LOGININKA'S POV I took the bottle. Uncorked it. The smell was awful. Like rotting plants and something chemical. "You have to drink it?" I asked. "No. Rub it on your pulse points. Wrists, neck, behind your ears. It absorbs through the skin and masks your natural scent for about forty-eight hours. Then you'll need another dose." "You have more?" "I have enough for two weeks. After that, you're on your own." He pulled out a small bag from behind his seat. "Six bottles. Use them carefully." I took the bag. "Tyler, I don't know how to thank you." "Don't thank me yet. This is just the beginning." He put the truck in drive. "We have about a three-hour drive ahead of us. You should try to sleep." "Where are we going?" "Somewhere safe. Somewhere the pack won't think to look. Somewhere you can actually breathe." He glanced at me. "Do you trust me?" I thought about it. Tyler had helped me when he didn't have to. Had stood up to Derek. Had driven me back to the mansion. Had listened withou
INKA'S POVI had the duffel bag packed and hidden under my bed by the time Seth knocked on my door around dinner time."Inka? You need to eat something.""I'm not hungry.""You haven't eaten all day.""I said I'm not hungry."Silence. Then: "We're worried about you."I almost laughed. Worried. Everyone was always worried about me. Like I was some fragile thing that needed constant monitoring.Maybe I was."I'm fine, Seth. Just need to be alone right now."More silence. Then footsteps walking away.I waited another hour. Listened to the sounds of the house. Seth and Zane moving around downstairs. Talking in low voices. Probably about me. Around eight PM, my phone buzzed. Tyler.(TYLER: How are you holding up?)(ME: Not great. Need to get out of here.)(TYLER: Out of the mansion or out of the territory?)I stared at the message. Thought about what I actually wanted. What I actually needed.(TYLER: Because once they realize you're gone, they'll track your scent. We need to be far enough
INKA'S POV But she wasn't listening. For the first time since I'd shifted, my wolf wasn't listening to me. My hands started to change. Claws extending. Fur rippling under my skin. I could feel my face shifting, bones moving, teeth sharpening. No. Not here. Not now. I couldn't shift in the bathroom. Couldn't let Leiva take over because if she did, she'd go straight to the compound and try to kill Victoria. And that would just prove everyone right. That I was dangerous. Unstable. Damaged. I fought for control. Pushed Leiva back down even as she snarled and clawed at me from the inside. It took everything I had. Every ounce of willpower. But eventually she retreated. Still furious. Still wanting blood. But contained. For now. I pulled myself up using the sink. Looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were still partially shifted. Gold instead of their normal color. My face was tear-streaked and pale and I looked exactly like what I was. And now Hunter had moved on
INKA'S POVSeth and Zane had left early for some kind of meeting at the compound. Something about border patrols or territory checks or whatever pack business they couldn't avoid. They'd asked if I wanted to come with them but I'd said no. The compound was the last place I wanted to be.So I was alone. First time since Derek grabbed me off that road.I should probably feel nervous about that. About being by myself. But honestly, I was just relieved. Relieved to not have anyone watching me with worried eyes. Relieved to not have to pretend I was okay when I wasn't.I made coffee and took it out to the back porch. The lake was calm this morning. Pretty, even. The kind of view that should make you feel peaceful.It didn't.My new phone, the one Tyler had helped me get yesterday, sat on the table next to me. I'd been avoiding it mostly. Hadn't added many contacts yet. Hadn't joined any group chats. Just had the basics: Seth, Zane, Tyler.Hunter was still blocked from my old number. And I
Author's POV She watched Graham's face change. Watched understanding dawn, then shock, then something harder to read.Hunter had gone completely still."Morning sickness," Graham repeated carefully.Victoria nodded. Wrapped her arms around herself. Made herself look small. Vulnerable."I didn't want to say anything yet. Wasn't sure. But I took a test yesterday and—" She let her voice break slightly. "It was positive."The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush.Hunter found his voice first. "No."Just that. One word. Flat. Final.Victoria turned to look at him. Let him see the tears in her eyes. Real tears now because forcing yourself to vomit hurt and her throat burned and this was harder than she'd expected."I know you don't want it to be true," she said quietly. "I didn't want it either. But it is.""That's impossible. I was drugged. I was unconscious—""You were drunk." Victoria kept her voice gentle. Not accusatory. Just factual. "I know you don't remember everything c
Author's POV Victoria stared at the pregnancy test in her hand, watching the second pink line darken. Positive. Just like the three others she'd taken over the past two days.She set it down on the bathroom counter next to the others, all lined up like evidence. Like proof of something that would change everything.Her reflection in the mirror looked pale. Tired. She'd barely slept since that night with Hunter. Since everything had gone exactly according to plan.Well. Almost according to plan.She hadn't expected to feel this way about it. This strange mixture of triumph and something else. Something that felt uncomfortably close to guilt.She pushed the feeling away and focused on her reflection. Practiced her expression. Shocked. Uncertain. A little scared. The kind of face a girl made when she found out she was pregnant unexpectedly.Perfect.She'd been staying in the guest wing for almost a week now. Miranda had insisted she remain at the compound despite Alpha Graham's initial
INKA'S POV Dr. Martinez finally let me go after two days. The triplets were waiting in the hallway. Hunter moved first, like always. His fingers slid into my hair, gently tucking a stray strand behind my ear. Then his thumb traced my jaw before dragging slowly across my bottom lip. “Hey, baby,”
INKA'S POV“…Useless. Bad luck. Walking curse.”Seth’s words slammed into me like a slap I saw coming but still couldn’t dodge. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I just stood there, letting his hate crash over me again and again.Zane grabbed his arm—hard. “Enough. Let’s go.”He yanked Seth towar
INKA'S POV"Who sent you?"Hunter's voice came out rough, shaking with barely controlled rage. The guy dangled in his grip, legs kicking uselessly at empty air. For a second the man just hung there, gasping. Then something shifted in his expression. His fear melted away, replaced by something cold.
INKA'S POV "How much money do you want as… compensation for losing your ‘daughter’?” Hunter looked at my father like he was something foul stuck to the bottom of his shoe. His lip curled slightly, his gaze cold and sharp, dripped with disgust. Dad’s eyes lit up like a little kid who just got







