LOGINChapter 11
Charlie
Someone was in my room, on top of me, don’t panic Charlie, at least not yet. Just breathe deep breaths. Calm down, you can get out of this.
How the hell did he get in? I try to think back. When Riley left, she closed the door. Then I realized. I hadn’t locked it. How fucking stupid. I was like a momma bear with Riley’s safety. I guess not so much with myself, shit.
My eyes lifted and as clear as day I saw it was Legolas, his pointy Elvin ears gave him away. Wearing a balaclava wasn’t really helping him. For a moment, I was scared. What would he do to me, in the back of my mind I knew, but denial and anger kept pushing the disturbing thought away? Was he the one who attacked Riley? The son of a bitch tried to rape her, the bastard would pay for that and any other unwilling females he raped or tried to rape.
He bends close to my ears and whispers.
“If you scream, I will kill you bitch, you got that,” he says, brandishing a long jagged blade across my cheeks for emphasis. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I would be an idiot not to be scared abilities and all.
His black eyes pierce me with a look, understanding I nod.
Slowly, he removes his hand from my mouth.
“What do you want,” I whispered.
“You know what I want, what I’ve wanted ever since you got here, now I going to take it.” He smiles, and I see the evil gleam in his eyes. I temper the need to kill, to ripe his throat out, sink into his meaty flesh and watch as his blood coat my tongue.
I blink, holy hell, since when did I become so bloodthirsty. What the hell was wrong with me, I could practically feel the tinge of his blood dripping on my lips. I close my eyes to control my thoughts.
I cried out as another excruciating pain grips me, my back arches of the bed, bucking Legolas off my body for a quick second, with the impact of my bones snapping. The idiot either didn’t notice that my hands had formed into claws or he refused to believe what he saw as real. He dismisses what his eyes told him, then he jumps back on me. This time, he climbs higher up my body, blocking the air from my chest.
“Stupid bitch, I told you to be silent, now you going to pay for not listening,” He sneers then slaps me with the back of his hand, hard. My entire body twist with the pain and the left side of my face goes numb. The bastard actually hit me. The fucker put his hands on me. Fuck if he would die for that.
The asshole tears off my tank and panties in his attempt to get me naked. I tried to push him off. That was the last thing I remembered before all hell breaks loose.
Naja
“Charlotte,” I jolt from the bed as if being chased by hell hounds. Fuck, she was in danger. Quickly, I got dressed, grabbing my phone from the charger.
I dial the number that was printed in my head from the constant updates I demanded. It rings two times, frustrated I pace the length of my room.
“Pick up you asshole,” I shout into the phone. Instantly, a sleepy voice whispers.
“Alpha,” without preamble I shout
“GET TO HER, SHE IS IN DANGER, GO NOW,” I command.
Chapter 31I was still sore when I stepped outside.The air was cooler, sharper. The kind that bit my skin and carried whispers. Leaves rustled in warning. At the same time, the dark moved as if it had opinions. The compound was tense—coiled like a muscle waiting to snap.Something was coming.I didn’t know if it was Andrew’s retaliation or something worse.Riley waited by the gate, arms crossed, her hair twisted into something that looked like she’d done it while pacing. She looked up the second she heard me, and her brow pulled tight.“You look like you lost a fight,” she said.I snorted. “I won. Barely. I think.”“Right.” She glanced back at the house. “Let me guess. Hot fucking and secrets?”“More like war maps and a mate with control issues.” I paused. “But yeah. Also, hot, dominant male and fucking.”She didn’t smile. That’s how I knew it was serious.“They’re saying Andrew’s already mobilising,” she said. “His scouts were spotted near the northern ridge.”I swore under my breat
