LOGINJacob*As I approached the grove, I spotted Krista immediately.She stood just outside the entrance under the shade of the trees, pacing slowly with her hands folded together. She wore a simple dress that hugged her waist before falling softly to her ankles, practical enough for movement but still undeniably feminine. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, though several loose strands framed her face and stirred gently in the breeze.She looked uneasy. Not frightened exactly, but restless in a way I recognized from years ago. Krista could never stay still when her thoughts became too loud for her to sit through. The sight of her waiting there stirred something warm and dangerous inside my chest.At the sound of my footsteps, she looked up and our gazes met briefly. Then, almost immediately, she looked away again. A faint flush colored her cheeks. My mouth nearly curved into a smile. She was thinking about the kiss, and the realization pleased me far more than it should have.
Jacob*Why did every instinct in me resist revealing what Sophia had shared? I thought again of the Rogue King, of his spies hidden in plain sight. Of Sophia’s warning to trust no one unless I was absolutely certain of their loyalty. Laurel is not no one, I told myself.And yet hesitation still coiled stubbornly inside me. I opened my mouth before I could think myself into further silence. “The Nightwalker pack was attacked during a celebration,” I said at last.Laurel froze. I watched shock spread visibly across her face. “What?”“The rogues attacked during a mating celebration,” I continued grimly. “Several wolves were injured. Alpha Magnus was severely wounded.”Her hand flew immediately to her mouth. “Alpha Magnus?” she repeated in disbelief. I nodded once. For a moment, Laurel simply stared at me. Genuine horror filled her expression now, wiping away the earlier tension between us. The reaction eased something faintly in my chest, though not entirely.“Oh, Goddess,” she whispere
Jacob*I stood by the window of my study, my hands clasped loosely behind my back as I stared out across the pack lands stretching beyond the manor. From here, I could see the training grounds in the distance, several warriors moving through drills under the sharp eye of their commander. Beyond that lay the forests that bordered our territory, dense and deceptively calm beneath the afternoon light.Ordinarily, the sight steadied me. Today, it did not.Ever since Sophia’s visit, a sense of unease had lodged itself under my skin and refused to leave. Every time I looked at my lands now, I could only think about how somewhere within all of it was a traitor. The thought soured my mood all over again.I had just finished a meeting with the head of my patrol teams, revising border rotations and tightening security around the manor. Later tonight, I would meet with the Elders to discuss increasing surveillance within the territory without causing panic among the pack.The challenge was that
Jacob*“Let me go,” she snapped immediately, her voice sharp with fury as she twisted against my hold.I tightened my grip instinctively, not enough to hurt her, but enough to keep her from breaking free.“Calm down,” I said but the words sounded almost useless against the storm she had brought into the room.She jerked against me, trying to wrench her hands free, but I held firm. For a brief moment, I thought I had contained her outburst. I was wrong. She dove forward without warning. Before I could anticipate it, her mouth found my neck, right where it met my shoulder, and she bit down hard.A sharp hiss tore from my throat at the sudden pain, my grip loosening on instinct. The sensation was immediate and intense, her teeth sinking into skin. “Damn it.”The moment my hold faltered, she took advantage of it. Her arm came up again, aiming for another strike, but this time I was ready. I shifted quickly, my hand sliding from her wrist to her waist as I used the momentum of her movemen
Jacob*The sound of it sliding into place drew my attention immediately.I raised a brow, studying her more closely now. “What’s the matter?” I asked, my tone even, though I remained aware of the tension radiating off her in waves.She took a step closer, her hands already curled into fists at her sides. “How dare you,” she said, her voice low but vibrating with anger. The words were sharp enough to cut. “How dare you harm Serah?”It took me a second, not because I did not understand the words, but because I had not expected this to be the reason she stormed into my room like this. Then it clicked. The incident with Serah from weeks ago resurfaced clearly, along with the memory of my own temper at the time.Krista did not wait for me to respond. “How dare you punish her like that,” she continued, her voice rising slightly now. “For something so small?”I straightened a fraction, my expression settling into something more composed as I met her gaze. “Disrespect towards me is not a sma
Jacob*This version of Krista — the one who looked at me with cool detachment and barely concealed hostility — would not tolerate staying in my space any longer than necessary, not when she had a choice.Still, a quiet sigh escaped me before I could stop it. Disappointment lit up in me briefly, uninvited and unwelcome. I frowned slightly, the expression directed more at myself than anything else. That was absurd. I had no right to feel that way, no right to expect her to remain here, in a place that would only remind her of everything I had taken from her.I had made my choices. This was one of the consequences.I walked further into the room, my gaze lingering on the coat for a moment longer before I turned away from it. I moved closer to the bed without quite meaning to, my steps slowing as my gaze dropped to the rumpled sheets. I saw it a faint indentation remained in the mattress, the shape of where she had lain unconscious for days. The blankets were still slightly gathered the
Jacob *The first scouting team returned over a week later in the late afternoon, their faces drawn with exhaustion but carrying a flicker of something I hadn’t seen in weeks—hope. Luckily, I had not been out patrolling when they returned.As they filed into my study, I motioned for them to sit. I
Jacob *I rubbed at it absently, my thoughts returning to Krista for what felt like the hundredth time that day.I had said the right words, but was it possible I’d made a mistake when I broke our mate bond? The pain should have faded by now, but it hadn’t. If anything, it had grown progressively
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