I was falling.Or maybe floating—I wasn’t sure.The world around me was dark, a void filled with burning heat and an eerie silence. My mind was a blank slate. No thoughts, no memories—just waves of pain crashing through my chest and fire licking at my skin from the inside out.Something had been torn away from me.Or someone.I felt it the moment he chose another. Ron.The severing of a bond I never asked for, never wanted—yet it had been mine. Tied to my soul, like a chain I didn’t remember putting on.When it snapped, it didn’t just hurt. It broke something deep inside me.Ria felt it more than I did. As much as I had tried to move on, as much as Ron had rejected me—she and his wolf had still been tied together. No rejection could change that.And when that bond shattered... it must have destroyed her.But even in that void—through the flames and the silence—there was Aries.I felt his hands. Warm, steady.His voice was a blur, but his emotions reached me. Panic. Sadness. And oddly,
Aries – POVI never imagined my emotions could shift so violently. One second I was drowning in the warmth of Rex,arousal clouding every thought, my heart full, and the next, I was shouting for help.The moment I touched her, her body ignited like fire.And I froze.“Rex?” I called, my voice cracking.She didn’t respond. Her eyes were glazed, distant, unseeing.Panic hit me like a punch to the gut. I scrambled off her, shaking her shoulders.“Rex, hey, wake up. Come on.”Nothing.I immediately mind-linked Rose. Get my mother. Now.I grabbed the sheets and gently covered Rex’s body, then took her hands in mine, gripping them tightly.“Stay with me, Rex. Please...”I’d never been this terrified. Not even in battle. Because this—this wasn’t something I could fight.Where the hell was Rose?I shot up from the bed and ran to the door, only to find Rose and my mom rushing in.“What took you so long?” I yelled, my voice breaking.“Calm down, son,” Mom said, moving past me toward Rex. I follo
Julian – POV Leaving the pack grounds for this mission hadn’t exactly been on my to-do list—but for Rex, I was willing to do whatever it took to shed light on her powers and help her find answers. I thought back to what Aries told me before we left. "If anything goes wrong, protect her. And most importantly, protect yourself. We don’t know who’s watching." My grip on the book we were chasing tightened at the memory. Beside me, Maron walked silently. She’d barely spoken since we left. I figured the weight of what that journal might reveal—and the years she’d spent guarding it—was sitting heavy on her shoulders. “How long till we get there again?” I asked, trying to break the silence. “It’s less than a day,” she replied, eyes still on the road ahead. “We’ve been traveling about seven hours now. We should be close.” “Oh, I’ll take your word on that,” I said with a small smirk. Then, more seriously, “Mind telling me how you met Rex?” I hoped it might distract her—pull her out of
As much as I awaited his answer, Aries made sure to take his time. He didn’t answer right away.His hands brushed against my waist—slow, intentional—like he was trying to ground himself in the moment. In me.Then, just for a second, his eyes dropped, shame flickering there like a secret he wasn’t ready to speak. But when he looked up again, his gaze was laced with something I hadn’t seen in a long time—resolve.“I won’t be leaving tonight,” he said, his voice firm, his hands still anchored on my waist. “I wouldn’t be able to… even if I tried.”He looked me over once more, like he was confirming his choice, and the weight of those words hit me like a whirlwind.It wasn’t a performance. It wasn’t a line.It was a promise.“Good,” I replied, keeping my voice steady even though my heart was chaos beneath my ribs.He leaned in, so close I could feel his breath on my skin. “Because if I walked away now, I’d regret it every damn second.”And just like that, the tension between us snapped—not
“Suit up. It’s time,” Rose announced once they were done working on me like a two-woman glam squad on a mission.My hair was curled into soft, voluminous waves that framed my face perfectly. Lily had handled my makeup—smoky eyes with a shimmer on the cheeks, and lips painted a subtle mauve that somehow screamed kiss me or suffer.I slipped into the emerald green top and leather pants. They still felt like a second skin, but paired with the glam... the effect was dramatic.Exactly the look we were going for.When I stepped out of the bathroom, both girls gasped—hands flying to their mouths like they’d just seen a goddess descend.“My brother is going to combust,” Rose whispered.“Oh, stop,” I said, trying not to grin too hard. “I doubt he’ll even notice.”“Girl,” Rose cut me off, “he’s going to notice. And I’ve said it before—we’re going to watch it happen.”With that, they each hooked an arm through mine like I was their prized possession and led me down the stairs. I had a dozen thou
