LOGINThe cabin feels too small.Vera's words hang between us like a blade.Someone who has been beside Kael from the beginning.My heart pounds.I stare at her."Who?"Vera looks toward the door."I don't know if I should say it here.""Then where?""Somewhere no one can hear us."Selene steps closer."You're safe here."Vera gives her a bitter smile."That's what I thought too."She winces and presses a hand against her injured shoulder.I notice the blood again."You're hurt.""It's nothing.""Vera."She looks at me."Let me see."She hesitates.Then she removes the torn fabric covering her shoulder.A silver wound runs across her skin.My stomach twists."Silver."She nods."One of them got close."Selene's expression darkens."Who?""Pack warriors."My heart drops."Bloodmoon warriors?""Yes."I take a step back."They attacked you?""Not exactly."Vera lowers her voice."They were following orders.""Whose?"She looks at me."Kael's."The words hit me harder than they should."No.""H
The forest goes silent.Too silent.I stand in the doorway of Selene's cottage, my knife tight in my hand, gold light burning faintly beneath my skin.Beyond the trees, I can hear them.Boots crushing leaves.Low voices.The metallic scent of silver.They are close.Too close.Selene steps beside me."How many?"I close my eyes.My wolf reaches outward.Five.I open my eyes."Five.""Are you sure?""Yes."Selene's expression hardens."Then we don't fight them."I glance at her."You just told me to become strong.""I told you to become controlled. There is a difference between courage and stupidity."Despite everything, I almost smile."That's something my mother would have said.""Your mother was very fond of saying things like that."A branch snaps.We both turn.A shadow moves between the trees."They're coming."Selene grabs my arm."Back door."We hurry inside.I glance toward the window."There's nowhere to run.""There is always somewhere to run."She pulls a loose wooden panel
I don't tell Kael.Not that morning.Not that afternoon.Not that night.The secret stays inside me, growing heavier with every breath.I am carrying his child.And he has no idea.I wake before sunrise and stare at the ceiling of Selene's cottage, listening to the soft crackle of the fire.The old woman—Selene, I now know her name—had insisted that I sleep.I tried.But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kael.His face when he smiled at me.His hands around my waist.The way his voice softened whenever he said my name.And then I remembered his warning.Aria... run.My hand moves instinctively to my stomach."I wish you could tell me what to do."My wolf stirs.You already know."What?"Protect the pup.I swallow."And Kael?"Silence.I already know the answer.Protecting Kael may mean staying away from him.For now.I step outside.Cold morning air brushes my face.Selene is already waiting in the clearing.She holds two wooden staffs.I stare at them."What's that?""Your first les
The word follows me long after the cart begins moving again.Home.I told the old woman that I would eventually return to Bloodmoon.But the truth is, I don't know if I can.Not yet.Not while Kael's warning still echoes inside my head.Aria... run.I sit beneath the blankets, one hand resting over my stomach.His child.My child.Our child.The realization still feels impossible.I look down at myself.Nothing has changed on the outside.I don't look pregnant.I don't feel like a mother.And yet, everything has changed.There is a life growing inside me.A tiny piece of Kael.A tiny piece of me.My throat tightens."What am I going to do with you?"The old woman hears me from the front of the cart."You don't have to know everything today."I look toward her."How do you know?""Because I raised three children.""Three?"She smiles."Two survived."The smile fades."I'm sorry.""Don't be."She keeps her eyes on the road."Loss teaches you something.""What?""That love doesn't become
I don't move for several seconds.Kael's warning still echoes inside my head.Aria... run.Then the bond goes silent.I press my hand against my chest."Kael?"Nothing."Kael, answer me."Still nothing.Panic rises.I look toward the mountain path.Selene.That's where I need to go.If my mother's message was real, Selene may be the only person who can explain what is happening.I pull my cloak tighter and start walking.But after only a few steps, nausea rises again.I stop beside a tree.My stomach turns violently.I bend over, breathing through it."Not now."My wolf stirs.We need to know."Know what?"The pup.I close my eyes.I already know.At least, I think I do.But thinking something doesn't make it real.I need proof.I need certainty.And suddenly, I remember the village.The old woman.The herbs.The small shop I passed earlier.There may be something there.A healer.A midwife.Someone who can tell me if what I'm feeling is truly what I fear.I turn around.It takes near
The first thing I smell is smoke.My eyes snap open.For one terrifying second, I don't know where I am.Then I remember the cabin.Marcus.The shrine.Kael.The baby.My hand flies to my stomach."I'm still here."The words come out as a whisper.My body feels heavy, but there is something different inside me now. Something I cannot explain and cannot ignore.A life.Kael's child.Our child.I sit up slowly.The cabin is cold.The fire has died sometime during the night, leaving only grey ashes behind. My clothes are damp from yesterday's rain, and my muscles ache from running.I need food.Water.A safe place.I can't stay here.I push myself to my feet.The moment I stand, the room tilts.I grab the edge of the table."Whoa."My vision blurs.I close my eyes and breathe slowly.It passes."I'm fine."My wolf doesn't answer.Instead, she presses close inside me.You need food."I know."And rest."I know."And we need to protect the pup.I freeze.The word echoes through my mind.Pu
Kael came back three days later.I felt him before I saw him. The bond — the thing he kept calling a bond — pulsed in my chest like a second heartbeat. Warm. Demanding. Pulling me toward the front door.I was in the kitchen. Eating bread I didn't taste. Drinking tea that had gone cold an hour ago.
The kiss followed me to bed.Not Kael. Just the memory. Just the way his mouth felt against mine. Just the sound he made when I didn't push him away.I lay on the left side of his bed. The same spot as last night. The same clothes. The same bite mark throbbing on my neck.Kael wasn't here.He'd dis
The border looked like any other tree line.Snow-covered pines. Frozen ground. Grey sky pressing down like a ceiling. But I could feel the tension in the air — the way the wolves on both sides stood too still, watched too closely, breathed too carefully.Kael stood beside me. His shoulder brushed m
The pack stared at me like I was already dead.I felt their eyes the moment I walked into the dining hall. Dozens of wolves. All of them Bloodmoon. All of them hungry for something I couldn't give them.A blonde woman near the window whispered to her friend. The friend laughed. A man by the fire pl







