Mag-log inMIRANDA'S POVAlpha Nolan waited.And when Alpha Nolan waited, it felt like the entire room held its breath with him.His eyes never left my face, not even when his lip curled slightly and a low, animal growl rolled out of his chest. He didn't pace like a normal angry man would. He stood there, perfectly still, shoulders squared, jaw tight, like a beast deciding whether it was worth tearing something apart immediately or letting it suffer first.My throat still burned from where his hand had been, and I could feel my pulse in my ears as my eyes shot instinctively to Lazarus.I shouldn't have looked at him. It probably looked guilty as hell. But there were too many things tangled up in this mess, too many truths stacked on top of one another, and no way to separate them without everything collapsing.There was the obvious stuff. Mystic Mountain. Opal. Nigel Senior. Noah.And then there was the stuff nobody here could know yet.Velma being Lazarus's mate.The curse.And most of all, the
NIGEL'S POV"You think Shelly's okay?" Duran asked as we walked toward the guest house. He kept wringing his hands like he was trying to strangle an invisible towel. "She was crying really hard, and I don't think I've ever felt her cry like that. What if something bad happened to her or the baby?""I'm sure they're both fine," I said, even though I didn't actually know that for sure, but I needed him to stop spiraling before he tripped over his own feet again. "I'm more worried about the king of the neck-biters setting foot on our land. I won't be at ease until he leaves."Duran opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the guest house door flew open so hard it smacked the wall, and suddenly Miranda's parents came charging out like they had been waiting behind it with binoculars and a stopwatch."CUPCAKE!" Mr. Whitmore screamed."HONEY!" Mrs. Whitmore screamed at the exact same time.I barely had time to brace myself before they slammed into me from both sides."You're a
MIRANDA'S POVAfter Nigel and Duran peeled off with heavy reluctance on both sides, the rest of us followed the guard inside, and the moment the heavy doors shut behind us, the mansion seemed to inhale.The halls were exactly how I remembered them—cold, wide, too polished, and too formal, with walls that had watched generations of wolves grow up and get crushed under expectation. The silence wasn't peaceful; it was loaded, coiled tight like something was crouched in the dark, waiting for the right second to strike.Velma stayed close to Lazarus, her shoulder brushing his arm every few steps. Lazarus walked calmly as always, his posture perfect, his expression unreadable, but I could feel the tension rolling off him in waves. His father was here. That alone was enough to sour the air.Valko, on the other hand, walked like a man preparing to propose to his girl and fight a dragon at the same time. He kept checking the Glowpearl hidden in his jacket, then sniffing his breath like he was
MIRANDA'S POVThe journey back was easier than the hellish trek to Mystic Mountain, and for once nobody was bleeding, limping, or carrying anybody on their back. The air felt lighter too, almost like it was relieved to be rid of us, and honestly I couldn't blame it. We were a chaotic little parade, and Valko was leading it with the grace of a drunk toddler."I still can't believe I kissed a damn fish-bitch," Valko groaned for what had to be the ninth or fourteenth time. He spat into the bushes again and wiped his tongue on his sleeve as if he expected scales to come off. "My tongue feels traumatized. I'm gonna need to shove my whole head in a washing machine and let it spin with my tongue hanging out.""You didn't have to kiss her," Lazarus reminded him, lifting a brow in that gentle, refined way he did everything. "Opal said the Glowpearl was hers to give. All you had to do was announce you were collecting her debt. You didn't need to—what did humans call it?—bring the French kiss in
MIRANDA'S POVI didn't sleep for even five minutes. My body felt heavy, my mind felt loud, and everything that Nigel Senior told us last night was still spinning around in my skull like a drunk ballerina. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard his voice saying "the curse is ending," or "the moment you two stop being stubborn," or even worse, "you might be stuck like this forever."I couldn't even fully process that last one before Nigel, lying next to me, would toss his arm over his eyes dramatically and sigh like he was auditioning for a tragic soap opera.By the time the sun finally crawled over the mountain, I was just relieved it was morning so we could leave. At least on the road I could pretend we were normal again. Well... as normal as two teenagers stuck in each other's bodies while dealing with ancient curses, homicidal fathers, and weird mountain witches could be.Everyone gathered outside of the cabin with bags. Duran had a backpack stuffed so full that the zipper kept slidin
NIGEL'S POV"No, you and I are not related," Lazarus quickly stated.I blew out a breath of relief so hard my shoulders sagged. For a split second, I genuinely thought I was about to find out I shared DNA with the neck biter who once threatened to rip my throat out for breathing too loudly.Grandpa snorted. "Thank the Goddess for that.""But you just said your father and LisaRay made a baby together," Miranda stated, knitting her brows in confusion."I know..." Lazarus said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But you see, the child never came to be. When LisaRay's father found out about the pregnancy, he dragged her to a white witch and demanded she perform a supernatural abortion. The witch refused because she said the child was destined to be mostly wolf, not vampire, which meant the baby would have been unique. Maybe even powerful. A bridge between our species. But Alpha Rampuss, her father, saw the child as an abomination. When the witch refused, he locked her in the dungeon and thre







