LOGINCALEB
Vanessa's voice cuts through the mindlink like a knife. Scared but steady. Fighting but overwhelmed.
*Caleb. Eastern border. Twenty hostiles. Derek brought reinforcements. We're holding but barely.*
The Alpha in me explodes to the surface. Not the boy who fumbled my mate introduction in front of everyone. Not the friend who let Neah's shoulder drop because my wolf reacted to Vanessa's growl. The Alpha. The l
POV: NeahI wake three days later.Not in Montana. Not in Vancouver. In Iron Valley. In our bed. Safe.Liam is beside me. Asleep in a chair. Dark circles under his eyes. He hasn't left my side.Through the bond, I feel his exhaustion. His relief. His absolute refusal to lose me again.I touch his hand. He wakes immediately."Neah." He's on the bed in seconds. Pulling me close. "You're awake. Thank God you're awake.""How long?""Three days. You burned yourself out purging the hund
POV: NeahTwo days until the Council gathering.The war room has become our world. Maps. Files. Intelligence reports covering every surface. Fifty Alphas rotating through in shifts. Planning. Strategizing. Preparing for the confrontation that will define our future.I stand at the main table. Exhausted. Running on coffee and determination. The golden veins beneath my skin are still dim from overuse. But functional. Healing.Theo pulls up the Council building schematics. "Vancouver Convention Center. Neutral ground. The gathering happens annually. Five Elders. Representatives from every major pack. Security will be maximum.""Which means we can't just storm
POV: NeahVanessa's scream tears through the medical wing.Seven months pregnant. Too early. The baby shouldn't be coming yet.But hybrid pregnancies don't follow normal rules. We're learning that in real time.I press my hands to her belly. Golden energy flowing. Assessing. The baby's vitals are strong. Too strong. The markers are active. Expressing. Making this child grow faster. Develop quicker.Which means ready to be born two months early."How bad?" Caleb asks. He's gripping Vanessa's hand. Terrified. Desperate."The baby is healthy.
POV: NeahTwo days until the Council gathering.The war room has become our world. Maps. Files. Intelligence reports covering every surface. Fifty Alphas rotating through in shifts. Planning. Strategizing. Preparing for the confrontation that will define our future.I stand at the main table. Exhausted. Running on coffee and determination. The golden veins beneath my skin are still dim from overuse. But functional. Healing.Theo pulls up the Council building schematics. "Vancouver Convention Center. Neutral ground. The gathering happens annually. Five Elders. Representatives from every major pack. Security will be maximum.""Which means we can't just storm
POV: LiamThe name hits like a physical blow.Council Elder Marcus. One of the five wolves who govern all supernatural law in North America. Ancient. Powerful. Untouchable.And according to Theo's files, the true architect behind the Bloodline Project."Say that again," I demand through the comm. "Slowly."Theo's voice is steady despite the weight of what he's revealing. "Council Elder Marcus. The files are encrypted but thorough. Financial records spanning thirty years. Offshore accounts. Shell corporations. All leading back to him. Rebecca was his operative. Kessler reported to her. She reported to Marcus."
POV: NeahI am floating in darkness.Not the terrifying kind. The quiet kind. The peaceful kind that comes after struggling too long.I don't hurt anymore. Don't feel exhausted. Don't carry the weight of everyone I couldn't save.Just peace. Silence. Rest.Then I hear him.Liam's voice. Distant. Desperate."You don't get to leave me. Not after making me believe in this. In us."The bond pulls. Weak. Trembling. But there.I try to reach for it. Can't. My body won't respond. Won't move.I'm dying. I know that. Feel it in the way everything is fading. Dissolving.I pushed too far. Gave too much. The lunar stone burned through me like wildfire, and now there's nothing left.I'm sorry, I try to say through the bond. I'm so sorry.But the words don't reach him. The connection is too thin. Too fragile.Then something changes.Golden light appears in the darkness. Not mine. Someone else'
LIAMThe girl was staring at me like I had lost my mind. Maybe I had. The last seventy two hours were a blur of blood and running and a pull in my chest that wouldn't stop no matter how far I pushed my body.My wolf, Kain, had gone insane three days ago. Right in the middle of a council meeting wit
NEAH"What do you mean he's asking for me?"I was already pulling on my sneakers with one hand and holding the phone with the other. My heart was hammering so loud I was sure Theo could hear it through the line."Exactly what I said. He crossed the border bleeding and half conscious. Shane and Mile
NEAHThe first week of senior year went exactly how I expected. Classes were fine. Training was good. The mean girls were mean. Same old routine.What I didn't expect was how much harder the nightmares would hit.Every night that week I woke up screaming. Every night Caleb came running. By Friday w
NEAHThe sound of screeching tires. Metal folding like paper. Glass exploding everywhere. My body flying forward but my hands grabbing nothing but air. Then impact. Hard and sudden and final.I jolted up in bed gasping for air. My chest was heaving and my shirt was soaked through with sweat. The ro







