LOGINI went upstairs. Found the second door on the right. Knocked quietly. "Come in." Hope's voice. Muffled. Like she'd been crying. Fuck. I'd made her cry. Had devastated my mate before even realizing she was my mate. I opened the door. Hope was sitting on her bed, eyes red, looking—looking vulner
"I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Didn't want to—to make things awkward since we're friends and train together and—" I stopped. "I was being a coward. Should have been honest months ago instead of letting her build expectations." "Yes. You should have." No judgment in Dad's voice. Just observat
The Next Generation Caden pov I watched Hope Reed-Castellan leave with her family, and something in my chest twisted. She'd looked—gutted. Devastated. Like something had broken when we were talking. And I—I didn't understand why. We'd just been having normal conversation. Me and Emily planning
"Hope Reed-Castellan." Caden's voice. Was it my imagination or did it sound—different? Deeper? "You're avoiding something. What's wrong?" The way he said my name. The intensity in his gray eyes. The—the way he was looking at me like he could see through every excuse. Did he know? Did he feel the
The Next Generation Hope pov I stood with my family at the pack gathering, trying to focus on Alpha Marcus's speech about the anniversary of the Great Integration War. Twenty years. Twenty years since my parents' generation fought extremists who wanted to eliminate hybrid babies like me. Twent
"Months." I looked at Rose. At Hope sleeping peacefully despite violence that had erupted around her. "Rose, we might—we might be able to go home. Back to Crescent Moon. Back to our life. In months. Maybe weeks if Uncle Cas's hunts go well." "Home." She said it like prayer. "Nate, we can—we can re
The room erupted in debate—wolves arguing for and against, weighing risks, calculating odds. But I could see my father considering it. See the tactical wheels turning. "If we do this," he said finally, his Alpha voice cutting through the chaos. "If we commit to an offensive strike—we need total co
Emma's face again. Her trust. Her love. The future we were trying to build. I couldn't die here. The mercenary slashed again. I caught his wrist, twisting hard. Heard bones snap. He dropped the blade but caught me with a punch that sent me staggering. We grappled, both in human form now, stren
My Cheating Mate Jeremy pov The forest was silent as we moved into position. A hundred and ten wolves, spread across three strike teams, converging on the mercenary encampment from west, south, and east. The vampire contingent moved with us on the eastern flank—twelve shadows that barely disturb
I found him in human form, bleeding from multiple wounds, three mercenaries circling him like sharks. He'd shifted back—never a good sign. Meant he was too injured to maintain wolf form. Rage exploded through me. My wolf surged forward with protective fury. These bastards had hurt my father. My Al







