LUCIAN,I haven’t seen Ingrid since I had her brought here. I ordered her to be settled in the room farthest from mine. I know she wouldn’t want to be near me, just as I didn’t want to be near her.There was a moment I thought about checking up on her while she was unconscious, but I stopped myself. I figured it would send the wrong message to Ezra, and he would start thinking I cared.Instead, I threw myself into handling the transition of the packs. I let Ezra deal with the settlement during the day, while I patrolled the borders at night with Dash, who had come on board after I explained why I made Ezra my Beta and not him.Other than that, I haven’t been sleeping well.Every time I try to close my eyes, I see Ingrid. Her face, specifically the expression she gave me after defeating Victoria. That look wasn’t just pride. It was something more. Something I couldn’t place, and it keeps haunting me.That’s why I need a distraction immediately.“Dash,” I bark as we return from patrol. “
INGRID"What the hell was that, Kira?" I mutter, limping across the room, my fingers trembling at my sides."He was just standing there, watching me while I was naked."Kira chuckles like it’s funny, but it’s not."I feel so violated," I add, my skin crawling at the thought of his eyes on me.I rush back to the window and peek through the sheer curtain expecting to still find him there, and he is, except he is kissing Victoria.My stomach twists as I watch him lead her inside the house, his hands firm on her waist, his lips moving against hers like he wasn’t just—“The fuck? I gasp, yanking the curtain shut completely.I shake my head in disbelief, my jaw tightening, and I feel sick.I drag myself back to bed and slip under the covers, pulling them up to my chin as I close my eyes.I don’t want to think about this. About him.*****************************A loud bang on my door startles me awake, and I blink rapidly, trying to clear the fog of sleep from my mind.I groan, dragging myse
LUCIANAs soon as I storm out of her room, I lean against the door, pressing my palms against the cold wood.My chest rises and falls unevenly, my heart pounding for reasons I refuse to acknowledge.From the other side, I hear hers. The steady rhythm of her heart, slightly faster than before.I curse under my breath and push away from the door, clenching my fists as I stride down the hallway."What the hell was that, Lucian?" I mutter to myself.I wasn’t supposed to go in there, but after barely sleeping the entire night, I woke up with only one thought. To see her.So I did.The moment I walked in and saw that damn robe loosely tied around her waist, I wanted to grab her and claim her right then and there.That’s why I had to leave. Because if I had stayed another second, I would’ve done something I might regret.I spot a pack member striding past me and bark, "You. Get Ezra. Tell him to see me immediately."Without waiting for a response, I head straight to my office, leaving the doo
INGRIDAfter spending the entire day in the compound making sure everyone, especially the kids, were well settled, I was exhausted.All I wanted was to collapse into my bed and rest my eyes, but the children wouldn’t let me.They followed me everywhere, asking endless questions about where I had learned to fight and who had taught me.Of course, I couldn’t tell them exactly where I’d learned.Luckily, their mothers eventually called them back as the sun began to set, finally releasing me from their shackles.With a deep sigh, I use my walking stick to drag myself toward the house, my body aching with every step.Just as I am about to reach the main door, I stumble into the posse again, and this time they look pissed."You know, you will never fit in no matter what you do," Victoria sneers, her arms crossed over her chest.I scan her from her perfect blonde hair to her polished boots before limping past her without saying a word."I’m talking to you, Ingrid!" she calls after me, her voi
LUCIAN.Training had officially kicked off.Ezra and I chose the strongest warriors and the weakest, pairing them together so each strong fighter could train a weaker one.Ingrid’s job was to ensure that the strongest warriors kept their skills sharp.I had been watching her for a few days now, and I have to admit that Ezra was right. She’s an asset to this pack.She trained them with so much precision and grace, like she was born for this."Use your hands as your guard!" she yells at Dash for what feels like the hundredth time.I stop and watch."There is nothing you can teach me, Ingrid. I’m older and faster than you," Dash sneers, clenching his fists.I see Ingrid’s demeanor shift, and her breathing becomes erratic, like Dash's words had hit a nerve."Go teach the younglings. Leave us alone," he adds, turning to walk away from the training field.The other older pack members laugh, high-fiving each other in agreement.As he walks away, Ingrid pounces on him from behind, wrapping he
INGRIDTHUD! I bang the door shut behind me, my breath coming fast, my hands shaking.The air in my room feels heavy, like it’s pressing down on my chest, making it impossible to think straight.With a frustrated sigh, I reach up and untie my hair, letting the strands fall around my face. My fingers thread through it as I try to calm my racing heart, but it’s useless. The memory of what just happened refuses to leave me.“What was that?” I mutter to myself, pacing across the room, my bare feet making soft sounds against the wooden floor.I squeeze my eyes shut, but it only makes the memory stronger. The way our chests collided at one point, his breath against my skin when he whispered in my ear, and the warmth I felt on my skin whenever he touched me. I groan and kick my bed in frustration, which is a big mistake.“Fuck!” I gasp, stumbling as pain shoots up my leg. A tear spills down my cheek, caused by this stupid, self-inflicted injury.I sink to the floor, clutch my foot, and blow
LUCIANAs I watched Ingrid storm off the training field and disappear into the house, I felt something heavy in my chest.With a frustrated sigh, I grab my shirt from the ground, slip it back on, and button it up one by one.I feel the weight of the pack’s stares before I even lift my head.Irritation flares in my chest, and I turn. “What the hell are you looking at?” I growl, my voice sharp and heavy.They scramble, diverting their gazes as if they weren’t just openly gawking at me.“Go back to training. Now!” I bark.The murmurs die down, and the clanking of fists against flesh and grunts of exertion fill the space again.I exhale, rolling my shoulders.Should I go after her and make sure I didn’t hurt her? I think to myself, but something inside me pushes the thought away immediately.She’s a fighter. She doesn’t need me running after her like some desperate fool.Instead, I decide to focus on something productive, but after just a few steps, I run into Victoria.I see the anger bef
INGRID.A week has passed, and people are still talking about my cake.I didn’t expect it to be such a big deal, but now, every time I pass through the compound, someone stops me to ask when I’ll be baking again.It’s almost comical how something so small can bring people so much joy.But to be honest, I don’t mind because it made me feel normal again. Like I still have a piece of my old life left. So, I decided I’ll be baking for them whenever I get the chance.As for Lucian, he hasn’t been around the past week.I overheard Ezra telling some pack members that he was away, handling “personal business,” but I knew that was a lie.I noticed Victoria was gone, too, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together to figure out they were together.At first, it bothered me, and I hated that it did.I thought something shifted between us that day on the field and back at that kitchen, but clearly, I was the only one who felt something.Now, I am seated on a bench, watching Ezra play w
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