ログインThe word dropped into the silence like a stone into still water.No one moved.Sage's face had gone pale. Her hand was gripping my arm, her eyes locked on Saoirse. Her wolf was still unsettled, but now I could understand why. Finding your fated mate was a major event in the lives of werewolves. It was apparently powerful enough to rouse a comatose wolf. "Mate," Sage repeated, her voice shaky.Saoirse stared back at her, frozen. Her expression was unreadable, but her hands were clenched into fists at her sides."That's not possible," she said flatly.Sage flinched, and so did I. That sounded like a rejection. Her arm tightened on my arm like she needed something to hold onto, and she seemed to shrink into herself. No one was expecting this. What were the odds? Not only was Saoirse a witch, but she was also in a love with Lily, who happened to be Sage's best friend. They were practically sisters. I looked at Lily. She looked like she'd been hit by a truck, but she was still silent.
The Ironwood cemetery was quiet at this time of the morning. A light mist was still in the air even though the sun was out already. I walked alone, my footsteps muffled by the damp grass. I came early because I felt like being seen would cause whispers...and also because I was ashamed. It had been years since Thalia died by my hand, but I never once tried to show my respects to her, or even offer more than a stilted apology to her father. I found her grave in the back, near an old oak tree. The marker was simple, with just her name and the dates that marked her too-short life.Thalia Hayden. Beloved Daughter.I stood there for a long moment, not knowing how to start. What did you say to the woman you'd killed just because she'd touched you? What words could ever be enough?"I... I'm sorry," I finally said after a long moment of standing there silently. "I should have come sooner." My voice sounded strange in the silence of the graveyard. "I should have come years ago. I was a coward
The days that followed blurred together. I spent most of them in the hospital, moving between Iris's room and Sage's, watching them both heal in different ways. Sage got stronger every day. The color returned to her cheeks. Her voice grew louder. As expected, she began ordering the nurses around and complaining about the food.Iris didn't get stronger, not in the same way. She ate when I reminded her. She slept when the medication made her. She answered questions when people asked. But that was all. It was obvious something was missing from her. Something I couldn't name and didn't know how to fix.Doctor Ethel pulled me aside again on the third day."She's asking to leave," I said before she could speak."I know. Her discharge date is still at least a week away, maybe longer. She's healing fine, physically." Doctor Ethel's expression was careful and professional. "But I'm concerned about her mental state.""She's grieving.""I understand that. But she's also withdrawing. The nurses h
Doctor Ethel caught me in the corridor just outside Iris's room. Her face was carefully neutral, the way doctors' faces always were when they had news they didn't want to deliver. I'd seen that expression too many times in the past few days."Alpha. A word, before you go in."I stopped walking. "Is she alright?""She's stable." The words should have been reassuring, but they really weren't. "Physically, she's healing. Her body is responding well to the transfusions. The wolfsbane is almost completely out of her system."This all sounded like good news. "But?"Doctor Ethel hesitated slightly, barely a pause, but I caught it. "The kind of trauma she's experienced — not just the physical trauma, but the emotional loss — it takes a toll. She's lost a child. She was held captive for days. She was forced to shift in a way that endangered her life." She met my eyes. "These things don't just heal, Alpha. Not like a broken bone or a wound."I knew what she was saying, but I needed to hear it
The drive back to Silver Creek was the longest I'd ever endured. Every bump in the road made Iris wince. Every shadow that passed over her face made my chest tighten. She was seated beside me, a few pillows propped around her to ease her discomfort. The doctor has suggested an ambulance so Iris could remain lying down, but she stubbornly refused. With her broken arm cradled in her lap, she stared out the window, her eyes fixed on something I couldn't see. She hadn't spoken since we left Ironwood. I hadn't spoken either. I was jittery, my thoughts scattered. Shortly after she was found, Lily told me she'd been moved to the pack hospital. It was almost funny how blind I'd been. Max had really been bold enough to kidnap my sister and hide her in my own pack, right under my nose. And Sage... She'd been trapped and alone for months. Would she hate me now? Would she resent me for not saving her sooner? Lily was waiting when we pulled up to the pack hospital. Her eyes red-rimmed, but she
The heart monitor beeping was the first thing I registered. It sounded a bit too fast. Then the smell. Antiseptic, blood, that specific scent of a hospital room that always made my stomach turn. Cassian was slumped in a chair beside my bed, his head resting on his arms, his hand still clutching mine. Even in sleep, his grip was tight, like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.I watched him for a moment. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the slightly pale cast of his skin told me that his injuries hadn't fully healed. He looked tired and...broken.I made no noise, but he somehow knew I was awake, and in the next moment, his eyes opened immediately. It was almost like he'd been subconsciously holding himself ready to wake up at the slightest change in his environment. "Iris." His voice cracked. He straightened, leaning over me, his free hand hovering like he didn't know where to touch, or where it was safe. "How are you feeling? Do you need water? Should I call the doct
I moved back up in bed and lay beside Iris while she panted, the high from her orgasm making her look dazed. She reached for me as I pulled her into my side, her hand trailing down to brush against the front of my boxer briefs. I was painfully hard, and that little touch made my cock jump slightly
It was the third day of Iris heat. After that first day, Iris and I seemed to have developed an unspoken agreement. She stayed in her bedroom all day, and I brought her food, knocked, left it in front of her door, then left as quickly as I could. The house still carried traces of her scent, but n
How many men could say they'd been furious, and still absolutely horny? Because never in my life had I felt that way. I was furious at Max, at his wrong timing, and at why he felt confident enough to enter my house in the first place. And Goddess. Iris. I wanted her. She was the only woman I'd e
"What?" "You're going into heat," Cassian repeated. I frowned, my brows furrowing. "What are you talking about? Why do you think that?" "I don't just think it. I know it," he said. "I can smell it on you." Whoa. I took a step back, then tried to surrept







