LOGINTalia's POVNicole grabbed me before I could do anything stupid.Mason didn't even flinch—just slammed the door shut like I wasn't a second away from tearing him apart. My fists curled so tight my knuckles ached. I forced myself to breathe, slow and controlled, even though everything inside me screamed to attack."Let go," I exhaled when I finally trusted myself enough to speak.Nicole hesitated, then released me."You need to control yourself," he warned, studying me like I was something dangerous. Maybe I was. "What were you going to do to him?"I didn't answer.Because I didn't know.What had I been about to do?‘Kill him,’ my wolf snarled darkly.A shiver crawled down my spine."Your powers... they're stronger," Nicole continued quietly. "And harder to control."I sank onto the edge of the bed, exhaustion weighing on me. "My emotions are everywhere," I muttered. "Whatever this power is, it feeds on them. Responds to them. And it drains my energy every single time."Nicole frowned,
Talia’s POV It’s been three days since I ran from my pack. Three days since the council erased me like I never existed. I stare at my reflection in the mirror, waiting to see… something. A crack, a change, proof that I’m different now. But I look the same—just tired. Bone-deep tired. The kind of tired that sleep doesn’t heal. ‘I miss my mate,’ my wolf whispered, her voice raw and small. My chest tightened. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. If I think about him too long, I’ll break again—and I don’t have time to fall apart anymore. Three days. That’s all I gave myself to rest, to breathe, to grieve the life that was stolen from me, to grieve the man that was stolen from me. Now, it’s time to move. If I’m going to take back my place as Luna—my place beside him—then I need to understand what’s inside me. My power. The thing the council fears. I’ve watched it, I’ve felt it. It always demands something from me. Last time, I’d completely lost consciousness. It drains my energy. And now
Nicole’s POV I watched the sun rise slowly over the horizon, watched the darkness fade away, watched the first speck of snow drift down and melt into nothing. Through it all, only one thought remained on my mind. Cassian was gone. Her voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to her. She was sitting upright, hair still matted, clothes still worn, eyes puffy and hollow. She didn’t get any sleep. She’d spent majority of the night tossing restlessly and mumbling her mate’s name. “You look…” I hesitated, because no word fit. “…awake, at least.” She cracked a smile—or tried to. And failed. “Did you get any sleep?” she asked quietly. “Ready to talk about it?” I countered, because the questions stacking in my chest were too heavy to ignore. Her shoulders sagged. That tiny movement hurt more than anything she could have said. And she told me everything. Cassian forgetting her. Being locked away. The trial. The council’s manipulation. Mrs. Alanna. Alpha Black. Her mother
Nicole’s POV Whatever Alpha-male spell I’d been under shattered the second I heard her name. It was like someone punched the air out of my lungs. I pushed off the wall before I could think, instinct taking over. “Where is she?” Magnus didn’t answer. His jaw tightened instead, eyes flicking toward Mason—as if he needed permission to breathe. That alone told me everything was bad. I didn’t wait for approval. I brushed past him, following the lingering trail of her scent down the hallway. My heart hammered in my chest, palms damp, head spinning with too many questions that I didn’t have the strength to face the answers to. Why was she here? What happened to Cassian? What the hell happened to the Pack? Reality slammed into me so hard I nearly stumbled. I rounded the corner— And stopped breathing. She stood there between two guards like a criminal being escorted to execution, their hands tight on her arms as if she were something dangerous. As if she wasn’t the Luna who once he
Nicole’s POV “I have to leave.” Mason didn’t respond. He just kept flipping through paperwork like I wasn’t standing right there, losing my damn sanity. “I’m talking to you, Mason.” Silence greeted me. He didn’t react, not even a twitch. I clenched my jaw, feeling the frustration coil tight in my chest. It’s been four days since that strange bastard dumped me back here—four days of being locked inside a pack that wasn’t mine, with no word, no updates, no movement. Just waiting. Rotting. I was done. My fingers brushed the doorknob. “You don’t understand.” His voice cut through the room like a blade. “If you go out there, Nicole, you’ll be taken back. Magnus risked too much for you to just stroll back into Serena’s arms.” I froze. Of course. Of course that’s the part he cared about. I turned, glaring at him. “That’s all you care about then,” I muttered. “Magnus.” He snapped. “What the hell, Nicole—” “I have too much at stake,” I bit out, anger spilling into my words. “
Talia's POV I groaned lowly. My head throbbed. My body felt heavy—too heavy to move. Where was I? As if summoned, the memories came crashing—hard and painful. Cassian. The trial. My loss of control. I jerked upright, glancing around. I was on a bed—my bed. This place, these walls—it was familiar, familiar in a way that tugged at my heart. I was in my room. My childhood room. How— The door creaked open, snapping my attention to it. I hoped for Cassian, expected my mother, but I didn't expect— "Alpha Black." He didn't smile, didn't react. He simply walked in, his presence filling the space with that familiar air of authority he carried. My mother trailed behind him. She didn't look put together as she always did, her hair wasn't in its regular ponytail, her skin wasn't as radiant as it usually was, she didn't have makeup on. She looked... normal, real. Her green eyes locked onto me. I didn't see the usual contempt or disappointment in them. For the first time,







