MasukClinton's POV I’ve been standing in front of Catherine’s apartment for over ten minutes, knocking until my knuckles ache, but she still refuses to open the door.She’s definitely in there.Ignoring me on purpose.I rest my forehead briefly against the door and let out a slow breath.“Catherine, please.”Nothing.Not even footsteps.Usually, she would at least yell at me through the door by now. Tell me to go to hell or call me annoying or... something.This silence feels different.Heavy.I drag a hand through my hair and lean back against the wall, staring at the floor while exhaustion settles deeper into my bones.I deserve this, honestly.I left her alone at the hospital without explanation and disappeared. Any normal person would be furious.The problem is, I didn’t know how to face her after Richard died.Even now, the thought still hits me so suddenly my chest tightens again.Richard.I close my eyes briefly.I really thought he’d always be there somehow.The idiot annoyed me h
Catherine's POV I don’t know how long I stay unconscious, but when my eyes finally open again, the first thing I see is the ceiling above me.White.Still.Quiet.I lie there staring at it while my head throbs faintly and my body feels too heavy to move properly. My mouth is dry. My chest hurts in that strange, deep way it’s been hurting all day.Then my brain catches up.Danny.The wolf.Bones snapping.Golden eyes.My stomach twists instantly.“No,” I whisper under my breath, shaking my head slowly at the ceiling. “No, that can’t be real.”I swallow hard and sit there trying to force logic back into my head because people don’t turn into animals. That doesn’t happen. None of this makes sense.I probably hallucinated the whole thing.Stress does crazy things to people.Maybe I hit my head after fainting.Maybe Danny drugged me somehow.Yeah.That has to be it.But then my eyes start burning again, and tears slide quietly down the sides of my face before I even realize I’m crying.I
Catherine's POV My phone rests on my thigh while I stare at Clinton’s name glowing on the screen.Still no call.No text.Nothing.The silence keeps stretching and stretching until it starts feeling personal.He dropped me off at the hospital after I fainted, then disappeared completely. No checkup. No explanation. Not even one stupid message asking if I’m okay.Typical Clinton.Whenever things finally start feeling stable between us, he somehow finds a way to ruin it.I unlock my phone again and scroll through my contacts slowly even though I already know where his name is. My thumb stops over it.Clinton.One click.That’s all it takes.But my hand just stays there, frozen.I sigh sharply and throw the phone onto the bed instead.“Forget him.”The words sound weak even to me.I press a hand against my chest because something still feels wrong inside me. Ever since this morning, my heartbeat hasn’t settled properly. It keeps skipping strangely, hard enough to make me stop breathing
Danny's POV By the time I get outside, Natasha’s car is already disappearing.Unbelievable.She really thinks she can destroy everything and drive away peacefully afterward.My jaw tightens as I head toward my car. I’m already imagining dragging her back here by force just so she can explain what gave her the confidence to walk into Catherine’s apartment and ruin my morning.I yank the car door open and slide inside.The engine hasn’t even started before my phone begins ringing.I almost ignore it.Honestly, whoever’s calling right now has terrible timing.I pull the phone from my pocket anyway, ready to curse the idiot out, but the second I see the screen, I pause.Mom.Of course.A long sigh leaves my mouth before I answer.“Hello, Mom.”“Where are you?”Straight to interrogation as usual.I lean back against the seat and close my eyes briefly.“Why does everybody suddenly care where I am today?”“Danny.”That tone.Sharp enough to cut through irritation instantly.I rub the back o
Danny's POV The second I reach Catherine’s apartment, I start pounding on the door hard enough to wake the entire building.My chest still hasn’t settled since seeing Clinton earlier. Blood all over him. Tears on his face. That broken look in his eyes when he whispered Catherine’s name.I keep hearing it over and over during the drive here.Please don’t be dead.Funny thing is, I didn’t even realize how badly I needed her alive until those thoughts started crawling into my head.The door finally unlocks.It opens slowly.And there she is.Relief hits me so hard it almost feels humiliating.Alive.Breathing.Standing right in front of me.She looks different. Pale. Exhausted. Her eyes are dull in a way I’ve never seen before, as if she hasn’t slept properly in days. Even the way she stands there feels heavy.My heart starts beating harder anyway.I almost pull her into my arms right there.Almost.Then somebody shoves past me from behind.I turn sharply.Natasha storms straight into t
Danny's POV It’s been two days since I told Catherine the truth about me and Clinton being brothers, and the silence since then has been almost funny.No screaming calls.No dramatic confrontation.Nothing.She hasn’t called me once, and as much as I hate admitting it, I’ve checked my phone more times than I should. Even Clinton disappeared too. I haven’t seen his face anywhere around the mansion.I pace around my room with both hands buried deep in my pockets, trying not to think too much about it because thinking too much always leads somewhere ugly.Did she forgive him already?The thought annoys me more than it should.I stop near the window and stare outside at the sky. Wolves move around the compound below, guards changing shifts, cars coming in and out through the gates, life moving normally while my head keeps circling the same thing over and over.No. Catherine can’t be that stupid.Then again, people in love become embarrassing sometimes.A scoff leaves my mouth.If she rea
Clinton's POV The cold in the rink settles under my skin long before the game begins, a quiet, creeping thing that has nothing to do with the ice and everything to do with the empty space my eyes keep returning to.I told myself I wouldn’t do this. Wouldn’t stand here in full gear, stick resting a
Catherine's POV I turn on my heels before I can let myself see his face again and lose whatever fragile grip I have left. My heart pounds so hard it feels uneven, like it might stutter and stop if I don’t keep moving.If only he knew.The thought follows me down the hallway, quiet but persistent,
Clinton's POV Slowly, I turn back to him. “What about her?” I try to sound calm, but my voice cracks just enough to betray me.“Is there something you’d like to tell me about her?”That suspicion I’ve been chewing on all night is right there, mirrored in his eyes, waiting for me to confirm it.I s
Clinton's POV “So,” Chris says, tilting his head slightly, his lips curling into something that looks too close to amusement, “are you saying you're willing to die for a mere human talisman?”A mere human talisman.The words don’t just annoy me. They burn. He says it like she’s nothing. Like she a







