INICIAR SESIÓN"Let her go. I'm the one you want." Lena stood alone at the iron gates with her hands open at her sides. Beyond the bars, the road was packed with wolves. Forty of them, maybe more, in human shape and in fur, all silent. In front of them stood Elder Corvin, perfectly calm, with a rolled scroll tucked under one arm. Beside him, tied to a post, was Poppy. Her mouth was taped shut. Her hair had come loose, and there was a bruise on her cheek. But when she saw Lena, her eyes went wide with fury, and she shook her head so hard her ponytail whipped from side to side. "Miss Hart," Corvin said warmly. "How good of you to join us." "Take the tape off her mouth." "In a moment." "Now." Something moved in her voice, deep and low, and a few of the wolves flinched. Corvin's smile thinned. He nodded to a guard, who ripped the tape off Poppy's face. "Ow!" Poppy yelped. "Rude! That was waxed, you animals!" "Poppy," Lena said. "Are you hurt?" "I'm furious, that's what I am!" Poppy glared at
"Down here," Victor said. "Quietly."He pressed a hand against the stone wall behind his study fireplace. A hidden door groaned open, and cold air rushed up from a stairwell Lena had never known existed. Kane lit a lantern. Naomi gripped Lena's hand so tightly her fingers went numb."How long has this been here?" Lena whispered."Since before I was Alpha," Victor said. "Only three people have ever stood in this room. My father, myself, and Adrian.""And Kane?""Now Kane." Victor glanced at his son. "You were never meant to see it this soon.""Dad, if you've been lying to us—""I'll answer everything. But stay close."The stairs spiraled deep underground. At the bottom, they stepped into a round chamber carved from black stone, lined with shelves of old books and sealed iron chests. In the center stood a plain stone table. On it lay a long, curved dagger wrapped in white cloth.Victor unwrapped it slowly.The blade was pale silver, etched with tiny crescent moons from hilt to tip. It l
"Lena?" Kane's voice sounded far away, like he was calling from the bottom of a well. She heard it, but she couldn't turn her head. Something was rising inside her, hot and fast and enormous, and every nerve in her body was screaming. "Lena, look at me." "I can't," she whispered. "Kane, something's wrong." "I'm here." "My skin feels too small." Her fingers burned. She looked down and watched, horrified, as her nails stretched into curved silver claws, sharp as razors. A sound escaped her throat. It wasn't a scream. It was lower than that. The four gray wolves in the room went completely still. Then, one by one, they dropped. First to their bellies, then to their chins, whimpering, ears flat against their skulls. The biggest one rolled onto its back and bared its throat. "What are they doing?" Lena gasped. "Submitting," Theo breathed. He had backed against the wall, wide-eyed. "They're submitting to you. I've never seen that. Not once. Not even to Victor." "Make it stop!" "
"Sit down, Lena," Ronan Voss said pleasantly. "Your mother and I were just discussing which of you should die first." Lena didn't sit. She stood in front of Naomi's chair with her hands curled into fists, and for once she didn't try to hide how badly they were shaking. "Let her go." "Of course." Ronan smiled. "As soon as we've had a little chat." "I don't chat with kidnappers." "What a charming thing to say." He crossed to the fireplace and poured himself a glass of amber liquid from a crystal decanter. "I'm not a kidnapper, my dear. Your mother walked into my territory on her own two feet. She came to bargain." Lena looked down. "Mom?" Naomi's eyes were wet. "I wanted to end it before the trial. I thought if I offered myself..." "You thought you could trade yourself for me?" "It's what mothers do." "It's what idiots do!" Lena's voice cracked. "He doesn't want you! He wants me!" "Smart girl," Ronan murmured. "Just like your father." "Don't talk about him." "Why not? I kne
"Don't," Kane said. "Whatever you're about to do, don't."Lena was already pulling on her boots. Her hands were shaking so badly she had to try three times to tie the laces."She's my mother.""I know.""She went alone. In the middle of the night. With a button from Corvin's coat stuck to her note.""I know, Lena. We'll find her." He stepped in front of the door. "But not like this.""Then how?""With a plan.""I don't have time for a plan!" Her voice cracked. "Every minute I stand here, she's further away. Move, Kane.""No.""Move!""No." His eyes were gold at the edges, but his voice stayed soft. "Look at me. If you walk out that door, Corvin gets exactly what he wants. A scared girl running into the dark, with no pack and no protection."Lena's chest heaved. She wanted to scream at him, to shove him out of the way, and she hated that some small part of her knew he was right."Then think," she said. "Fast."Victor stepped into the doorway, already dressed in a dark coat. Mrs. Bell s
"Seize her!"Brask moved first. He crossed the room in two strides, a huge hand reaching for Lena's arm. She didn't even have time to scream.Kane was faster. He slammed into Brask's chest and sent him crashing into a bookcase. Claws burst from his fingers, and his eyes burned gold."Touch her again," he snarled, "and I'll tear your arm off.""Kane, stand down!" Victor's voice cracked across the room like thunder.It wasn't just loud. It was heavy, and it pressed on Lena's chest until her knees almost buckled. The guards behind Corvin dropped to one knee. Selene staggered and caught the back of a chair. Even Brask, sprawled among fallen books, lowered his gaze.Kane did not kneel, but his claws slowly curled back into fingers."Thank you," Victor said quietly. He stepped between Lena and the council. "Now. Elder Corvin. You are standing in my home.""I am standing in the home of a pack Alpha who has hidden a condemned bloodline," Corvin said, his smile gone. "That makes it the council







