"Why is he taking so long?" I ask myself as I shift uncomfortably on the worn-out leather couch in my dad's study. My body still aches, but the pain is nothing compared to the storm brewing inside me.I stand up, tiptoe to the door, and carefully peek out. I see the hunters wrapping up whatever they’ve been discussing with a few unfamiliar faces. I see my father nodding, his expression unreadable, before he finally turns toward the study.I hurry back to the chair, grab one of his old hunter books from the desk, and flip it open, pretending to read. The door creaks open, and I brace myself.He walks in without looking at me and heads straight to his ridiculously large chair at his desk."What do you need, Ingrid?" he asks, his voice sharp and commanding.I place the book down and adjust myself on the chair. His piercing gaze makes my stomach twist, but I swallow my fear and clear my throat."Something happened to me when I was away," I begin, choosing my words carefully.He squints an
“What is she doing here? Who brought her here?” a deep, hoarse voice asks, making my skin prickle.“It’s me, Alpha Lucian. I saw her passed out next to the river when I was out running. I thought she was dead.” A second voice replies, sounding hesitant, almost cautious.“She’s one of us. I couldn’t leave her out there.”A long sigh follows, and then the voice I now recognize as the alpha’s speaks again.“As soon as she wakes up, send her to me.”I hear footsteps fading, and I finally gather enough courage to open my eyes. The first thing I see is a man standing next to me. I recognize him—he is one of the guards who had been sleeping the day I escaped.Sitting beside me is a woman carefully tending to my wound.“Please don’t sit up. You lost a lot of blood,” she says, gently pushing me back to the bed as I try to sit up.The man beside her narrows his eyes at me and suddenly points a finger.“You! I recognize you. You’re the hunter’s daughter,” he says, his tone laced with suspicion.
“If I find you anywhere near this pack again, I will kill you. This time, I’ll make sure you’re dead.” Lucian’s words ring in my head over and over again as I walk through Shadow Ridge Forest.I clench my jaw and push forward. My body is weak, my shoulder aching, but I refuse to stop.I am alone, homeless with nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat.And on top of all of that, it’s only a matter of time before my father tracks me down and kill me.I shake my head, refusing to dwell on it.I do not have the time to feel sorry for myself or wallow in misery. Just because Lucian refused to help me, and my father is hunting me, doesn’t mean I get to give up.I push on, walking for what feels like hours and Just as I’m about to leave Shadow Ridge, I spot something through the trees—a house.It looks abandoned.Hope flickers inside me and I walk toward it cautiously, scanning my surroundings, making sure it’s safe and no one is around. I reach the door and push it open, the wood groaning unde
I walk into town as cautiously as I can, sticking to the busiest streets. I make sure I blend in with the crowd, using my hair to cover my face. To them, I’m just another stranger passing by.I make my way to the back entrance of my bakery, glancing over my shoulder every now and then to make sure I’m not being followed. My hands shake slightly as I twist the doorknob and I slip inside.The familiar scent of fresh pastries and vanilla still lingers, even though the place has been untouched since the day I turned.I move fast, denying myself the time to get sentimental.I grab a duffle bag from my office and start tossing everything I can find—money from the till, non-perishable food, clothes, bathroom supplies.I then take one last look at my little bakery, the place I once thought would be my future and a lump forms in my throat, but I swallow it down and turn to leave.Just as I open the door, I freeze.I find Logan standing outside, gun in hand.Without saying a word, he pushes me
Kira was right. The pain wasn’t as bad as the first time. If I do this a couple more times, it will get easier.I watch as she runs through the trees, jumping over fallen logs and crossing rivers like it’s nothing. She’s free and happy.I get now why she wanted this run so badly.But unlike Kira, my mind is stuck on the attack. No matter how much I want Lucian to suffer, there are kids there. Innocent lives that don’t deserve to be slaughtered by my deranged father.I have to warn them."Kira, we need to change back," I whisper in her head. "I’ve decided to warn Lucian and the rest of the pack!""Ugh, okay. Give me a few more minutes. Let me enjoy this run before Lucian kills us the second he sees you.""Kira, now! There’s no time!" I snap.She sighs dramatically but obeys, turning back towards our cabin."Buzzkill," she sneers, as I shift back, landing hard on my knees.I catch my breath and shake off the lingering pain. "Come on, girl, we’ll have more runs in the future. For now, we
My arms ached, and my fingers became raw from hours of scrubbing wooden floors.Lucian’s idea of letting me stay wasn’t about accepting me into the pack. It was about making me their slave.The second I agreed to stay behind, I became the lowest of the low—an Omega, the pack’s slave and punching bag. They all barked orders at me whenever they pleased. Clean this. Fetch that. Cook. Serve. Scrub.It was humiliating.At first, I convinced myself it made sense, that I have to earn their trust, prove my loyalty and then work my way up.But never have I ever been so wrong in my life.No matter what I did, they still treated me like trash. Even the kids sneered at me, some even spitting on the ground in front of me when they passed.All they saw was the hunter’s daughter—the offspring of the man who has dedicated his life to slaughtering their kind.It didn’t matter that I had saved half of them from him, including their alpha, who would have probably died if I hadn’t been there.None of it
"Kira, we have to get out of town," I mutter, rushing inside the cabin.I find my duffle bag exactly where I left it, and I yank it open, my fingers shaking as I sift through its contents."Everything is still here," I breathe out in relief.Kira sighs in my head, her voice edged with urgency."Good. That’s enough to get us started, Ingrid. But we don’t have much time. They’ll be here any second now. We have to leave."I don’t waste another second.I swing the bag onto my back and bolt out of the cabin, taking the hidden paths Kira and I discovered during our explorations.The woods provide some cover until the moment I step onto the main road.I see the outline of the Shadow Ridge sign looming ahead, and I keep going.A bigger town is just a few miles from Shadow Ridge—Oakridge. It’s the perfect place to disappear. No one will find me there—not Lucian, his pack, or my father.I walk through the darkness. My cap pulled low over my face. Headlights suddenly pierce the night behind me.
