LOGINChase*****Five Years Later — Crescent Valley Plains, Dawn*****I had been running nonstop.Hours of chasing a scent so faint most wolves would’ve thought it was their imagination. But not me. Not when that scent had once been the center of my entire existence.Wildflowers. Ash. A hint of something warm I hadn’t breathed in five long years.Elena.Every step forward felt like my chest was ripping open wider. My wolf paced inside me like a caged animal, snapping and snarling, pushing against my skin with a desperation that bordered on madness.Quinn stayed close behind me, panting slightly. “Chase….slow down. You’re going to scare the delegates.”“I don’t care,” I growled without looking back.We crested a hill overlooking the large open plain in front of the Crescent Valley Fortress. Dawn had turned the horizon gold. Delegations were arriving for peace negotiations, carriages rolling in, warriors assembling, banners fluttering in the cold wind.But all of that became background noise
Chase*****The Neutral Summit — Crescent Valley Fortress, Midday*****Crescent Valley Fortress was ancient stone and steel, perched on a cliff high enough that the wind cut like blades. The summit hall was crowded with Alphas, envoys, trade officials, and security guards posted at every corner. Banners of different packs hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly from the draft that slipped through the cracks in the old walls.I should’ve been listening.I wasn’t.My wolf had been restless from the moment I stepped into this fortress. Pacing. Growling. Scratching under my skin like it wanted to tear its way out. The longer I sat at the round table, the worse it became.Something was wrong.Very wrong.But I had no proof. Only the ache beneath my ribs that had been growing for days, the same ache that reminded me of…..No.I forced the thought away like I had every day for five months.Focus.Alpha Roderick’s voice droned on at the head of the table.“....and now we must discuss the incre
Elena*****In the forest*****The screams hit me before the smell of smoke.I froze in the middle of the forest path, my heart slamming painfully against my ribs. Finn and Fia were strapped securely to my chest in their carrier, both asleep, unaware of the chaos ripping through the night.“Lucian!” I whispered sharply.He appeared behind me instantly, silent as a shadow, silver eyes narrowing as the wind shifted again.More screams.More burning.The rogues’ settlement was under attack.“I knew something felt wrong,” I breathed, gripping the straps of my babies’ carrier. My palms were sweaty. My heart wouldn’t slow.Lucian didn’t move for a second, scanning the distance. His expression was calm, but there was tension in his jaw. “It’s worse than we expected. Move behind me.”“I’m not hiding,” I shot back.His gaze snapped to me. “You have two newborns on your chest, Elena.”“And I’m still not hiding.” I adjusted my stance. “Those people saved us once I’m not running while they die.”L
Chase*****Silverfang Pack — Deep Into the Night****”The nightmares always start the same.Elena standing in the packhouse hall, the rejection words still echoing between us. Her eyes glassy. Her wolf fading. Her body trembling like she was holding herself together with pure will.Then she turns away…..and I can’t reach her.Every night, I wake up before I can catch her.Tonight is no different.I jerked upright, chest tight, sweat sticking to my skin. The moonlight from the window cut across the room, illuminating the empty space beside me. Seraphina had insisted on sleeping in her own chamber tonight… and thank the goddess for that.I couldn’t stand her scent near me anymore.Not when all I could smell was the ghost of Elena.I dragged a hand down my face, trying to steady my breathing. It didn’t work. My chest still felt too tight. My throat too dry.“Enough,” I muttered to myself, pushing out of bed.I couldn’t keep pretending.I couldn’t keep lying to myself.And I couldn’t kee
Elena*****Lucian’s Hidden Caves — Hours After the Attack *****The world was still spinning when we finally stumbled into the caves.My arms ached from holding the twins so tightly, my lungs burned, and my clothes were soaked with melted snow and blood, some mine, most not. The hunters were dead. Every last one of them. But their presence was a warning I could no longer ignore.We weren’t running from rumors anymore.We were running from a world that wanted my children dead.Lucian lowered the heavy stone slab that sealed the cave entrance, the grinding sound echoing deep into the darkness. He stood still for a moment, breathing hard, his blade still dripping silver from the fight.Fia whimpered in my arms, her small fingers clutching my shirt. Finn slept on my back, wrapped tightly, his face buried near my neck. They didn’t understand what happened. They didn’t know how close death came.Lucian finally turned to me.“You fought well,” he said quietly.I brushed past him, moving deep
Elena***** Unknown Forest Territory — Five Months After Birth*****The wind had been howling since dawn, shaking the leaves and rattling the wooden walls of the small cabin Lucian built for us. It felt like the world itself was warning me.And somehow… I could feel it too.Something was coming.Something dangerous.I held Fia closer to my chest and gently rocked her while Finn slept in his little basket beside the bed. They were still so tiny, barely five months old yet they carried an aura that made the air hum every time they cried.Lucian said it was their blood reacting to the world.I didn’t fully understand what that meant… but I knew it wasn’t good.The cabin door creaked, and Lucian stepped in, his dark cloak dusted with snow, eyes sharp like he’d just walked out of a battle.I frowned at him immediately.“What happened?” I asked.He didn’t answer at first.Instead, he lowered his hood, walked slowly toward me, and placed a hand over Finn’s basket. A faint glow flickered from







