LOGINKaneI panted, trying to steady my breath. I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat stubborn. "Alpha," Callum said again, his voice softer this time. He took a hesitant step into the room.I looked around at the broken rocking chair, the shattered crib, the torn curtains. The toys were scattered across the floor. Callum's eyes widened as they darted from one piece of wreckage to the next. His gaze came back to rest on me.I let out a wrong laugh between breaths, a harsh sound. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and swallowed. "Well," I said, the word coming out rough. "Guess the news is out now."Callum looked at me, confusion clear in the furrow of his brow. "Alpha, I don't understand..." I laughed again, the sound hollow. "We lost the pup," I said, the words catching in my throat. "Yesterday. The doctor... The doctor told Elara yesterday." I took a deep breath, trying to still the shaking in my hands. "Our son is gone."Callum's eyes went wide. He looked around the room again,
KaneI was settling Elara into our bed, the pillows stacked behind her back, the blanket pulled up to her chin. I set a glass of water on the nightstand. Her eyes stared vacantly at the wall as I bustled around her. She was limp and quiet, no protests or questions, just silence.When my hands touched her hip to straighten the blanket, she stiffened imperceptibly. I took it for grief. What else could it be? My Elara, my Elara who laughed and swayed her hips to the music, who pressed into my touch and my scent... Elara, gone. In her place this shell of a woman, this ghost of my Luna."Rest," I murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. "You don't have to do anything. Just rest."Elara blinked twice but said nothing. I sighed and turned away, pulling open the door. The woman from the staff waited patiently in the hall."Whatever the Luna needs, she gets," I instructed quietly. "Nobody disturbs her. And not one word about the pup to anyone in the pack. Not yet."The woman nodd
ElaraI gripped my bag tighter as the door swung open. Marcas glared down at me, his eyes hard and unforgiving. "What are you doing here?" he snapped.I brushed past him, not waiting for an invitation. His scent, cold and biting, clung to my skin as I entered the foyer. Delia stood in the living room, her pale face a mask of indifference as she watched me approach."I'm out of time," I blurted, my voice tight with desperation. "Thirteen weeks. I should be showing by now. And he keeps talking about his son."A short silence stretched between us, heavy and oppressive. Delia's gaze slid away, her lips pursing into a thin line. Marcas's jaw clenched, a muscle twitching in his cheek.I swallowed hard, squaring my shoulders. "I need a solution. Now.""The King will provide one," Marcas barked.I laughed bitterly. "When? He's gone quiet. For weeks now, he hasn't answered my brass box. Has he sent you word?"Marcas's eyes hardened with annoyance. He didn't reply.Delia remained mute, her fing
ElaraThe night before."I'm sorry, Elara," Kane pleaded from the doorway. His voice cracked with desperation. "I don't know what happened to me. Please, just look at me."His words hung heavy in the stillness, the lamplight flickering off the walls as shadows danced. I sat rigid on the couch, hands white-knuckled in my lap, refusing to turn my head. My gaze remained fixed on a vague point ahead, a spot just beyond the lamp across the room."Elara. It's been eleven days. Say something. Anything."My jaw tightened. I could hear the anguish in his tone, how much he wanted to fix this, to make it right. But I couldn't bear to face him."There's nothing to say." Each word fell hard, icy and unyielding. It was the first time I had spoken to him in over a week.Kane took a few steps into the room, moving towards me. I sprang up, circling around to the far side of the couch, putting its bulk between us."Don't," I warned tightly.He froze a few paces in, hands fisted at his sides. "Elara..."
KaneI stumbled out of the car and ran for the clinic doors. They slid open with a hiss. I raced into the corridor, looking frantically for Elara.There. Delia sat in one of the plastic chairs, sobbing into her hands. Marcas stood beside her, his hand on her back. I ran to them, my heart pounding. "Marcas!" I called. "Delia!"Marcas straightened and met my gaze, his face pale and drawn. He shook his head."What happened?" I demanded, breathless. "Where's Elara?"Delia lifted her tear-stained face to me. "Oh, Kane," she wailed. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."Before I could ask again, a gentle voice came from behind me. "Alpha. Please, come in with me."I turned. Dr. Crane stood in the doorway of one of the rooms, his dark suit rumpled, his thinning hair disheveled. His somber brown eyes met mine.But he didn't say anything, didn't offer any explanation as to what was happening. Why Elara wasn't here."Is Elara okay?" I asked, but he just held out a hand, beckoning me to enter the room
KaneI turned back to Brooke and met his eyes. "Jace is on an assignment to deal with Mistwood," I said quietly. "It's being handled." The words felt bitter on my tongue, every bit as false as they sounded.I hated myself for saying them, for letting my best and oldest friend handle this mess while I did nothing. But what else could I say?Brooke was patient. "For how long now, Alpha?"I swallowed hard, the bitter taste of my own failure. "Five weeks.""And when did we last hear from him?"My jaw clenched. I knew this was coming, knew Brooke would be the one to ask it, the one who'd have the guts. "It's... being handled," I repeated, my voice cracking.Not one call in five weeks. The realization settled in my gut, cold and heavy. Five weeks with nothing but silence from the north, from the land of the savages.Jace had gone there for help, believing the wolves of the north could provide what the south couldn't.But now... I swallowed hard, my throat constricting around the unspoken tr
LyraShe ignored me. She dropped to her knees, her hands sliding down to the waistband of my trousers. She shoved her fingers inside the fabric, gripping my hips tight. With one sharp pull, she dragged the pants and my underwear down to my ankles. I stepped out of them, kicking my boots off in the
Lyra"Tell the girl to step into the room," he said."Leave her out of this," I said. My voice came out as a pathetic, raspy whisper. I cleared my throat, trying to find some spine. "She didn't do anything. It was my idea to come in here.""Tell her to step into the room," he said, his eyes going d
LyraThe voice didn't belong to Nadia. It didn't belong to me. It came from the metallic object resting directly behind my hip.Nadia froze. She pulled her mouth away from me and yanked her fingers out of my body. She stood up quickly, wiping her wet mouth with the back of her hand, her chest heavi
SeraNight fell fast, and with it, the temperature plummeted. We had three fires going, but the heat didn't seem to travel more than six inches past the flames. I sat on a log by the middle fire, pulling the wagon fur around my shoulders, shivering so hard my teeth were literally clicking together.







