LOGINTate pov Elara had recorded her growing unease around Caesar in the weeks leading up to the slaughter: the way he positioned his own men in places that made no sense unless he was preparing for a coup, the careful distance he kept from anyone who might later connect him to trouble, and the particular attention he paid to Tracy's infertility—as though it were a strategic resource rather than a private grief."Read this part," Nicole whispered, her breath hitching as her finger moved down to a paragraph near the bottom."'He watches Tracy's empty cradle like a man waiting for a delivery,'" I read, my voice steady despite the sudden tightness in my chest. "'He tells Luca the border patrols are secure, but he moved the guards away from the west pass days ago. I intend to raise my concerns with Luca directly. If anything happens to me first, I want this account to survive me.'""She died in the ambush itself," Marlon said quietly from the window. "Alongside Luca and Viola, before she ever
Tate's POVWhen Parkville summoned me to the institute's rooftop lab, it threw me off. After the initial blow he had dealt me a while ago, I had fully expected our next encounter to take place back at his house—behind closed doors, on private ground, away from clinical walls. Instead, he wanted us here, in a room where the institute's truths always seemed to surface.Nicole and I walked in, but the second we crossed the threshold, I froze.Marlon was already standing by the window with his arms crossed. He was supposed to be miles away at Northgate.I scoffed, shaking my head. "Seems he also told you."Nicole squeezed past me, her breath catching as her eyes locked onto Marlon. "Marlon?" A sudden crack of genuine warmth broke through her guarded posture. "I missed you... I didn't think you'd be back from Northgate so soon." But as her gaze flicked between the two of us, taking in the suffocating, clinical tension hanging in the air, her brow furrowed. "Wait—told him what? What is happ
Tate pov The air in the office felt heavy and suffocating. I desperately needed him to be lying. I needed him to crack, to admit this was a twisted psychological test or a ploy to break my resolve. Because if he wasn't lying—if even a fraction of this nightmare was real—then my entire existence was built on lies. "I have nothing to gain, Tate," Parkville replied softly, his weathered eyes shining with a deep, ancient grief. "Elara was my life. Luca and Viola were her friends. I didn't spend decades unraveling this trail to hurt you. I did it because the truth deserved to survive, and because you deserve to know who stripped you of your real family." He leaned forward, placing his trembling hands flat on the desk, his gaze locking onto mine with absolute, unyielding clarity. "He was not raising a son, Tate," Parkville said, his quiet voice cutting through my rage. "He was raising a trophy. The biological heir of the Alpha that was murdered by Caesar and molded into a weapon to l
Tate pov I frowned, the names sounding vaguely familiar from old pack history archives, but distant. "Sorry, who are they?" I asked, interrupting gently.Parkville looked at me with a heavy, sorrowful gaze. "Alpha Luca and Luna Viola were the former leaders of the South River Pack—the rightful rulers who were murdered years ago in the road ambush that brought Caesar to power."He paused, letting the weight of the history settle before continuing. "Before that tragic day, Elara noticed Caesar positioning allies unnaturally. She wrote down her suspicions because she didn't trust what Caesar was planning. But she died in that very ambush alongside Luca and Viola."He leaned forward and tapped the glass of a framed photograph sitting on the desk. It showed three young women sitting together on a sunlit garden bench.My eyes immediately locked onto the woman sitting on the far right. The sharp jawline and rigid posture were unmistakable—it was a young Tracy Caesar. I had seen her face in
Tate pov I pushed into her in one long, controlled stroke, burying myself to the hilt. She threw her head back against the tiles, a soft, broken moan echoing over the steady hum of the water. “Tate…”“Still so tight,” I murmured against her throat, rolling my hips in a deep, deliberate circle. “Even after I just filled you.”“Because it’s you,” she whispered, legs locking tighter. “Only you.”Water drummed against the glass. Steam curled thick around us, turning the air heavy and intimate. The scent of her fresh arousal mixed with clean water and the faint metallic note of the shower fixtures. I moved inside her with long, measured strokes—pulling out until only the head remained, then sliding back inch by inch, feeling every soft give of her body. My hands gripped her wet thighs, holding her open. Every time I angled just right, her nails dug into my shoulders and a shaky sound slipped from her lips. I kept the rhythm slow and deep, grinding against her on every inward thrust so th
Tate pov She nodded, accepting the answer smoothly, though her hand lingered on my chest for a second longer before she turned her attention toward the dimly lit hallway.Nicole turned to face me, her eyes dark with an unmasked desire that made my pulse spike. She moved closer into my space, her hands resting against my chest where her touch had lingered moments before."It’s only us now," she murmured, her voice low, a small, knowing smile touching her lips. "Can we continue from where we left off earlier?"A low growl stirred deep in my throat, matching the sudden possessive heat surging through my blood. I didn’t say a word. I pulled her into my arms, my mouth crashing down on hers with the desperate hunger I’d been suppressing since I walked through her door.She gasped into the kiss, her arms wrapping tight around my neck as she matched my intensity. I lifted her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around my waist as I pressed her back against the arm of the sofa.The fabric of the
Nichole pov "Shit, shit, shit." I was already ten minutes behind and the parliament office was a fifteen minute walk, Tate's suit still in the garment bag over my arm and my shoes not properly fastened because I hadn't had time to sit down and do them right. I had overslept, which never happen
Nicole's POV "Move aside!" Maid Mara stepped directly into my path as I rounded the corner, her shoulder cutting across mine hard enough to make me catch myself against the wall. "Luna," she said, then added under her breath, "or trash." I pretended not to hear. Straightened up and started to w
Nicole's POVI don't sleep. I sit at the kitchen table for a long time after I get home, still in my work clothes, my hands wrapped around a mug of tea that goes cold before I drink any of it. The apartment is quiet after the twins go down. Usually, that silence settles me. Tonight, it just gives
TATE'S POV Nicole had been unusually quiet for days. I noticed. I notice everything — Caesar made sure of that from the time I was old enough to stand. That morning she handed me the wrong tie. Her fingers moved too fast and her eyes didn't meet mine. Storm flagged her scent immediately, somethin