I stay in the motel for a whole week, barely leaving my room except for the occasional visit to the vending machine a few times a day. It feels like a long-overdue vacation—something I didn’t realize I needed until now.There are no pack members sneering at me, no one barking orders, no fights to survive: just me, my thoughts, and the quiet hum of the motel.But Kira is getting restless, and I can feel it.I have to let her out soon, but the idea of shifting here, in an unfamiliar place, unsettles me. I have no idea if Oakridge is safe for our kind.“Ingrid, how will we know unless we try?” Kira’s voice echoes in my head, impatient as ever.I sigh.“Kira, we need to consider the possibility that there might be hunters in this town too,” I reassure her, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV, hoping it will distract me.Kira growls, clearly unimpressed.I flip through the channels until I land on a music station playing the latest hits. My foot starts tapping instinctively and befor
LUCIANI gaze down at her, both of us frozen in the moment.Slowly, I tilt my head down, our foreheads coming together. I lean in closer, waiting for her to make the first move, just to be sure she desires me as much as I crave her.My lips hover just above hers as we share shallow breaths."Are you going to kiss me or not, Lucian?" she barks out, impatient. I don't waste another second; my mouth meets hers, and I kiss her with desperate urgency.My hands move to the back of her neck, closing the remaining distance between us, and in response, her hands find their way to my back, grasping tightly enough for me to feel her nails digging in.Today, she's different from the other day; she is hungrier for me, which only fuels my own desire.I spin her around and pin her against the pool wall, my fingers slowly sliding up her inner thighs.She lets out a small moan and spreads her legs, granting me permission.I slip a finger beneath her panties, and tease her by gently caressing her clit.
LUCIAN.I couldn’t believe what I was reading.Each page felt like a dagger to the heart — like I was being dragged deeper into a truth I never asked for.At first, I told myself the journals were just stories. Just fiction. Maybe even training manuals or old records from long ago.But the moment I read the words rogues and torture, the denial started to crumble.Page after page, it got worse.They had brought in a hunter and made a deal with him.His job was to “reform” the rogues or eliminate them if they were too violent. As if reforming ever meant to torture.I start to imagine how they might have convinced themselves they were doing it for the good of the pack. For peace, even order.But peace doesn’t come from pain. And order can never be built on blood.After Ingrid left the room, I found myself sifting through the letters and the rest of the journals she had tried to show me earlier — the ones I refused to believe.Among them, I found another journal.This one was my mother’s.