Chapter 30I found him in the office.The same one where we’d lost control. Where the bond between us had gone from a slow burn to wildfire.It looked the same—cold, controlled, all dark wood and leather, like a throne room disguised as a war map. But the air was different now. Tighter. It hummed with unsaid things.He stood with his back to me, hunched slightly over the table. Red markers lined the northern border like pinpricks in old scars.“I’m not furniture, Naja,” I said. “You don’t get to keep me in the background and expect me not to notice.”He didn’t turn.“You’ve doubled the patrols. You’re holding meetings behind closed doors. Everyone’s walking around like a storm’s already here—except nobody’s saying a word to me.”A pause. A muscle ticked in his jaw before he finally spoke.“You’ve been training.”“Don’t change the subject.”“I’m not.”“Really? Because from where I’m standing, I’m still on the outside looking in. And I’m tired of it.”He turned now—slowly. The gold in h
Chapter 29CharlieI didn’t sleep. Not really. The walls in this place might’ve been quieter than Bellmoore, but that didn’t mean they didn’t hum. The air was too still—the silence, too loud. I stared at the ceiling, breathing through the ache in my chest, replaying every word Naja said. My parents were dead. My brothers had been abandoned. I’d been thrown into a psych ward while everyone else moved on like I didn’t exist. And now? I was here. Changed. Bitten. Claimed. Tangled up in a war I never signed up for. I wasn’t angry anymore. I was scorched through. By the time morning cracked across the trees, I’d made my decision—I was done waiting. Done following half-truths and protective silences. If this place wanted to keep me, it needed to start giving me more than secrets and shadows. I pulled on my boots, laced them tighter than necessary, and headed out. The compound was quiet. Too quiet. No early training. No chatter. Even the sentries were whispering. Something felt
Chapter 28Andrew “They’ve been gone two days.” Andrew’s voice was low, even. Measured in that way that made the others nervous. The pack stood in a wide circle around him, shoulders tense, expressions drawn. The kind of silence that followed bad news—and waited for worse. “Roman and Joshua don’t just disappear,” he continued. “They knew protocol. They checked in. They were trained.” No one spoke. He let the words hang in the air like fog. “If they’re dead, I want proof. If they’re being held, I want blood.” That’s when a patrolman came sprinting in from the tree line, breath ragged. “Alpha!” he shouted. “We found them.” Andrew didn’t wait for details. He didn’t ask how bad. He just moved. He passed the edge of the encampment without another word, heading straight for the northern border of their territory. The patrolman led him until the trees thinned and the air shifted—wetter here, colder, the kind of quiet that felt unnatural. Then came the stench. It hit before the
Chapter 27CharlieI hadn’t come to this compound for a mate. I hadn’t come for a war, either. I came for answers. And somewhere along the way—between surviving Joggernut and being knotted into next week—I got distracted. Now, my head was clearer. Pissed, but clear. This place had buried me in heat, in blood, in politics. But I remembered now. I had two brothers out there—somewhere—living lives they didn’t choose. And I was going to find them. I cornered Naja in the hallway before he could disappear again. He’d just come back from the council meeting, still reeking of elder musk and stone-walled power plays—but I didn’t care. “What happened to my family?” I asked, voice flat. He stopped mid-step. “My family, Naja,” I repeated. “That night. Five years ago. After the attack—what happened to them? Where are they?” He turned slowly, jaw tight. “Charlie—” “No more avoiding it,” I snapped. He leaned against the wall, arms folding across his chest. “Your parents were killed that n
Chapter 26CharlieThe gym was quiet, the faint hum of fluorescent lights echoing against the walls. I stepped inside, the scent of rubber mats and sweat faint but familiar. Riley sat in the far corner, her knees tucked to her chest, arms wrapped tightly around them. She stared straight ahead, her expression distant, her usual spark nowhere to be found.“Riley?” I called softly, approaching her cautiously. She didn’t look at me, but her shoulders tensed slightly like she was bracing for something.I lowered myself onto the mat beside her, leaning back on my hands. “Hey. What’s going on?”For a moment, she said nothing. Her eyes remained fixed on a spot on the floor, and I wondered if she would even acknowledge me. Then she let out a long, shaky sigh.“I tried,” she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “I tried to help him.”I frowned. “Who? Naja?”She shook her head. “No. Sam.”I blinked in surprise. “What happened?”Her hands tightened around her knees, knuckles turning wh







