LOGINElaineThe foundation grew faster than my ability to sleep.Every new opening revealed another set of needs.Some children had no documents. Others had forgotten their language. Some shifted when they got scared and destroyed rooms. Human children who had lived among hunters were terrified of anyone with glowing eyes. Supernatural children distrusted uniforms, cameras, and locked doors.Giving them a bed was not enough.They needed to learn that they were allowed to stay.That was why I gathered the women who had agreed to form the founding council.“This is an administrative council,” I reminded her.“Every council needs security.”“Your list includes three tax inspectors.”“One of them made Bea cry.”Bea lifted her head.“I did not cry. I was furious.”
ArselElaine decided to create a network of children’s homes the day a little girl bit Isaac.The girl was six years old, with black hair, human eyes, and vampire fangs. No one knew exactly what she was. She had been found in an illegal shelter with seventeen other minors rescued after the Bridge Agreement was signed.There were no names in the records.Only numbers.The girl was Thirteen.Isaac approached her with a blanket and a smile that was far too big. She interpreted his wolf fangs as a threat, lunged at his arm, and bit down with all her strength.My brother screamed.“She’s eating me!”“You’re an adult Alpha,” Isaiah said. “She weighs thirty pounds.”“She has vampire teeth!”Dayma carefully pulled the girl away, sat on the floor, allowed her vampire eyes to ap
ElaineThe agreement went through twelve names before we found the right one.In the end, a little girl named it.Her name was Mara. She was brought to the second session because her testimony was part of the report on displaced minors.While the adults argued over terminology, she drew a bridge connecting two cities.“What is it?” I asked.“A place where you can cross without anyone asking which side you were born on.”The Bridge Agreement.No one found a reason to reject it.The signing was scheduled for a month later, on the border between Crescent and the human city of Saint River.We chose a piece of land that hunters had once used as a checkpoint.It was not a bridge needed for transportation.I arrived early with Selene, Amelie, Bea, and Tris.Arsel was on the opposite side coordinating security wi
ArselPeace began with a table that was too small.Three weeks after the battle, we gathered in Crescent’s old council chamber.The building had barely survived the hunters’ attack. Mother insisted on repairing it before receiving the delegates, but Elaine refused.“Let them see what the war left behind,” my mate said. “I don’t want them signing an agreement inside a room so perfect they can pretend none of this ever happened.”She was right.So we placed a long table over a floor still marked by ash.On one side sat the supernatural representatives: Alphas from the northern and southern packs, vampire leaders, coven delegates, Amelie’s fairies, lesser shifters, and two elders who spoke for the creatures of the forest.On the other side sat the humans.And not all of them were politicians.Elaine
ElaineWaking up inside my body did not mean I stopped feeling the world.For the first few hours, I could not tell where I ended and everything else began.I could also feel distant things.Everything reached me at once.I screamed.Selene reacted first.She wrapped me in her wings, blocked part of the light, and placed both hands against my cheeks.“Look at me, Elaine.”I tried, but her eyes were surrounded by thousands of lines of energy.Inside her, I saw electricity, pure magic, Izan’s trace, and an ancient mark left by the Goddess.I saw scars.I saw places where pain had changed shape without disappearing.“I can’t turn it off,” I said.“You don’t know how yet.”“It’s too much.”“I know.”
ArselComing back to life hurt more than I expected.The first heartbeat slammed against my ribs. The second dragged air into my lungs and made me cough up blood. The third came with Leo’s roar as he returned from the place where Mors Alphae had imprisoned him and crashed into my consciousness with such force that I thought I might lose it again.I opened my eyes.For a moment, I had no idea where I was.Then I felt the weight of a hand on my chest and recognized Father kneeling beside me.“Breathe slowly,” he ordered.I did not obey.I only searched for Elaine.I could sense her presence, but it was too vast, as though her soul no longer occupied a single body.“Where is she?” I asked painfully.“Amelie and the fairies are working on her. Selene is there.”“I need to see her.”“You need to avoid tearing your wound open again.”I looked down at my abdomen.The puncture from Mors Alphae was gone, but a black scar crossed my skin.I did not care.I stood with Father’s support.The world
ElaineI opened my eyes, and the white lights blinded me again.I swallowed hard when I found myself in another hospital room, on a much larger and more comfortable bed, but with my arms hooked up to IVs. That was a complete reality check.Shit, it’s real, I thought in horror.I had lost my memorie
Elaine“When did he find out?” I asked as I stepped on the gas pedal out of fear.I couldn't help the feeling of unease and revulsion I felt at that moment, but I had to get as far away from my tormentor as I could.“About an hour ago,” Kris said seriously. “Your mother called the orphanage asking
ElaineAt that moment, fear consumed me.I had no idea how Maxon could have found the ticket because he never touched dirty laundry due to his OCD about cleanliness. So seeing him standing in front of me, ticket in hand, dashed every last bit of hope I had.“What the hell is this, Elaine?” Maxon as
ElaineI looked at the bruise covering my cheek.It was the latest addition to an endless list of bruises that marked my skin, and I wondered when my life had turned into a living hell.A year ago, everything was normal, but one night, when my father's decisions took a new turn, reality changed abr







