LOGINMaraThe folder sat on my desk like it had personally offended me.I had opened it three times. Closed it three times. Moved it to the other side of the desk. Moved it back.Kieran had watched all of this without saying a word.That was almost worse.Finally, I looked at him. “You’re being very quiet.”“I’m trying something new.”“What?”“Not interrupting you while you argue with stationery.”I glared.His mouth twitched.I picked up the folder again.INTERIM LUNA APPOINTMENT — TWELVE MONTH TERMUnderneath that was the part that had nearly made me drool.Full access to restricted healer archives.Historical treatment records.Rare disease documentation.Silver exposure cases.Shift complications.Reproductive medicine.Old surgical techniques.Two hundred years of werewolf medical history that humans did not even know existed.It was obscene. It was cruel. It was absolutely working.“They’re bribing me.”“They know their audience.”“That doesn’t make it less manipulative.”“No. It mak
KieranCassian knew before I said anything.I could see it in his face when I walked into the treatment room carrying the small wooden box that had been delivered from the main house.His Beta insignia sat inside.So did his territory access token.His security credentials.The keys he had carried for fifteen years.Mara had cleared him medically that morning for short periods of sitting upright, which apparently meant he had immediately decided he no longer needed to listen to her.He was sitting on the edge of the exam table when I entered.“You’re supposed to be lying down.”Cassian glanced at me. “You sound like Mara.”“Terrifying, isn't it?”“Deeply.”Then he saw the box.The humor disappeared.I set it beside him.Neither of us spoke for several seconds.Finally Cassian said, “You should’ve done this years ago.”My jaw tightened. “No.”He looked at me. “You should have never given me the position.”“That isn't true.”“Kieran—”“You were a good Beta.”His expression twisted. “Unt
KieranBy noon, Cassian was asleep again. Good. Because I still didn’t know what the fuck to do with him.I stood in Mara’s office with Rhett, Colter, Cyrus, Garrick, and Mara while Tessa guarded the front desk and Alden guarded Tessa pretending he wasn’t guarding Tessa.Cassian’s Beta credentials sat on Mara’s desk. Phone access revoked. Security clearances terminated. Command authority suspended. His weapons had already been removed. It still didn’t feel like enough.“He committed treason,” Rhett said.“I know.”“He knowingly provided assassination intelligence. He released the hunters.”"I know all of that."Rhett folded his arms. “Then under pack law, you know the punishment.”Death. Nobody needed to say it. Cyrus apparently had no problem saying it. “Ravenholt would have executed him already.”Garrick glanced at him. “Probably before breakfast.”Mara stared. “Your territory sounds delightful.”Cyrus shrugged. “Efficient.”I rubbed my face. “He also tried to stop them.”Rhett’s e
SeleneI had known Cassian loved me. Not from the beginning. I wasn't that observant. But eventually.A look that lasted too long. A hand withdrawn too quickly. The way he always seemed to know when I wanted everyone else gone.For years, neither of us said anything. Then three years ago, we stopped pretending. I had not regretted it. Until now.Kieran found me upstairs in Mara's apartment. He didn't come all the way into the room."He told me."I stared out the window. "About my mother?""Yes.""And?"Silence. I turned.Kieran looked exhausted. "He knew."My stomach dropped. "Knew what?""What the hunters were hired to do."I already knew the answer.Still, I asked. "Kill you?""Yes."The room tilted. I sat. Kieran remained near the doorway."He gave them Miller Road."I stared at him. The road where Kieran had been shot."He gave them patrol schedules. Camera blind spots. Building access.""No.""Yes.""He wouldn't."Kieran's expression didn't change. "He admitted it."I looked away
KieranCassian slept for four hours. I couldn't even imagine sleeping. Mara eventually forced me to eat something. Tessa handed me coffee without asking.Selene, turns out, didn't leave the clinic, but she eventually disappeared upstairs and refused to speak to anyone.Rhett sat near the clinic entrance like he was waiting for permission to commit murder.At eight nineteen, Mara came out of treatment.“He’s awake.”I stood.She held up a hand. “He is awake. That does not mean you get to spend three hours screaming at him.”“I’m not going to scream.”Rhett snorted.Mara looked at me. “I mean it.”“I know.”“He starts fading, we stop.”“Fine.”“And no hitting.”I stared at her.“Kieran.”“I said fine.”“You said fine about the screaming.”I exhaled. “I won’t hit him.”“Thank you.”Rhett pushed himself upright. “I didn’t agree to that.”“You’re staying out here.”His face fell.I went inside. Cassian was sitting slightly upright now. Still pale. Both wrists bandaged. Left hand splinted.
Mara“Vivienne.”Nobody moved. Rhett was the first to react. “What about Vivienne?”Cassian kept his eyes closed.“Cassian.” Selene’s voice had changed. “Why did you say my mother’s name?”His throat moved. I watched the monitor. Heart rate climbing. Fantastic.“Everybody needs to remember that he is still medically unstable.”Nobody acknowledged me. Of course.Cassian opened his eyes and looked at Selene. “She paid them.”Selene frowned. “What?”“The hunters.”Selene’s fingers slowly left his arm. “No.”Cassian didn’t argue. That seemed to scare her more than anything.“No,” she repeated. “My mother hated Kieran by the end, but she wouldn’t hire human hunters.”“She did.”“You don’t know that.”“I do.”“How?”Cassian looked away.Selene’s face changed. “Kieran.”He didn’t answer her.Her attention snapped back to Cassian. “How do you know?”His heart rate ticked higher.I stepped closer. “That’s enough.”“No.” Selene looked at me. “It isn’t.”“For tonight, it is.”“Mara...”“He was







