登入LouveShe was in the upper corridor when I found her. Standing near the window that overlooked the rear grounds, still watching. She must have heard the alarm and come out immediately, because she was dressed and fully alert, her silver eyes scanning the grounds below. She heard me coming. And turned before I reached her. One look at my face and something changed in hers. She knew."You spoke to him," she said. It wasn't a question."Kael." I stopped in front of her. "He said to ask you about the night my father died. He said to ask you why you stayed. He said to ask you about a bargain made before I was born."The corridor was quiet. Everyone else was still occupied at the outer walls or securing the lower floors. For this moment, it was just the two of us. Elina looked at me for a long time. Long enough that I knew the answer was going to be something I wasn't ready for."Sit down," she said quietly."I'll stand,” I said.She accepted that without argument. She turned to look out th
Louve POVThe moment the alarm sounded, I was already awake. Not because I heard it first. Because my wolf had already risen inside me, pressing against my skin like something old and furious demanding to be let out. I had been lying in bed staring at the ceiling for two hours, listening to the mansion settle around me, listening to the distant patrol movements, listening to the particular quality of the night that told me something was wrong even before the alarm confirmed it. When the horn sounded from the northern watch post, I was already out of bed and reaching for my jacket.The corridor was chaos by the time I stepped into it. Guards moving in both directions. Two of the pack warriors running toward the outer gates, one pulling on his armor. The house attendants had sealed the interior doors. I could hear voices from downstairs; organized, controlled, but quick with urgency. Elina appeared from the end of the corridor. She looked at me and immediately knew I was already ahead o
Austin's POV The Pack Hall felt different the moment I stepped inside. It was much quieter than I expected. The kind of atmosphere that settled into your bones before anyone even spoke. The kind that told you something had already gone wrong. I pushed through the massive wooden doors and immediately noticed the crowd.Pack warriors, scouts, and senior members. Even elders who rarely left their private quarters. Every seat around the circular chamber was occupied. And that alone was enough to make my instincts sharpen.Something serious was happening. At the center of the room stood my father.Alpha Caden.His expression was unreadable, but the tension in his shoulders gave him away.Lynx was already there, leaning against one of the stone pillars with his arms crossed.His eyes found mine immediately."You made it.""Barely," I muttered.Lynx gave me a brief nod before his attention returned to the room. Whatever was happening, it had his full focus. And that worried me, because very
Austin POV I tried so hard to fall into my temporary death routine, but sleep never came. I gave up trying somewhere around two in the morning.The cabin was silent except for the occasional crackle from the fireplace and the distant sound of wind brushing through the trees outside.Normally, silence didn't bother me. But tonight it did, because I felt how uneasy I became. Because every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing.Selin walking through those gates.The Star Crox Dynamite Pack gates. The rival pack. The pack my family had spent years pretending didn't exist.I sat on the edge of the sofa, staring into the darkness. My coffee had long gone cold because I didn't touch it.My wolf was restless. And when my wolf became restless for no reason, I had learned to pay attention.Something was wrong. I just didn't know what it was yet. I leaned forward and rubbed a hand across my face. The whole thing made no sense. Selin wasn't from pack society. At least, that was what I had
Selin's POVThe atmosphere changed the moment the guard uttered those words. Inside the mansion grounds. Not outside, or even near the walls. Not somewhere beyond the forest.But inside.The realization settled over the room like a storm cloud. For several seconds, nobody spoke. The crackling fireplace suddenly sounded too loud. I stared at the torn black fabric lying on the table.Panther cloth.I had seen enough of it recently to recognize it instantly. Louve remained standing beside the table, her shoulders tense. Her eyes never left the fabric."Who found it?" she asked.The guard immediately straightened."The northern patrol unit.""When?""Less than an hour ago."Louve nodded once. "Tell no one."The guard blinked. "Miss Louve?""No panic." Her voice became firm. "No rumors. No discussions among the staff. No unnecessary patrol movements."The guard looked confused."But if someone has infiltrated…""Exactly." Louve cut him off."If someone has infiltrated us, I don't want the
Louve POV Night had settled fully over the estate.Outside my bedroom window, the wind moved softly through the ancient trees surrounding the mansion grounds, carrying with it the distant sounds of wolves on patrol. The moon hung low above the forest, silver light spilling across the gardens below. For most people, the sight would have been peaceful. But for me, it wasn't. Not tonight.Too much had happened.Too many questions remained unanswered.And somewhere beyond these walls, panther shifters were searching for me. I glanced across the room. Selin sat curled up on the sofa near the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket one of the housemaids had brought her earlier. The flames danced across her face, highlighting the exhaustion she was trying so hard to hide. She looked tired. Not physically but emotionally. The kind of tiredness that settled deep in a person's bones. Neither of us spoke for a while. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It never had been between us.Eventually, Selin brok
Austin's POVThe gates should not have opened for her. That was the first thought that stayed with me long after Selin disappeared beyond them.I sat behind the wheel, the engine still running, staring through the windshield as the massive iron gates slowly closed again.One second, two seconds, an
Selin POVThe atmosphere changed the moment evening arrived. It's about to get dark anytime soon. I felt it.It wasn’t sudden. It crept in slowly, quietly, like something slipping beneath a locked door. The safe house had been calm all afternoon, almost unnaturally calm, but as the sun lowered behi
Louve’s POVI stood still, feeling the instinct that brewed within me. The kind that starts deep beneath your skin and spreads through your bones before your mind fully understands why. Across the street, a man stood perfectly still beside a black vehicle, his dark clothes bleeding into the shadow
Lynx POVI didn't plan for this. I never did. I did not want to be here. I want to make that clear from the beginning. Every mile of the road I had covered to get to this gate, every hour of the drive through the northern territory with nothing but dark highway and my own thoughts for company, had







