Luca It had only been twenty four hours since Valerie joined the pack but it felt like it had been a week. I was getting all kinds of concerns from everyone, even members I had never heard from had a concern about me bringing a human into our world. Today had been excruciatingly long, and I couldn't wait to take a cold shower and just lie down, undisturbed for a few hours. But I was not going to get my wish, At least not tonight, I could just tell. The air was thick with tension the moment I walked into the west wing. Cara was waiting for me just like I knew she would be. Her arms were crossed, her hips tilted in that familiar way that used to reel me in. Not anymore. We hadn't seen each other since I came back with Valerie but I had been dreading this conversation. “You’re avoiding me,” she said, the corner of her mouth twitching in a bitter smile.“I’ve been busy,” I replied coolly, walking past her and toward the lounge area. “Pack affairs. Valerie.” I said with a straight fa
The OutsiderI smoothed my trembling hands down the sides of my dress something the housekeeper had picked for me. It was a soft cream colored thing, delicate and modest, with lace at the sleeves. I had spent nearly twenty minutes trying to decide if I looked too human in it. Whatever that meant.The pack dining hall was buzzing with voices and energy when I entered. Max hadn’t arrived yet, but everyone else was already seated. They filled the long wooden table with effortless beauty and wild confidence. Men and women, tall and fierce looking, with golden skin and sharp features. Even when they laughed, it sounded like a warning.I swallowed hard and stepped forward.The talking stopped.Chairs scraped. Forks paused. All eyes landed on me and just like that, the air changed.They didn’t growl. They didn’t shout. They didn’t even speak.They just... stared. Which was worse, I would rather they say something than just shoot daggers at me. And then, as if I hadn’t even entered, the voic
LenaI had watched my mother suffer and get humiliated under the hands of alpha Brandon. Sometimes he humiliated her on purpose just to remind me of the power he held and what he could do with it. My mother was my only family and he knew she was my weakness and hurting her was hurting me. I thought my mom was going to be excited to get her freedom back, to stop working for the ungrateful Brandon and his pack,but that was not the case, her response surprised me. “I won’t go with you, Gina.”The words hit harder than I expected, even though I’d rehearsed this conversation in my head a hundred times.I stare at my mother as she stands by the fireplace, her thin frame stiff, her hands trembling slightly as they clutch the hem of her apron. Her eyes are tired more than tired. Worn. Hollowed out by years of servitude in Alpha Brandon’s packhouse. By years of being treated like nothing just because she’s an omega.Just like me.“Mom,” I say softly, stepping closer, “you don’t have to stay
LilaI linger in my room long after Mom leaves for dinner. I wish I could just go to bed and sleep it all off, but I really can't do that. The air feels heavier tonight. Like the estate itself is holding its breath.I told her I’d follow, but I can’t force myself to move yet. The weight in my chest is thick, clinging to every breath like fog. I stare out the tall windows at the Bloodfang estate gardens, the moonlight casting a silver glow over the hedges shaped like wolves.They’re beautiful. Pristine. But too sharp. Too perfect. Like this place.Too many corners that don’t feel like home.I thought I’d feel peace here, away from Brandon’s cruelty and the whispers that chased me every step. But instead, I feel invisible all over again just in a fancier dress.A fake mate in a real Alpha’s world.I run my hands down the silk of the dress a maid forced me into earlier. Red, backless, too tight at the waist. Ryan didn’t say we had to dress up for dinner, but everything about this place
LucaSome men play chess, I prefer war.Chess is predictable, an elegant dance of logic and control. But war? War is chaos disguised as purpose. The kind of chaos I’ve trained my whole life to bend to my will. Tonight, I’m done reacting.I’m done watching from the sidelines as they gut my life from the inside out.Now, I make the first move.The drive sits in the passenger seat of my car like a detonator. Every name, location, date burned into my memory after hours of poring through it with Lena beside me, her hands shaking as she translated code names into memories. Betrayals. Warnings.I pull up to the old factory on the edge of the docks. It’s barely lit, but I know better. There are eyes in the dark here. Watchers with fingers on triggers. Men who think they still control the board. Let them believe it.For one more night.I step out, dressed in black from head to toe. No guards approach not yet. That tells me everything I need to know. They’re not afraid. They still think I’m th
Lena. The gate creaks when it opens. I’ve asked a dozen times for someone to fix it, but today, the familiar sound feels like something ancient and final. Like a door closing behind me.I should’ve known the second Luca told me he found her.Not in words. Not directly. Just that look in his eyes again the one I thought had died the moment Lena vanished.But it was back.And now we’re here. Driving up the long gravel road to the house we grew up in. Home. If you could call it that anymore.I glance sideways at him. He hasn’t said much. Just focused on the road, hands firm on the wheel, brow tight. But I can feel it vibrating off him that silent ache, the tension that comes from loving someone you’re not sure you should trust.“She’s not coming with us?” I ask, breaking the silence.He doesn’t look at me. “She needed time. She’ll come later.”I nod, though the answer doesn’t satisfy me.I turn back to the window, watching the tall hedges blur past. When we were kids, I used to preten