LOGINAnton's POV The front door was hanging off one hinge. Glass littered the floor. The coffee table had been split in two. One wall bore marks where a Veil operative had been thrown hard enough to crack the drywall. Daywalker warriors moved through the wreckage, collecting weapons and checking every room to ensure the attackers hadn't left anything behind. People were talking. Furniture scraped across the floor. Someone swept broken glass into a pile. Still... All I heard was one word. Mate. Her voice replayed in my head over and over again. Soft. Disbelieving. Almost frightened. Mate... I closed my eyes. That was a mistake. The moment I did, I saw her face again. Dark hair spilling from beneath her hood. Wide gray eyes. The way she'd looked at me as though she'd forgotten there was a fight happening around us. Exactly the way I'd looked at her. "Damn it." I rubbed both hands over my face. It didn't help. Nothing helped. A floorbo
Third Person's POV The apartment door exploded inward. Wood splintered across the floor as the frame gave way under the force of the impact. The first Veil operative entered before the debris had even settled. Then another. And another. Black cloaks. Featureless masks. Movements so synchronized they looked less like individuals and more like shadows following the same command. Within seconds, twelve figures stood inside the apartment. None of them spoke. None of them hesitated. Their weapons rose in perfect unison. Atreus stepped forward. His eyes glowed in the darkness. "Stay behind me." Hannah didn't argue. Not because she wanted to hide. Because she heard something in his voice she hadn't heard before. He wasn't asking. The Veil commander raised a hand. "Take the Seer." The operatives moved. Not wildly. Not recklessly. Each knew exactly where to go. Four rushed Atreus. Three broke toward Eric and Anton. The remaining five sp
Third Person POV "You are not buying ice cream." Anton didn't even look up from tying his shoelaces. "I wasn't planning to." "You were thinking about it." "I was thinking about getting groceries." "Liar." Anton stood and reached for his car keys. "I need vegetables." "You came home with three tubs of chocolate ice cream last time." "That was different." "You said we needed milk." "We did." "You bought one bottle of milk." "I know." "And three tubs of ice cream." He looked at her with complete seriousness. "It was on sale." Hannah folded her arms. "You have absolutely no self-control." "I have excellent self-control." "You ate one entire tub in a single night." "I was emotional." She laughed. "What were you emotional about?" "I watched a documentary." "...About?" "Penguins." Hannah blinked. "You cried over penguins?" "They were trying their best." She burst into laughter. Anton pointed accusingly. "Don't judge me." "I'
Third Person's POV Morning sunlight streamed through the apartment windows, spilling warm patches of gold across the hardwood floor. For the first time in days, Hannah didn't wake with a knot in her stomach. The previous night's vision still lingered in fragments—two moons hanging over an ancient valley, wolves and vampires standing side by side, a woman with milky white eyes speaking of futures yet to come. It had been terrifying. It had nearly killed her. But something else remained with her. A pair of cool arms wrapped around her as she'd shaken uncontrollably. A gentle kiss pressed against her forehead. A quiet voice promising that she wasn't alone. She closed her eyes briefly. The memory made her smile despite herself. Anton noticed. He looked up from the frying pan where he was attempting to make breakfast and pointed the spatula at her. "You're smiling." "I'm allowed to smile." "You haven't smiled before coffee in... honestly, I don't remember.
Hannah's POV The vision began with a heartbeat. Not mine. Someone else's. Slow. Ancient. Powerful. It echoed through my head once. Twice. Then the world disappeared. --- At first there was only darkness. The kind that existed before the first sunrise. Before kingdoms. Before wolves. Before vampires. Before history remembered itself. Then Light. A valley stretched before me, untouched by civilization. Mountains pierced the clouds in the distance while an enormous silver lake reflected the moon overhead. Except... There were two moons. One white. One crimson. A shiver raced down my spine. This wasn't a dream. This wasn't the future. This had already happened. Somehow... I was watching the past. People emerged from the forest. Not ordinary people. The first thing I noticed was the silence. No conversations. No laughter. Only purpose. On one side stood wolves. Dozens of them. Massive. Powerful. They shifte
Atreus POV The summons arrived before sunrise. Most people imagined vampire politics as dramatic declarations delivered by cloaked messengers. Reality was considerably less theatrical. A single black envelope rested on the desk in my study when I woke. No servant had seen who placed it there. No guards had sensed anyone entering the estate. The crimson seal pressed into the wax bore only one symbol. A sun encircled by thirteen stars. The Council of Daywalkers. There were only two reasons the elders convened the full council. War. Or prophecy. I broke the seal. A single line had been written in elegant handwriting. The council gathers at first light. Attendance is required. No signature. There didn't need to be one. --- The council chamber lay beneath one of the oldest buildings in Los Angeles. From the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than an abandoned cathedral swallowed by time. Inside, it was another matter entirely. Ancient ston
Eric's POV Training her is a mistake. I know that the moment she squares her shoulders across from me, blue eyes steady, jaw set in quiet determination. The morning air is cool, dew still clinging to the grass beneath our boots, but she looks grounded, present in a way that tells me she’s alre
Cain's POV I woke up that morning to sunlight in my face. Not with shouting or sharp commands, but with pale light spilling through the window and the low, steady rhythm of the Frostbite pack waking up. For a long moment, I stay still, listening—boots against stone, quiet voices, the distant so
Cora's POV I wake slowly. The first thing I notice is the light. Gentle, golden, spilling through the windows of the room. My body feels heavy, still aching from the fight, but the worst of the pain has dulled. My muscles tremble as I shift slightly, testing each limb. Then I notice her. Sitti
Cora's POV I wake slowly. The forest is quiet, the kind of quiet that feels earned rather than empty. For a long moment, I stay still, afraid that if I move, everything will come crashing back at once. Pain is there—but muted. I sit up with a hiss, muscles trembling under the effort. My body f







