LOGINNicole's POVSomething had been off with Tate for three days, and by the fourth, I ran out of patience to pretend otherwise.It wasn't anything dramatic, just small, uncharacteristic distractions. He forgot his tea on the counter twice, left sentences hanging halfway through, and watched me across the kitchen with a look I couldn't quite read—somewhere between nervous and determined. At first, I assumed it was the ongoing political fallout. I figured it was just a fresh complication from the council or the alliance oversight board, the kind of trouble he usually talked about only after working through it in private.By the fourth evening, the twins were finally asleep. Tate stood at the counter, staring down into a mug of tea he clearly wasn't going to drink, and I decided I was done waiting for eventually."Okay," I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the counter across from him. "What's going on?"He blinked, pulling his hand back from the mug. "Nothing's""Don't," I said, k
Tate's POVI balled up the paper in my hand, held it over the metal bin beside my desk, and dropped it. It hit the bottom with a quiet thud, joining the two crumpled sheets I had already thrown away. I leaned back in my chair, rubbed the back of my neck, and looked at the clean page sitting on the wood in front of me.Three drafts, and every single one of them was wrong.The first draft included the entire South River council chamber, formal robes, and a public declaration before half the pack. It was the grand spectacle expected of an Alpha claiming his mate, backed by generations of rigid tradition.I stared at the draft for a long time before I realized what it really was. This was Caesar's idea of love, disguised as mine. It was a performance for an audience, not a personal gesture for the one I cared about.The second version was smaller, but not enough. The third cut back even more, yet it still felt like someone else's life.My chest felt tight. I stood up, pushed back my chair
Diana's POVThe card game had been my mother's, decades ago. She taught me on a porch in North Maple with hands so much like my own."You have to let the cards touch the ground once before you deal," I told Rosy, watching her small face pull into fierce concentration. "That's the rule. Bad luck otherwise.""Is that a real rule?" Rosy asked, holding the worn deck carefully in her tiny hands."It's the rule my mother gave me," I said. "That makes it real enough."Rosy considered this for a moment. She leaned down, pressed the edge of the deck against the cool grass, and then began dealing the cards one by one."Four for you," she counted out loud, laying them face down. "Four for me. Four for the middle.""That is perfect dealing," I said, picking up my hand. "Do you know what game this is?""The matching game," Rosy said, peering over the top of her cards. "Mommy said you know how to win every time.""Not every time," I laughed softly, laying down a seven of hearts. "Your great grandmo
Nicole's POVThe alliance-wide rollout plan sat open on my monitor for most of the morning. I scrolled through page after page of implementation timelines and training schedules. These were for institutes I had never visited and patients I had never met, but each page carried some piece of the wound I had spent years learning how to close.I clicked on the final section, checking the last chart. A few years ago, I was just one woman with a dormant wolf, trying to understand my own broken bond well enough to survive it. Now, this document was going to change care standards across the entire alliance.I picked up my office phone and dialed Dr. Parkville’s direct line. The line rang three times before he picked up."Dr. Carter," he said. Warmth was threaded through his voice. "Or should I say, Dr. Carter, architect of the alliance's newest standard of care."I smiled, leaning back against my leather chair. "You should say whatever makes you laugh. How are you feeling today?""Better ever
Nicole pov "No," I said. "Because truth is like light. You can pile heavy stones over it, but light always finds a way to crack through. One day, the truth broke through the ice, and the dragon found out who he really was.""Did he get his real family back?" Maple asked, leaning his head against Tate's arm."He built a new one," I said, looking directly into Tate's eyes. "He took all the broken pieces of his old life and built something better. A family he got to choose for himself.""I like that dragon," Maple mumbled, his voice growing thick with sleep. "He's strong.""He's very strong," Tate whispered, his hand resting gently on Maple's back.Within a few minutes, both kids were sound asleep. Tate picked Maple up into his arms, and I scooped up Rosy. We walked down the short hallway to their bedroom, stepping quietly over the wooden floorboards."Tuck his feet in," I whispered as Tate laid Maple down. "He gets cold if his toes are out.""I've got it," Tate whispered back, pulling
Nicole's POVThe email arrived at four in the afternoon, sitting in my inbox right between a routine lab supply order and a reminder about the twins' checkup next week. I stood at my desk, clicked the attachment, and read the document right there on the screen.ALLIANCE JUDICIAL TRIBUNALIN THE MATTER OF: TRACY CAESARSUBJECT: FINAL VERDICT AND SENTENCING DIRECTIVESUMMARY OF FINDINGS:After an extensive review of physical evidence, medical records, and sworn testimonies, the panel of the Alliance Judicial Tribunal has reached a unanimous verdict regarding the formal charges brought against Tracy Caesar, former Luna of the South River Pack.The Tribunal finds Tracy Caesar GUILTY on all counts:Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the ambush and deaths of Alpha Luca and Luna Viola.Treason Against the Alliance for her direct involvement in the illegal takeover of pack leadership.Falsification of Pack Registry Records concerning the parentage, birthright, and lineage of Alpha Tate.RULING AN
Nicole's POV The banquet hall was full by the time I took my seat beside Tate, candlelight running the length of the table and every chair occupied by someone who mattered politically. I had worn the dark green dress Tracy had approved two seasons ago conservative, appropriate, nothing that invited
Nicole's POV I stared at the test with two lines. I had read enough books to know what they meant, I was pregnant. I was carrying Tate’s child. At first I felt shocked, I couldn’t think straight. I just stared at the test, lost. Then I calmed down as small hope grew inside me, he had always said h
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 POVThe next morning, I was cleaning Tate office study, gathering papers from the edge of the desk into a neat stack without reading them, because reading Tate's documents was one of the few transgressions he had made explicitly clear he would not forgive. But the highlighted text caught







