LOGINWinter's shadows had teeth now.Not literal teeth, but the effect was similar. When she focused her magic during training, the darkness that pooled around her hands could strike out like living things. Fast. Sharp. Levi had stepped back the first time she'd managed it, genuine surprise crossing his face before approval replaced it.That had been yesterday. Today Winter sat in the same training cavern practicing the technique alone. The observers had thinned out slightly over the past week (Olivia's rumors losing momentum as Winter continued not betraying anyone), but a few witches still watched from the shadows. Making sure she didn't do anything suspicious with her increasingly dangerous magic.Winter ignored them. Her focus stayed on the shadow tendril she'd coaxed into existence, watching how it moved in response to her thoughts. Slower now, controlled instead of instinctive. She could make it curve left, extend forward, withdraw. The magic felt like an extension of her body. Nat
Alice went very still. "Winter." "You know her." Not a question. "She's in the sanctuary. Has been for weeks." Alice's voice was careful. Guarded. "Why are you asking about her?" "Because she's Ezekiel's mate and he's losing his mind trying to find her." Jax kept his tone level. "Was she taken against her will?" Alice's hands twisted in her lap. "That's complicated." "Uncomplicate it." "She was rescued. The wolves were keeping her prisoner, we brought her to safety." But Alice's voice held doubt. "At least, that's what we thought. But Winter's been sad since she arrived. Withdrawn. Like maybe she didn't want to be rescued after all." Relief and frustration hit Jax simultaneously. Relief that Winter hadn't left deliberately, frustration that the situation was exactly as messy as he'd feared. "Does she know Ezekiel is looking for her?" "I don't know. Maybe. The mate bond is still active, so she probably feels something through it." Alice looked at Jax directly. "Why does the Alp
Jax left the destroyed throne room and headed toward his own quarters. The citadel felt emptier than usual, echo-y in a way that had nothing to do with actual acoustics. Most of the staff had fled after Winter's disappearance, unwilling to deal with Ezekiel's deteriorating mood. Only the most loyal pack members remained, and even they kept their distance. His rooms were modest compared to Ezekiel's sprawling chambers. Just a bedroom, small sitting area, bathroom. Functional. Comfortable enough. He collapsed into the worn chair near his window and stared out at the moonlit courtyard below. Tomorrow night he'd meet Alice. Ask about Winter. Try to navigate the impossible situation of being loyal to his alpha while also trying not to start another war between species that had already destroyed each other once. ( When had his life become this complicated? He'd signed up to be beta, not a diplomatic negotiator between supernatural factions.) A knock on his door interrupted the brooding
Jax's mind spun through implications. If witches had taken Winter, that complicated everything. The witch enclaves were notoriously difficult to find, protected by layers of magical wards and geographical confusion. And if they'd specifically targeted Winter, that suggested they knew something about her heritage that Ezekiel didn't. (Or Winter had known all along. That possibility sat heavy in Jax's gut but he wasn't stupid enough to voice it.) "So we find the witches," Jax said. "Track them. Follow the magic." "Can't track magic." Ezekiel's frustration bled through every word. "Tried. Scouts tried. It disappears. Like they're not even there." This was the part Jax hated. The helplessness. Ezekiel was the strongest alpha in generations, cursed with power that made him nearly invincible, and he couldn't find one small woman with white hair. The irony would be funny if it wasn't destroying his alpha from the inside out. "We need a different approach," Jax said. Thinking out loud no
Jax had seen Ezekiel destroy furniture before. Chairs, mostly. The occasional table when pack disputes got particularly heated. Once, memorably, an entire bookshelf when a visiting alpha had made the mistake of questioning Ezekiel's authority during the blood moon.But this was different.The throne room looked like a battlefield. Shattered stone littered the floor where Ezekiel had ripped chunks from the walls. Deep claw marks gouged the ancient pillars. The massive oak table where the pack council usually gathered had been reduced to splinters. And in the center of the destruction, Ezekiel stood with his back to the door, shoulders heaving, both hands clenched into fists that still dripped blood.Jax cleared his throat. Carefully. "You know the masons are going to charge extra for this."Ezekiel's head turned slightly. Not enough to actually look at Jax, just acknowledging his presence. His profile was sharp in the torchlight, jaw set, golden eyes fixed on some distant point only
Alice studied Winter's face in the crystal light. Whatever she saw there made her expression shift into resignation. "You're going to do it anyway, aren't you?" "Maybe. I don't know." Winter pulled her hand back and wrapped her arms around her knees again. "Right now I'm just trying to get through each day without Olivia spreading new rumors or the Council deciding I'm too risky to keep around." "For what it's worth," Alice said quietly, "I don't think you're a spy. I think you're exactly what you look like. A girl caught in an impossible situation trying to figure out where she belongs." Levi had said almost the same thing. The repetition should be comforting but just made Winter feel more trapped. Everyone could see what she was (confused, divided, struggling), but no one had solutions. Just sympathy and warnings to be careful. "I should go back," Alice said reluctantly. "Jax is visiting tonight. we're having dinner together." That was new information. "Jax? The Alpha King'
The silence he left behind was louder than a scream. Winter sat frozen on the hard wooden chair, her entire being vibrating with the aftershocks of his presence. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of fractured images: the terrifying intensity of his golden eyes, the shocking heat of his body so close t
A tremor ran through her, a violent shudder she couldn’t control. She wrapped her arms around herself, her teeth chattering. His eyes narrowed further, a flicker of deep annoyance in their golden depths. Her weakness, her fear, it was like a grating noise, a flaw in the perfect, cold silence of hi
She sat up, her heart pounding. the room was silent. Empty. But the feeling was back. Stronger this time. The hum of the bond was a distinct thrum in her blood, a resonant frequency that made the hairs on her arms stand up. He was close. She slid off the high bed, her bare feet silent on the co
This must be Elspeth, Winter thought, recalling the name from Jax's earlier comment. She had served the Citadel for a long time, and her loyalty was to the Alpha King alone. The woman’s eyes, the color of slate, flickered over Winter once. It wasn’t a glance; it was a judgment. It was a look that