I was initially going to say I regretted agreeing to go shopping with Rose and Lily, because the next few hours of my life turned into a whirlwind of chaos, fabric, and fierce fashion opinions—none of which included mine.We’d barely finished breakfast when they grabbed my hands and dragged me into town, Rose swearing up and down that she had Aries’s permission for us to leave the pack grounds. How she manages to pull that off, I’ll never know—but I’m definitely asking next time. I might need those skills.The moment we stepped into neutral lands, the scent of humans filled the air, thick and sharp. But Rose and Lily didn’t care. They were on a mission.And that mission... was me.They pulled me straight into the first boutique, and I was already overwhelmed. The racks of clothes glittered under soft lighting, mannequins stood like statues of impossible standards, and I felt like a deer caught in headlights.“Lily,” I whined as she shoved a black lace bodysuit into my arms. “I don’t t
The sentence “just in case” had too many interpretations, and I wasn’t going to assume what he meant. So I had to ask.“Just in case what?”“There’s nothing to worry about, Rex,” Aries replied. “It’s just for security, so they can go and come back safely.”I blinked at him, then asked, “Why Julian though?”He hesitated for a second before responding. “He may run his mouth more than anyone, but if—if anything goes wrong, he’s a solid companion. He’ll keep Maron safe.”I nodded slowly. Silence returned, this time heavier. There was something in the air I couldn’t quite place—an undercurrent of something unsaid. I tried to figure it out, but it kept slipping away.After a while, I stood up.“I’ll be heading back to my room now,” I said. “I need to shower and see Maron before they leave.”“Alright,” he replied, watching as I stepped out.I headed back to my room, freshened up quickly, and then returned downstairs. Everyone was already gathered—well, everyone except one person. Julian. Lea
"It's not here," Maron responded softly to the question I asked. "The journal is back at the house. Tucked away, just like she asked. I’ll go back and retrieve it first thing tomorrow morning."I nodded, my body heavy with exhaustion and my emotions heavier still. But knowing the answers weren’t lost forever brought a fragile sense of peace.Before anyone could say anything more, the door creaked open. All heads turned toward the sound.Lily stepped in first, her expression tight with concern. Rose immediately shot up from her seat. “Lily! You’re back already!” she squealed out of nowhere.“Did we miss something important?” a calm, commanding voice followed from behind. A tall man walked in after Lily—his presence enough to quiet a storm.“Dad…” Aries said, standing up instantly.We all rose with him, bowing slightly to the previous Alpha.Alpha Charles returned the gesture with a nod, and the tension in the room lifted just a bit.“Something happened?” Lily asked, glancing at all our
The room felt frozen. Maybe everyone had moved, maybe time had shifted—but I couldn’t tell. My breath hitched, caught somewhere between my lungs and throat, like the very air had gone still.“My daughter.”Those two words echoed like a bell in my skull. Over and over again. I couldn’t stop them from repeating. What does this mean for me now?I had a mother. I had people waiting for me. The realization didn’t land softly. It cracked me open, splitting the foundation I thought I stood on.Lyra… My mother.Even thinking the word felt foreign. My grip tightened on the journal and I let out a slow, shaking breath. I wasn’t just a girl with strange powers, glowing eyes, and dreams that never made sense. I wasn’t just lost. I had a root. I had a legacy. I had a family.I thought learning the truth would bring peace, but instead the weight of it pressed into my chest like stone.A child of prophecy… they called me.A prophecy I knew nothing about.“I don’t know what to do with this,” I said,