LOGINKAIA
I press my forehead against the cool glass of Talia's car window, watching the trees blur past. The window's cracked just enough to let the mountain air sweep through, carrying the scent of pine and earth.
"You okay?" Talia asks, glancing at me from the driver's seat.
"Yeah." The lie tastes stale on my tongue. "Just thinking."
<
KAIANine months later…Pain rips through my body, and I scream."I know, amor. I know." Vincent's voice is rough with worry. His hand grips mine so tight I think he might break my fingers, but I hold on harder."You're doing so well," Dr. Tracy says from between my legs. "One more push, Kaia. Just one more."I shake my head, gasping for air. "I can't—""You can." Vincent leans down, his forehead pressed against mine. Through the bond, I feel his absolute faith in me. His love. His terror that something might go wrong mixed with fierce pride. "You're the strongest person I know."Another contraction builds, and I bear down with everyth
KAIAHe pushes to his feet with fluid grace. Blood still drips from his chin, but the injury—the fatal injury—is gone. Healed. Like I never touched him."Did you really think it would be that easy?" He tilts his head, studying me like I'm a particularly entertaining puzzle. "Darling, I've survived far worse than a missing heart."He snaps his fingers.The world fractures.Multiple versions of him appear—surrounding me in a perfect circle. Five, ten, fifteen identical Edvards, all wearing that same cruel smile. The ground beneath my feet shifts, wrong, like reality itself is bending around me.I spin, searching for the real one. But they all feel solid. Real. My Fae blood screams that
KAIAThe water feels like silk sliding over my skin.I float on my back in the spring, staring up through the canopy. Sunlight filters through the leaves in shifting patterns—gold and green dancing across my vision. Steam rises around me in lazy curls.My fingers drift to my neck. The mark is still tender—a perfect crescent of raised skin where Vincent's teeth claimed me. I trace the shape slowly, and warmth blooms in my chest.Mine. The word echoes through me, carried on the bond that hums like a live wire between us. He's in the house somewhere—I can feel him even from here. That constant pull, like an invisible thread connecting my heart to his.My wolf stretches inside me, content and lazy.
VINCENTI wake up with Kaia in my arms, and the bond between us hums like a live wire beneath my skin.For a moment, I just lie there, feeling her breathe. Her bare back presses against my chest, warm and solid and real.The memory crashes over me before I can stop it.Lewis's panicked phone call.Racing to his territory and finding nothing but disturbed earth where the portal had been.Knowing she was gone and I had no way to reach her.My chest tightens at the memory. Those hours were the worst of my life—worse than any battle, any chall
KAIACold stone presses against my back. The smell of blood and rot fills my nose. Silver bars shimmer in the dim torchlight—My eyes fly open.No stone. No bars. No cell.Soft sheets tangle around my legs. Gentle light streams through massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The scent that surrounds me isn't decay—it's cedar and spice and Vincent.I'm in his bed. His room.My heart hammers against my ribs, panic still clawing at my throat even though I can see I'm safe. I force myself to breathe. The air here doesn't taste like blood.Water runs nearby. Steam drifts
KAIACold stone presses against my back. The smell of blood and rot fills my nose. Silver bars shimmer in the dim torchlight—My eyes fly open.No stone. No bars. No cell.Soft sheets tangle around my legs. Gentle light streams through massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The scent that surrounds me isn't decay—it's cedar and spice and Vincent.I'm in his bed. His room.My heart hammers against my ribs, panic still clawing at my throat even though I can see I'm safe. I force myself to breathe. The air here doesn't taste like blood.Water runs nearby. Steam drifts
My mind reels, but before I can form a coherent thought, a voice cuts through the air behind us—cold, hard, and achingly familiar."What the fuck did you just say?"My
KAIASaturday mornings used to be peaceful. No alarm clock, no rush to get dressed for work, no chance of running into Vincent's brooding presence in the hallway. Today should feel like freedom, but instead, I'm sitting in the passenger seat
KAIAI stare at my reflection in the mirror, carefully applying a final touch of mascara for my first date with Lewis tonight. It's been exactly seven days since I stormed out of Vincent's office, and I have barely spoken to him except neces
KAIAIt's been three days since the late-night incident with Vincent, and I've been doing my best to ignore what happened. Whatever I felt when he touched my wrist—whatever that electric pull was—I buried it deep. We're keeping t







