LOGINRyder's POV
I had just watched my sister get engaged and now the world was ending again.
The messenger's words hung in the air like poison. A ship from deep space. Entities panicking. The Trinity needed to be again.
I wanted to scream. We had fulfilled the prophecy. Saved reality itself. Earned the right to live normal lives. But apparently, fate had other plans.
Luna's hand tightened around Aria's. Kai's expression shifted from celebration to grim de
Ryder's POVThe war room filled within minutes of my call. Every alpha in the family stood around the table with faces grim and ready."Ryan Parkins is not just targeting us randomly," I said. "He has been planning this for years."Kai leaned forward. "How long?""Since his exile. He blames our family for everything he lost."Phoenix appeared beside Aria and his presence made the air hum with protective energy. "What exactly did he lose?""His position as Alpha Prince. His reputation. His future." I pulled up old records on the screen. "When he harassed Mom decades ago Dad made sure the entire supernatural community knew what he had done."Ash held Stella's hand tightly. "He was humiliated.""Worse than that. He was erased. No pack would take him and no alpha would ally with him. He became nothing."The room fell silent. We all understood that kind of fall and what it could drive someone to do."So he wants revenge," Aria said quietly. "By taking what matters most to us.""Mates and c
Ash's POVThe rogues circled us and my mind raced calculating odds. Six against one with Stella injured and holding our newborn son.I shifted my stance putting myself between them and my family. The bond pulsed with Stella's determination even through her exhaustion."You picked the wrong targets," I growled.The lead rogue laughed. "Did we? You look pretty vulnerable to me."He lunged and I met him halfway. My fist connected with his jaw and sent him sprawling backwards.Two more came at me from different angles. I blocked one and kicked the other hard enough to hear ribs crack.These were not random rogues. They moved with coordination and purpose like someone had trained them specifically for this.Behind me, I heard Stella snarl. I glanced back and saw her fighting one handed with Ross wrapped tight against her chest.She took down one rogue with a vicious kick to the knee then slammed her elbow into another's face.Pride surged through me mixed with terror. She had just given bi
Stella's POVThe healer confirmed it three days after I first felt the presence. I was pregnant and it had happened impossibly fast."This is unusual," the healer said while studying her notes. "Even with our accelerated reproduction pregnancy does not typically occur immediately after mating."Ash gripped my hand tighter. "But is it possible?""Possible yes. The strength of your bond combined with compatible genetics created ideal conditions. Your bodies wanted this."My stomach twisted. My body wanted this but I was not sure I did.I had just accepted being a mate. I was not ready to be a mother, either.The ride home was silent. Ash kept glancing at me through the bond and I felt his emotions mixing with mine.Excitement underneath his nervousness. He wanted this baby even though it was too soon."Say something," he finally said when we reached the cabin."I do not know what to say. This was not part of the plan.""We can handle this. Together."I pulled away from him. "You do not
Ash's POVThe ceremony was held in neutral territory between our packs under the full moon. Both families came and the tension in the air was thick.I stood waiting and my hands would not stop shaking. I had fought battles and survived corruption but this felt bigger than all of that.This was forever. This was binding my life to Stella's and I could not mess it up.She walked toward me through the gathered wolves and my breath caught. She wore simple ceremonial robes and her silver hair hung loose down her back.Her eyes were fierce and beautiful and locked on mine. She was not nervous at all and that steadied me somehow.The elder officiating the ceremony spoke the traditional words. I barely heard them over the pounding of my heart."Do you Ash Hawkins claim Stella Crowe as your mate before the moon and your pack?""I do." My voice came out stronger than I felt."Do you Stella Crowe claim Ash Hawkins as your mate before the moon and your pack?""I do." Her voice was clear and certa
Stella's POV The second date happened three days after the first. Ash took me to a hidden waterfall and we sparred until my muscles burned.He actually landed hits I had not seen coming. I expected to hate losing but instead I felt alive in a way I had not in years.The third date came a week later. We climbed cliffs and talked until dawn about things I never told anyone.After that, I stopped counting. The dates blurred into stolen moments that made me forget why I was supposed to be resisting this.Ash broke down every wall without even trying. He just kept showing up and being exactly who he claimed to be.He was nothing like what I expected from a legendary family. Strong yes but also vulnerable in ways that caught me off guard.He told me about the corruption and how it left invisible scars. About feeling lonely even surrounded by people who loved him.I understood that. I had been the enforcer's daughter my whole life and never just Stella to anyone.With Ash, I could be myself.
Stella's POVI never wanted a mate. The idea terrified me more than any rogue attack or dangerous mission ever could.I watched my mother disappear into the mate bond with my father. She stopped being Elena the warrior and became just his mate and nothing more.Everything she had swallowed whole. Her dreams died. Her strength faded. She became a shadow of the fierce wolf she used to be.When the rogues attacked she was too weak to defend herself or my brothers. Years of not training had stripped away everything that made her dangerous.I found them all dead because she had given up being strong for a bond that could not save her when it mattered.So when I felt the pull toward Ash I ran. Any smart wolf would have done the same thing.But the stubborn bastard would not leave me alone. He kept showing up everywhere like some curse I could not shake.Now I was stuck on this ridiculous cliff trying to prove he could not keep up and would eventually quit chasing me.Except he was keeping u
Skylar's POVEthan took me to a cabin on the outskirts of pack territory where the trees grew thick and the moonlight barely penetrated through branches that twisted overhead like skeletal fingers reaching for something they could never grasp.Neutral ground he called
Alpha Rhys's POVThe weight of my position had never felt heavier than it did in this moment standing in my living room watching everything I had worked for crumble around me like sand slipping through fingers I could not close tight enough.I had negotiated Skylar's engagement to Ethan specificall
Skylar's POVThe weight of Myron's words settled over me like a heavy blanket that pressed down on my chest and made it hard to breathe. Marking was permanent and there was no way to undo it once the bond was sealed.It was a public declaration that I belonged to them and to both of them at the sam
Skylar's POVI woke in my bed and every muscle in my body screamed in protest. Shifting back and forth between human and lycan form had taken everything out of me and left me feeling like I had been hit by a truck.Ross and Myron were there and one sat on each side of my bed. They looked like they