LUCIAN"So, who is Thomas Blackwood?" Lucian asks, pointing to the name scrawled at the bottom of the parchment.I stretch out my hand, pick up the hunter's manual, and place it in front of him."Probably the same man who wrote this," I mutter, my eyes flicking between the book and the letter.Lucian opens the manual and begins flipping through its pages, starting slowly and then speeding up.With every line he reads, I see the shift in his expression. His jaw clenches, and his hands curl into fists, followed by his eyes beginning to burn red with fury."They did all these things to me, Ingrid, everything written in this book," he blurts, slamming the book shut.I nod silently, sympathizing with him."Is he the author?" Lucian asks, his eyes locking with mine.I shake my head quickly. "No. But I think... his father was."Lucian jolts up so fast his chair screeches backward.He slams his hand down on the desk with force that a cloud of dust bursts into the air.I cough as it fills my l
INGRID.I hadn’t laughed like that in such a long time.It was refreshing seeing Lucian freak out like that, mainly because he always looks so uptight and in control. Like nothing could ever catch him off guard.But somehow... I did.After breakfast, he heads back upstairs, and I remain behind to clear the kitchen and wash the dishes just in case we need them later.Once I’m done, I decide to explore the house a little more, especially if we’re going to be stuck here longer than planned.I start on the ground floor, wandering from room to room, admiring the furniture and the paintings on the walls.They are everywhere. Like his parents were obsessed with art or something.Everything in this house looks custom made. Handcrafted and one of a kind. The other houses Lucian owns don’t come close to this.I make it to the end of the hallway and spot a narrow staircase leading down to what must be the basement.Curious, I head down to see the wine cellar Lucian mentioned to me.At the bottom
LUCIANSleeping next to Ingrid turns out to be one of the worst ideas I’ve had in a long time.The moment I heard her quietly slip into the bed, my heart started pounding, and I could feel the sweat gathering on my back under the sheets.She isn’t anywhere near me; she had made sure to lie as far as possible, but it doesn’t matter. My body still betrays me, aching for her in ways I can’t control.I close my eyes and try to focus on getting some rest. I toss, turn, and even count to a thousand in my head.Eventually, exhaustion wins, and I drift into a shallow sleep. But it doesn’t last.I am jolted awake by sounds. Soft, pained whimpers coming from her side of the bed.I blink my eyes open in the darkness and switch on the bedside lamp.Ingrid looks restless.Her head keeps thrashing lightly from side to side, her fingers clawing at the headboard. She moves her legs as if she is trying to escape something. She must be trapped in a nightmare.I slide closer to her and gently place a h
INGRID“Mmh.. what is that smell?” Kira’s voice jolts me awake.I open my eyes slowly, disoriented for a moment.I look down and notice I’m still wrapped in a towel, lying above the comforter where I must have passed out after soaking my body in bath salts for almost an hour.My body feels relaxed, but my senses are immediately drawn to the sweet, mouthwatering scent wafting through the air.I sit up, stretch my feet out of bed, and yawn. Kira’s right, something smells heavenly.I drag myself to the dusty closet and open it only to find a surprising assortment of clothes that happen to be my size.I sift through them quickly and pick out a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans, brush my hair, and tie it into a high ponytail.This somewhat makes me feel human again.I head downstairs, my bare feet silent against the old floorboards. The scent grows stronger with every step until I find myself standing at the threshold of the kitchen.Lucian is there, in the middle of the room, sleeves rol
LUCIAN."How much further are we walking, Lucian? I'm tired," Ingrid whines from behind, her footsteps growing slower with each passing minute."We should have taken the truck," she adds with a frustrated sigh.I turn my head just enough to arch a brow at her, but don’t slow my pace.“That truck might have a tracker hidden somewhere, Ingrid,” I explain curtly, even though I had a few more times. “I can’t risk any of them finding us.”I don’t wait for her to argue back, I simply turn back around and keep moving, weaving between the trees."You haven’t even told me where we’re going," she points out after a few moments of heavy silence. "Is it to a motel or something?"I almost laugh, at how cute she is. Like I would sleep in some cheap motel.“No, not a motel,” I reply glancing at her over my shoulder. "I know somewhere better. Somewhere we can lie low for a few days until we can come up with a real plan."She falls silent for a few moments, and I think maybe she's given up complaining
INGRIDI see movement from where Lucian lies, and instinctively, I lean forward in my chair, my body tense, hoping he’s finally awake.I watch as his eyes flutter open, and relief floods through me like a crashing wave. I jolt from my seat and rush to his bedside, my heart pounding in my chest."How are you feeling? Have you healed?" I ask quickly, stretching out my hand toward his shoulder, desperate to check for myself.He shits, gritting his teeth slightly as he forces himself to sit up."Yes. I’ve healed." He mumbles.I give him a faint smile and nod, swallowing the lump of exhaustion caught in my throat."Good. That's good. You've been out for almost two days," I mutter, my voice coming out hoarse from lack of sleep.Lucian arches his brow, clearly surprised. "You haven’t slept the whole time?" he asks, concern laced in his voice.I sigh heavily, rubbing my tired eyes with my palm. "Someone had to keep watch... just in case," I respond casually, even though my body screams with f
INGRID."We're here," I pant, my voice barely above a whisper as I come to a halt in front of the old abandoned cabin.The place looks even more broken than I remembered—boards hanging loose, windows cracked, the front porch sagging like it might collapse under our weight."How do you know this place?" Lucian asks, his eyes scanning the woods, then flicking warily back to the cabin.I hesitate before answering, the old hurt rising like smoke in my chest."It's where I stayed when you chased me out of your territory," I blurt, my throat tightening.The words hang in the air for a moment, causing a little bit of tension.Lucian looks away in pretense, and changes the subject quickly."Are you sure it’s safe?" he asks, his hand pressing against his stomach almost instinctively."Yes," I respond quickly. "I'm sure, they probably think we’ve already left Shadow Ridge by now."I climb the creaking steps onto the porch and peek inside through a broken window. "It’s clear!" I call back. "No o