登入Katerina had barely stepped away from the bookshelf when the rumble of an engine came through the window glass. Storm? He couldn’t be back already. The abandoned van was too far out near the border of wild howl, and not even Orion’s reckless driving could get them there and back this fast.Curious, Katerina crossed to the window and eased the curtain aside. A sleek black sedan rolled through the security gates. It wasn’t one of Storm’s usual vehicles. Four guards rushed toward the car before it even stopped, adjusting their suit jackets and speaking into their earpieces.Hearing movement downstairs, Katerina hurried out of the study, locked the door behind her, and hid the duplicate key in her pocket just as Morwen appeared at the far end of the corridor.Morwen gripped the wooden stair railing so hard her knuckles bleached white. Her face was tight with anger that seemed to be brewing each second.She stared down toward the foyer where the household staff was scrambling in a panic
Katerina entered the date of Storm’s birthday first. The keypad flashed an angry red.INCORRECT CODE. FOUR ATTEMPTS REMAINING. She pressed her lips tightly together, getting irritated. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be that simple. Storm wasn’t the sentimental type. If this compartment held something important, he would have secured it with a code much harder to guess.She entered the date Demetrius officially became Alpha but the device flashed red again. Frustrated, she tried the official founding date of BioMind Labs. Another red flash. Damn it!Her mind raced through every significant date she could remember, the day Storm became Alpha, his father’s birthday, even the launch of major projects at the company. But what if those failed?Her finger hovered anxiously over the keypad before she punched in Demetrius Larsen’s birth date, but the red light appeared once more.INCORRECT CODE. ONE ATTEMPT REMAINING.“Come on,” she whispered. One more wrong entry and the entire system migh
She ordered a close watchman to keep an eye on Daphne's movements that night since she couldn’t risk going herself for obvious reasons. While her man remained hidden in the shadows following Daphne, he recorded everything that transpired.Oh, how delighted Katerina had been, replaying the footage later, a smile curving her lips as watched Daphne struggle when they shoved her into the van.Yet, while she felt triumphant at the time, she also felt a knot in her stomach. If another player had the nerve to snatch the breeder from right under Blood Shadow’s nose, it meant she had to be careful. She spent too many years climbing her way toward the Luna position. She wasn’t about to let some unknown enemy ruin everything now, even if their goals happened to line up with hers.“What if Alpha Storm finds out who arranged it?” her contact asked.“Then he’ll be doing us a favor by removing a threat,” she hissed. “I won’t send my own people blindly after someone capable of pulling this off ins
What was Daphne doing in Wild Howl?As soon as the study door slammed shut beside her, Katerina’s tears stopped like they had never existed.Orion was already walking down the hall, not sparing her a single glance, clearly eager to leave since Storm dismissed them both. Once the irritating beta was entirely out of sight, she cast a last look at Storm’s door, then continued on her way. Only when she reached the silver framed mirror decorating the wall near the staircase did she stop. She lifted a finger and carefully wiped away the last traces of moisture under her eye.“That was exhausting,” she murmured to her reflection, smoothing a small wrinkle from her dress sleeve.Servants greeted her as she passed. A few offered soft, sympathetic smiles, probably talking about the ‘poor future Luna’ and everything she had endured lately. Katerina nearly laughed out loud at them. Ridiculous.Entering her bedroom, she closed the door calmly. But that calmness shattered the instant she turned
Rosalind opened the door only halfway, keeping her body angled like she was ready to slam it shut if things went sideways.From the space she left, Daphne could see a woman in a khaki green uniform standing on the porch, clutching a thick sealed envelope to her chest. Two pack officers waited behind her on the steps, both in the same official green and black that Daphne had learned meant serious Wild Howl business.What were pack welfare officers doing here?“Miss Veilla Auburn?” the woman in front called out politely.Rosalind glanced over her shoulder at her. Daphne forced herself up from the kitchen table and headed toward the door. “Yes?”The woman offered a smile. “Officer Agatha Miller from the Welfare Evaluation Office. I’m here about your residency assessment.”Rosalind stepped aside, letting Daphne come forward. “Is something wrong?”“No, quite the opposite, actually.” Officer Miller held out the envelope. “I’m here with the pack’s final decision on your residency applicatio
The smell of something burning dragged Daphne out of sleep before the morning light even had a chance. She wrinkled her nose into the pillow. “…Rose?”From the kitchen, Rosalind was swearing under her breath, along with the frantic sound of her fanning the air. “Oh, come on! It wasn't even on that long!”Daphne couldn’t help smiling. She dragged herself up from the old mattress, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and padded barefoot toward the tiny kitchen.Rosalind stood at the stove with one hand on her hip, waving at a piece of toast so black it looked charred beyond saving.She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh good. You’re awake.”Daphne eyed the smoking pan. “Should I call the fire department now, or give you another five minutes?”Rosalind gasped, all dramatic. “Excuse me? This is artisan toast.”“It looks cremated.”“It’s seasoned.”“It has ashes, Rose.”Rosalind looked down at the sorry thing, letting out a loud sigh. “Fine.” She tossed it into the bin. “I just got distracted.”Dap
“Rumors?” Storm’s tone deepened as he looked at both of them. “What rumors?”“It’s pointless,” Orion said.“Oh, I’ll tell you, so you can see just how conniving your Beta really is.” Morwen stepped closer to Storm. “Some of the servants have noticed your Beta getting inappropriately close to Daphne
“Keep my private life out of your mouth,” Storm growled, despising how defensive he sounded about Daphne. Worse, he couldn’t get over the look Orion’s always had in his eyes whenever Daphne became the topic.“I’m your Beta. It’s my job to be in your business.” Orion winked as he patted Storm’s shou
“Daphne,” Katerina called in that soft, sweet voice she used when people were watching. “Can we talk?”Daphne paused at the landing, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin. What could Katerina possibly want to say after making it so clear in the past and present that she hated her existence?Katerina
The next morning, Daphne woke up with her eyes feeling raw and sour from all the crying she’d done the night before. She buried her face deeper into the pillow, trying to block out the memories that kept rushing in. Those early mornings in her first year here, Storm would quietly slip into her room







