LOGINCHAPTER 51Evelyn's POVThe cell was small.Barely large enough for two people. Cold stone walls. A single barred window too high to reach. A bucket in the corner.We sat together, our backs against the wall, our hands intertwined."How long have you been here?" Raphael asked."I lost count. Days. Maybe a week."He cursed under his breath."I should have come sooner.""You shouldn't have come at all."He looked at me. "What?""You heard me." I met his eyes. "You're the Alpha. You have a pack to lead. Children who need you.""They need both of us.""They need you alive."He was quiet for a moment."I couldn't just leave you.""I know." I squeezed his hand. "But now we're both trapped.""We've been trapped before.""Not like this."He turned to face me, his free hand cupping my cheek."We'll get out.""How?""I don't know yet. But we will."I wanted to believe him. I wanted to hold onto hope.But the walls were closing in. And I had seen what these people did to their prisoners.---The
CHAPTER 50Raphael's POVThe first day was agony.I stood at the border, staring into the forest long after Evelyn had disappeared from sight. The snow fell around me, silent and cold.She was out there. Alone. Risking her life.And I was standing here, useless."Alpha." Damien's voice came from behind me. "We should return to the packhouse."I didn't move."Raphael."Finally, I turned. My Beta's face was drawn with worry."She'll be fine," he said. "She's strong.""I know.""Then why do you look like someone died?"I didn't answer.Because I couldn't explain it. The fear that gripped my heart. The certainty that something was wrong.I had felt this way once before. When my mother died.I pushed the thought away."Let's go," I said.---The packhouse felt empty without her.I walked through the halls, past the rooms she had filled with warmth and light. The children were quiet, sensing the tension in the air.Aria found me in the study that evening."Father."I looked up from the repo
CHAPTER 49Evelyn's POVThe years slipped by like water through my fingers.Aria turned sixteen in the spring. She had grown into a fierce young woman, tall and strong, with her father's dark hair and my stubborn heart. She trained with the warriors every morning and studied with the elders every afternoon.She was everything I had hoped she would be.And more."I want to join the border patrol," she announced one evening at dinner.Raphael nearly choked on his wine. "You what?""The border patrol. I want to join.""You're sixteen.""I'm old enough to train. Old enough to fight."Raphael set down his cup. "Training is different from patrolling. Patrolling is dangerous.""I know.""Then why?"She met his eyes without flinching. "Because I want to protect our pack. Like you do. Like Mother does."I hid a smile behind my hand.Raphael looked at me, desperate for support."Don't look at me," I said. "She gets this from you."He sighed."We'll discuss it," he said."Which means yes," Aria
CHAPTER 48Evelyn's POVThe messenger arrived at dawn.I was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for the children, when Damien appeared in the doorway. His expression was grim."Luna. There's news from the northern border."I set down the knife I was holding."What kind of news?""A caravan was attacked last night. Three drivers killed. Goods stolen."My blood ran cold."Ironclaw?""No." He shook his head. "The attackers weren't wolves."I frowned. "What do you mean?""They were human."---Raphael was already in the council chamber when I arrived.Elder Marcus was there, along with several warriors. A map was spread across the table, marked with the location of the attack."Humans," I said, taking my seat. "That's impossible.""Not impossible," Raphael said. "Unusual, but not impossible.""The treaty with Ironclaw holds. They wouldn't risk breaking it.""This isn't Ironclaw." He pointed to the map. "The attack happened here. South of the border. On our territory."I studied the map.
CHAPTER 47Evelyn's POVAria's first word was "no."I should have expected it. She was her father's daughter, after all.She said it at breakfast, sitting in her high chair, smashing porridge between her tiny fingers."Aria," I said, wiping her hands. "Don't do that.""No."I froze.Raphael looked up from his papers. "Did she just...""She did."He set down his papers, a grin spreading across his face. "Her first word.""It's not a word. It's a sound.""It's a word." He crossed to us, kneeling beside her chair. "Say it again, Aria. Say 'no.'"Aria looked at him. "No."He laughed. Actual laughter."She's a genius.""She's stubborn.""Same thing."I shook my head, but I was smiling.---Aria grew quickly.Too quickly, it seemed. One moment she was a tiny bundle in my arms, the next she was crawling across the floor, pulling herself up on furniture, chasing the servants' skirts.She had Raphael wrapped around her tiny finger."Don't let her touch that," I said one afternoon, watching him
CHAPTER 46Raphael's POVThe first cry shattered the silence.I had been pacing outside the chamber for hours, my heart pounding with every muffled sound from within. The healer had banished me early on, claiming I was "in the way."So I waited.And worried.And prayed.Then the cry came.High and thin and absolutely perfect.I froze.The door opened, and the healer appeared, her face tired but smiling."Congratulations, Alpha. You have a daughter."I didn't wait for permission. I pushed past her and into the room.Evelyn was lying on the bed, her face pale and damp with sweat. But her eyes were bright, filled with tears and wonder.And in her arms was a tiny bundle."Come meet your daughter," she whispered.I crossed to her slowly, my legs trembling. I had faced warriors and rogues and death itself without flinching.But this terrified me.I sank onto the edge of the bed, looking down at the small, squirming creature in Evelyn's arms.She was perfect.Tiny fingers. Tiny toes. A tuft
CHAPTER TWO: JUST LIKE A DREAM Evelyn’s POVMy heart raced as Alpha Raphael sniffed me like I was something to be tested… or consumed.The entire world seemed to shrink to that single moment as his breath neared my skin, his presence overwhelming, and suffocating. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.
CHAPTER ONE : HOPEEvelyn’s POVThey say the Moon Goddess makes no mistakes, and that every wolf is shaped with purpose, crafted carefully for the mate destined to find them.If that was true… then what was I?I stared at my reflection in the old mirror nailed loosely to the wall. The glass was cra
CHAPTER THREE: A CRIME OR DESTINYEvelyn’s POVThe walk home felt longer than it ever had before.The night air was cool against my skin, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me. Every step I took felt heavy, like I was walking toward something I didn’t understand, and like something I could
Chapter 6 — YOU AFFECT MEEvelyn’s POVThe silence between Alpha Raphael and I stretched heavily across the dining table.I kept my eyes lowered, painfully aware of every half-eaten piece of bread and every stain of stew left behind on my plate. My earlier hunger had vanished completely, replaced b







