LOGINTheodora's POV
Sharing my consciousness with someone else terrified me more than dying.
I stared at Moira across the cafe table and felt the weight of her words crushing down. The First Wolf would be in my head. Forever. Sharing my thoughts. My emotions. My most private moments. There would be no secrets. No privacy. No space that was just mine.
"That is insane." Nate's voice was tight. "You cannot ask her to do that
Theodora's POVThe call from Japan changed everything.Yuki's awakening spread through supernatural networks like wildfire. Within forty eight hours every pack. Every coven. Every council knew. A second Silver Wolf had activated. The bloodline was not dead. My father had been right and the implications terrified people in power.I was in bed with Nate when the second call came. Three days after Yuki. We had just finished making love. Slow and sweet. Taking our time. Relearning each other's bodies after so much chaos. His hand traced lazy patterns on my bare hip. His breath warm against my neck."I could stay like this forever." He murmured. Kissed my shoulder. "Just you and me. No prophecies. No ancient wolves. Just us.""That sounds perfect." I turned in his arms. Kissed him properly. "But we both know that is not our reality.""A man can dream
Theodora's POVSharing my consciousness with someone else terrified me more than dying.I stared at Moira across the cafe table and felt the weight of her words crushing down. The First Wolf would be in my head. Forever. Sharing my thoughts. My emotions. My most private moments. There would be no secrets. No privacy. No space that was just mine."That is insane." Nate's voice was tight. "You cannot ask her to do that. To give up her own mind.""I am not asking." Moira's expression was sad. "I am explaining the cost. What waking the First Wolf means. Dora needs to know before she makes this decision.""What decision?" I found my voice finally. "You said my father believed something was coming. Something that needed the First Wolf to stop. Do I even have a choice?""There is always a choice." Moira reached across the table. Touched my hand. "But c
Theodora's POVThe grief followed me everywhere like a shadow.Three weeks after the funeral I still could not sleep. Could not eat properly. Could not focus on anything except the hole my father's death left behind. Nate tried to help. Stayed close. Held me when the nightmares came. But even the mate bond could not fill the emptiness."You need to take care of yourself." He said one morning. Found me staring out the window at nothing. "You are not eating. Not sleeping. Baby this is not healthy.""I know." My voice was flat. "I just cannot seem to care.""Then let me care for you." He pulled me close. Wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Let me help you through this. You do not have to be strong all the time."I leaned back against him. Let his warmth seep into me. "I feel broken. Like something inside me shattered and I do not know how to f
Theodora's POVBurying my father was harder than almost dying.We returned to New York with his body wrapped and cold and so terribly still. The flight felt endless. I sat beside Nate and could not stop shaking. He held my hand the entire time. Did not let go even when I squeezed so hard I must have hurt him. The bond between us was the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.The funeral was small. Just family and close friends. My mother wore black and looked fragile. Like she might shatter if touched too hard. I understood. I felt the same way. We stood side by side at the graveside and watched them lower my father into the ground. Into darkness. Into forever.Elder Moira spoke first. Her voice was steady and formal. "Thomas Stone was a brilliant researcher. A dedicated father. A man who gave his life to protect those he loved. His sacrifice will not be forgotten. His con
Nate's POVWatching her read broke something in me.Dora sat on the hotel bed with her father's journal open in her lap and tears streaming down her face. Silent tears. The kind that hurt worse than sobs. Her hands shook as she turned each page. Read words written by a dead man. A father who loved her but could not be with her.I wanted to take the journal away. Spare her the pain. But I knew better. She needed this. Needed to know him. To understand why he left. Why he stayed away. The journal was all she had left of Thomas and I would not take that from her."Listen to this." Her voice was thick. Raw."Silver Wolves are not just rare by chance. They were deliberately reduced in number centuries ago.""What?" My mother straightened. She had been sitting quietly in the corner. Letting Dora process. "That cannot be right. The histories say
Theodora's POVThe silence woke me.After the explosion. After the blinding light. After my father detonated himself to save us. The silence was absolute and crushing. My ears rang. My body ached. But I was alive. The paralysis that had locked my muscles was gone. Faded with the ritual's destruction. I could move again."Dora." Nate's voice. Rough. Desperate. "Baby please open your eyes."I did. Found his face above mine. Bruised. Bleeding. Beautiful. He was crying. Tears cutting tracks through dirt and blood on his cheeks. His hands cupped my face. Gentle. Shaking."I am here." My voice cracked. "I am okay."He pulled me up. Crushed me against his chest. Held me so tight I could barely breathe. The mate bond pulsed between us. Bruised. Battered. But intact. Still strong. Still connecting us. We had survived. Barely. But we had survived."I thought I lost you." He buried his face in my hair. "I felt the bond breaking. Felt you slipping away. I could not reach you.""I am not going any







