Nora's POV I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders, still feeling the lingering chill that seemed to have settled deep in my bones since the poisoning. Three days had passed since I began to recover slowly, and while my body was healing, my mind remained fractured with doubt and fear.I traced my fingers along the window's condensation, watching droplets race each other down the glass. Outside, pack members went about their daily routines—children laughing as they chased each other between the cabins, warriors training in the courtyard, elders sharing stories on their porches. Everything looked normal, peaceful even. But I knew better now. Beneath this facade of tranquility lurked something sinister, something that had tried to steal away the most precious thing Carlos and I had ever created.The stack of ancient scrolls and yellowed documents on the nightstand seemed to mock me with their silence. Carlos had spent countless hours digging through
CARLOS POV I'd been staring at the pack roster for so long that the names had started to blur together, but I couldn't stop. Not when Nora was finally healing, not when our child's life still hung in the balance, and definitely not when I knew the real threat was still lurking somewhere in the shadows.This was the third time I'd gone through every single name, cross-checking alibis, patrol schedules, duty assignments, and anything else that might reveal a pattern. I'd mapped out where everyone had been during the critical hours before Nora's poisoning, looking for gaps, inconsistencies, anything that didn't add up.Most of it was exactly what I'd expected—routine, predictable, boring. But that almost made it worse. Whoever had orchestrated this attack had done so with surgical precision, covering their tracks so thoroughly that it felt like trying to catch smoke with my bare hands.But after thorough search, I finally found it. A
NORA’s POV.The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the absence of pain.Not a complete absence.There was still a dull ache in my bones and a lingering heaviness in my chest, but for the first time in what felt like an eternity, breathing didn't feel like drowning. My lungs expanded fully without that sharp, stabbing sensation that had made every breath a conscious battle for survival.Sunlight streamed through the small window of the healer's hut, painting golden rectangles across the floor. The warm light felt like a blessing against my skin, so different from the cold, oppressive darkness that had seemed to surround me during the worst of the poisoning. I could actually feel the warmth now, could appreciate its gentle touch instead of being consumed by the fire burning through my veins.The healer's potions were working. I could taste the bitter herbs still lingering on my tongue from the latest dose, but I no longer fought
CARLOS POV I should have known it wasn't over. In my years as Alpha, I'd learned that the obvious answer was rarely the complete one, but somehow I'd let myself believe that finding Darian would be enough. That his confession would tie everything up in a neat, horrifying package and give me a clear path forward.I was wrong.The more I dug into his story, the more the foundation crumbled beneath my feet. What I'd thought was solid ground turned out to be quicksand, and I was sinking fast.Darian hadn't acted alone. That realization hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest, stealing my breath and leaving me reeling in the dim light of the interrogation room.I'd been questioning him for hours, pushing harder than I probably should have, but desperation had a way of eroding patience. Nora was dying upstairs, and every minute I spent down here was another minute closer to losing everything that mattered. Finally, under the relentless pr
NORAEverything hurt in ways I never knew were possible.My head felt like someone had split it open with an axe, then filled the cracks with molten lead. Each throb sent waves of nausea rolling through me, making the room spin even with my eyes closed. My limbs had turned to concrete—impossibly heavy, foreign things that no longer seemed to belong to me. Even the simple act of breathing had become a monumental effort. Every shallow inhale felt like I was drowning in thick honey, and each exhale escaped my lips with a soft whimper of pain I couldn't suppress.My skin was on fire and freezing at the same time. Sweat soaked through my nightgown, plastering the fabric to my clammy flesh, but I couldn't stop shivering. The sheets beneath me were damp and twisted from my restless turning, and every small movement sent lightning bolts of agony shooting through my body.This wasn't just being sick. This was my body systematically shutting down, piec
NORAThe wooden floorboards creaked beneath my boots as I paced the narrow hallway outside the healer's hut. Back and forth, back and forth—like a caged wolf desperate for release. My mind wouldn't stop churning, wouldn't let me rest for even a moment. The ancient journal I'd discovered in that godforsaken dungeon had done more than just provide clues about the antidote we so desperately needed. It had ripped open old wounds I thought had healed. Elena.I pressed my palm against the cool wall, trying to center myself. The memories came flooding back anyway—her voice echoing through the pack house, always so sure of herself, so convinced she knew what was best for everyone. I remembered the day I'd ordered her locked away, the way her eyes had burned with hatred and something else. Something that looked almost like pity."You'll understand someday, Carlos," she'd whispered as the guards dragged her toward the dungeons. "When love isn't enough