek her out before the final trek to the Eastern Peak. Roman had been hesitant; his focus was solely on the bond and the sanctuary of their journey, and he knew the former Luna would not be thrilled by the interruption. She only permitted Roman and Matthew Ross to breach her perimeter on the winter solstice. But Willow had been adamant. She needed to understand why the woman who bore the Alpha kept such a desolate distance from her own blood. She understood the trauma of the Great War that had ravaged Redwood Bay, but surely the scars had faded enough to let her son in.The meeting had yielded no revelations. The former Luna spoke only in riddles and hollo
"Marco DeLuca truly is a formidable ally, Roman. Why does your wolf bristle at his shadow?" Willow Grant Log asked, shifting her weight to lean more heavily against the Alpha of the Vale.Roman Vale Ro snorted, his powerful arms tightening around her waist as they stood on the balcony of the Vale Compound. "The man is a silver-tongued rogue to any female he deems worthy of his courtly mask. To the rest of the world, he is a predator who wouldn't blink twice if they were caught in a trap."Willow rolled her eyes, her turquoise gaze catching the moonlight. "Regardless of your grumbling, he stood between us and the silver blades today. We owe him a formal gesture of gratitude. Perhaps we should invite him to share the kill at the next Great Hunt dinner?"Roman grunted, a low vibration in his chest that sounded suspiciously like a growl. "I suppose I am indentured to that Italian bastard now," he muttered. When Willow arched a skeptical brow at him, he cleared his throat. "Perhaps. But no
"Roman is waiting for your signal," the male murmured, his thumb grazing the line of her jaw as he pulled back. "The pack elders and the Grant family are gathered in the great hall. They have been pacing the floorboards since the sun dipped below the pines. Do you feel strong enough to face them, or shall I send word that the Luna requires more solitude?"Willow Grant Log shifted, her muscles stiff from the deep, healing slumber of a werewolf. "You mean Elaine and Robert? When did they cross into the Vale?""The moment the bond-echo reached them. They scented your distress across the territory. Even Blair and Matthew Ross abandoned their retreat in the Northern Peaks, running through the night to reach the Compound.""How did the news reach them so swiftly?""Evan Grant. He was on the link with you when the ambush began. He heard the silver clashing against the stones. The guards didn't have time to sever the connection before the first strike." Roman’s golden eyes darkened, the beast
Roman Vale Ro’s pupils bled into a void of predatory ink. “You recall the slaughter on the trail when we were trekking back from the ancient den I secured for us? The very first time I led you into the deep woods?”Willow Grant Log’s eyes widened, her pulse skipping. “Vincent was the architect of that ambush?”Roman nodded, the bone-deep tension in his jaw threatening to snap. “It was his scent on the wind even then. I was the quarry he sought to gut, but dragging you into the crosshairs of a silver-tipped trap was a sin the moon will never forgive.”Willow exhaled, a shaky, jagged sound.“So that is the root of the frost between you and Luca Ferraro. That is why the air turned to ice at Blair’s mating ceremony when Luca tried to approach my side.”“When Vincent brought the offer from the Northern rogue clans, his hunger for me to sign away the Vale’s hunting rights was too sharp. I smelled the rot,” Roman growled. “I had Marco DeLuca plant a psychic dampener and a listening spell on
His eyes snapped up from the screen of his device. Standing in the center of the den, the Alpha’s features mirrored the storm of fury radiating from her. He had been glaring at his handheld unit with lethal intensity when she had crashed through the heavy oak doors. Willow knew exactly what was spi
Willow shook her head, more defiant, unbidden tears tracking through the faint dust on her cheeks."No matter what logic you use, the memory of that night is a brand on my soul. You shattered me. You..." She bit her lip until the tang of copper filled her mouth. "You exiled me when the bond should
Seeing the rigid set of his shoulders and the way his pupils bled into the dark gray of his irises made Willow second-guess the daring cut of her silk dress. They were entirely isolated in the coastal silence of Redwood Bay, far from the prying eyes of the pack. He hadn't even caught sight of the n
The way Blair, Matthew, and Roman spoke of Vincent Hale, one would think he was a paragon of pack wisdom and paternal kindness. To Willow, however, he felt like a predator lurking in high grass. Still chilled by the mockery in his smirk, she tore herself away from the garden window and retreated in







