LOGINI still knew every word.“Mom.” Max’s hand tightened on my arm. “Drop it. Look at me.”I looked at him.He had dirt on his face and his lip was split and his eyes were wide and scared and absolutely certain, all at once. He looked eleven years old and he looked forty, and I loved him so much in that
Natalia’s POVI fought like hell.My arm shook from the strength it took not to let that blade drive down toward Andrei’s chest. Max’s screams faded into the distance. The knife hovered six inches above Andrei’s chest, getting closer with each second.I had both hands wrapped around the handle now,
Natalia’s POVIt all happened so fast—a flash of movement at the edge of the platform, a small hooded figure vaulting up the steps, and then the knife coming down in a quick, hard arc that made the blade catch the red light overhead.Andrei threw himself sideways just before the knife collided with
I straightened up. My heart was pounding. I looked around the room and for a single, disorienting moment, I had no idea where I was. The black stone walls, the red sky beyond the window, the dead air of this place—none of it felt right. None of it felt like mine. I felt like a man who had woken up m
Andrei’s POVThe collar of my shirt was pissing me off.I had fastened it twice already and it still insisted on sitting crooked, pulling too tight on the left side. I undid it a third time and redid it, slower, watching my hands in the mirror rather than my own face. My reflection had been botherin
Natalia’s POVHe didn’t hesitate.The moment I swung the rod toward him, his hand shot out and closed around my wrist like a vise. My arm wrenched sideways, and I felt the bones grind together under his grip, and the rod fell. It clattered somewhere on the stone floor, rolling away into the darkness
The feral wolf fought like it was possessed. It snapped and clawed without strategy or sense, just pure violence. But even in its maddened, unpredictable state, it was no match for two Alphas. I got my jaws around its throat while Damon pinned its thrashing body. Together, we forced it into submissi
Natalia & LilithNatalia“I didn’t touch her!” Damon slurred. “I don’t even know why I was in there—I mean, I was just—”I frowned, noticing the way Damon’s words blurred together, the way he swayed on his feet as he stumbled out of the women’s restroom. The crowd noticed, too, and began to back aw
Eventually, we paused at a small stream that cut through the forest, marking a natural boundary between our territories. Andrei crouched down to examine something in the mud—tracks, maybe—and I couldn’t help but notice the way his leathers stretched across his back, revealing the powerful muscles be
NataliaThe Northern River Basin was just as beautiful as the legends claimed; mist dotting the peaks above, streams criss-crossing through the valley, tall evergreens and fat oak trees and colorful wildflowers swaying in the morning breeze.I stepped out of the car and immediately caught the scent







