LOGINDRAKE POVI was in a deep, dreamless sleep, which was my first good rest in my own bed for a long time. The mountain’s peace was still in my bones.Then, the silence broke.My doors burst open suddenly with a loud bang.I was on my feet in a flash, with my wolf rising to the surface. Elara stood in the doorway, shaking violently with anger. Her hair was wild, while her night dress was messy.“You!” She screamed and stormed into the room. “You came back in the night and think you can throw me out like thrash?”I was filled with rage. “How dare you come into my room?” I growled angrily. “GUARDS!”Two guards ran in, with a pale look on their faces and knelt down.“Alpha, we are sorry!” One said. “She ran past us! We yelled for her to stop, but we could not touch her. She is guest and your—” he stopped. “My what?” I demanded.“Your mate!” Elara screamed at the guards. “You hear him! He wants you to hurt his mate! Is this your pack’s honor?”Andre came in behind them, breathing heavily as
LILLIAN POVThe evening in the mansion sitting room was quiet and warm. A fire crackled in the fire place, which pushed back the cold air, making every where warm. Salome, Lydia, Willow, and I were curled on the sofas with mugs of herbal tea in our hands. For a moment, the world outside felt very far away.Salome was telling us about her clash with Sharon in the pack house dining hall for the third time. Her cheeks were flushed, not with anger now, but with a kind of bewildered pride.“….and the words just came out,” she said and gestured around with her hands. “I did not plan them. I did not even think. I saw her smirking at Lucas, saw how tired he was and something in me just….snapped. I called her a bottom-feeder. A scavenger.” She covered her face in her hands briefly. “By the Moon, I sounded so harsh.”Lydia set her teacup down with a loud clink. “Harsh? Salome, you were nice. If it had been me, I would not have stopped at words. I would have beaten her until her own mother would
ANDRE POVThe meeting room was tense. Lucas, Beta Ben, and five other senior pack members sat around the table with me. A large map was spread out, marked with red circles on the eastern border.“The sightings are getting closer,” Beta Ben said, pointing at the map. “Two more last night, just outside our patrol line. They are not attacking, they are just watching. It is like they are testing our defenses.Lucas leaned forward, with grim expression on his face. “We are stretched thin. With the Alpha gone, our usual strength is split to guard the pack house and the council. The rogues know something is off.”I rubbed my temples. The council’s constant questions, Lillian’s quiet sadness, and now this security threat were a heavy weight. “We need to pull guards from the north sector. It has been quiet there. Move them east for the next week. Rotate them in shifts so no one gets too tired.”There were nods around the table. We spent the next hour planning the rotations. My mind was on half
DRAKE POVThe dawn air at Snow Ridge was sharp and clean, which smelt like pine and cold stone. I stood outside the stronghold, my small pack slug over my shoulder. I was ready.The heavy wooden door creaked open, and Alpha Jon stepped out, joining me on the wide stone steps. He crossed his arms, and breathed out heavily. “So. The wandering Alpha returns to his throne,” he said with a faint smile on his weathered face. “Do you want the ceremonial send-off? I can have your travel travel team ready in an hour. Horse, carriage, the whole show. It is what is expected.”I looked past him, past the courtyard walls, to the endless, wild forest that stretched all the way back to Luxembourg. The treetops were painted gold by the rising sun. The call of the wild was a physical pull in my chest.“No,” I said, turning my gaze back to him. “No entourage. I will run back.”Jon’s smile widened into a grin. “Good. That is the Geo I hunted with talking. The forest will clear your head betrer than any
LUCAS POVI was in my office, buried in guard rotation scheduled with my head pounding relentlessly, when I head a loud knock at my door.“Come in,” I grumbled, without looking up.The door opened. I caught a familiar, sweet scent. Jasmine and sage. My head snapped up.Salome stood there, closing the door gently beside her. She wore a simple blue dress, with her hands clasped in front of her . She looked like peace in a world filled with noise.“Salome?” I shot up from my chair. “I was not expecting you.” A small smile touched her lips. “I know.”I crossed the room in two steps and pulled her into my arms, and then I kissed her, hard and deep. It was the first good thing I had felt all week. She kissed me back, with her hands cupping my face.Then she stepped back, to hold me at arms length. Her dark eyes scanned my face, and her smile faded instantly. “Lucas….it has been a week. You look terrible.”I rubbed my hairy jaw. “Thanks, my love. You know how to flatter a man.” “I am seri
LILLIAN POVWork was my only escape from the pain and hurt weighing me down. At the hospital, I was just Dr. Lillian. The beeping monitors and the patient chart dd not care about my heart ache or pack politics. For a few hours, my mind was quiet.I was finishing notes at the nurse’s station in my ward when I felt someone standing close to me, and I looked up. Dr. Wanni stood there, leaning against the counter. She smiled softly with a serious look in his eyes.“Lillian. Got a moment.”I put my pen down. “Ofcourse. Is something wrong?”“Not with a patient,” she said and came closer, then she whispered. “With you. And me. I think.”I stayed quiet. Waiting for her to continue.“I have noticed you have been….avoiding me,” Wanni said gently. I accusation, just fact. “Since the boutique. If I have done something to upset you, or if you and your friends need space from me. I will oblige. I just wanted to hear it from you.”Her directness was shocking, and I looked at her, elegant, sharp an







