MasukIvy's POVThe silence in the concrete room felt heavy and cold.My heart hammered against my ribs, each breath burning my raw throat. My hands trembled violently in the silver chains, but I held my head up high. The floor beneath my boots was slick with Garrett’s blood, yet I stood tall, refusing to bow to the men still breathing in the hallway.The two surviving hawk guards stared at me with wide, terrified eyes."What... what did she just do?" the younger guard choked out, his hand shaking as he kept his gun aimed at my chest. "Her eyes... they flashed silver! Beta blood doesn't do that!""I don't know!" the second guard yelled, wiping a sweat-stained hand across his face. "She's an Omega! She shouldn't have been able to throw Garrett across the room like that! The silver should have killed her wolf hours ago!"They didn't understand. Truthfully, I didn't fully understand it either.Deep inside my abdomen, the faint warmth of my child burned like a quiet ember. Vanya was still trapp
Ivy's POVGarrett’s heavy boot dug deeper into my stomach. The metal toe pinched against my skin through my thin sweater."Last chance, Ivy," Garrett growled, grabbing my throat tighter. "Where is Martha?"I gasped for air, my hands clawing at his thick leather gloves. My vision swam with dark spots. "My mother... is dead... she died... years ago...""Liar!" Garrett shouted. He pulled his fist back and slammed it straight into my face.Pain exploded across my nose and cheekbone. Blood burst from my nostrils, warm and metallic, filling my mouth and spilling down my chin. My head cracked hard against the concrete wall behind me."Aveline knows she's alive!" Garrett yelled, punching me in the ribs.A sharp, breaking pain shot through my side. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't scream. Tears of raw agony burned my eyes, mixing with the hot blood on my face."Where is she hiding?!" Garrett demanded. He grabbed my hair again, yanking my head back until my neck felt like it would snap. "Which hu
Ivy's POVThe heavy iron door at the end of the dark corridor didn't open. The stranger with the golden eyes never returned.Instead, the cold, stale air of the concrete cell grew heavier with every passing second. The pure silver chains wrapped around my raw wrists sizzled against my flesh, sending sharp, agonizing shocks of fire straight through my nervous system. Small wisps of white smoke rose from my skin, smelling of burnt hair and iron."Please..." I whimpered, my forehead pressed against the freezing, unpainted wall. "Vanya... please speak to me..."Inside my mind, my wolf was completely silent. The silver acted like a thick lead wall, choking out her voice and locking her magic away in the pitch black. I couldn't feel her strength. I couldn't feel her warmth.I was entirely alone.I shifted my hips on the thin, filthy mattress, trying to lift my hands to cover my stomach. The heavy chains rattled loudly against
Ivy's POVThe train whistle shrieked through the freezing night air, its sharp metallic echo reverberating off the brick buildings of Oakhaven. I sprinted toward the sound, but every step felt like driving broken glass into the soles of my feet.The heavy duffel bag slashed against my shoulder with every stride, bouncing violently against my spine. Rain had turned to slush, coating the cobblestones in a slippery slick of ice. My lungs burned like open flames, and the metallic taste of pure blood filled the back of my throat.Faster, Ivy! Vanya urged, her voice frantic, echoing inside the cavernous silence of my mind. They are right behind us! I can smell the damp fur! I can smell the iron on their armor!I didn't turn around. I didn't dare to look back. The rhythmic, heavy thud of massive paws echoed through the narrow alleyway behind me, cutting through the splash of my own frantic footsteps.Cassian’s tracking hounds.They hadn't just tracked me to the bakery; they were closing the
Ivy's POV Nora looked at me, seeing the raw determination in my eyes, and made her decision. "You can't stay here in Silver Creek, it's too close to the pack border," Nora said firmly, standing up and grabbing a small key from the wall. "I run a larger shop called The Morning Glaze in Oakhaven, two towns over. It's deep in human territory. You stay with me. You rest, you work, and you build your strength until your body and your wolf are ready." I looked at Nora, tears of gratitude stinging my eyes. "Thank you, Nora." "Now rest, sweetie," Nora said, touching my cheek gently. "Your new life starts today.” **** "The flour goes in the big brass bowl first, Ivy," Nora said gently, dusting her white apron with a quick brush of her hand. "Right, sorry," I murmured, snapping back from the dark haze that had clouded my brain all morning. I set the heavy paper sack down onto the wooden counter, my muscles aching with a heavy, dull fatigue. It had been three weeks since I crossed
Ivy's POVThe freezing rain poured down in relentless sheets, washing over my face and soaking through my tattered sweater as I pushed past the western scent boundary.Every step away from the pack lands felt like dragging heavy iron chains through thick mud, but the new, fragile life growing inside me gave my legs strength. My wolf, Vanya, curled tightly in the back of my mind, holding her breath as we stepped off the dirt trail and onto the cold, paved asphalt of the human world.By sunrise, the rain had stopped, leaving behind a thick, grey fog that blanketed the small border town of Silver Creek. Humans shuffled past me on the cracked sidewalks, huddled inside their coats, completely oblivious to the supernatural world thriving just a few miles beyond the pine trees. To them, I was just a bruised, homeless girl clutching a dirty duffel bag.My body ached with a deep, bone-crushing exhaustion. My jaw throbbed where Marcus had struck me, and the scrapes along my elbows stung with ev







