登入"I just want proof that you'll keep your promise," Milo said. "Put it in writing... then I'll tell you everything I know." He looked straight at me. The confidence he'd been pretending to have was completely gone. All that was left was fear. "Please... you have to get me away from him. Do that, and I'll tell you everything."The fear pouring off the kid was almost something you could touch. We all knew how dangerous Varek was, and it was obvious his own men knew it too. As foolish as it might have been, I couldn't stop myself from hoping that this same fear was the reason Vale had stayed by Varek's side. Maybe... if I was lucky... My brother was only doing these terrible things because he was terrified of what Varek would do if he didn't."We don't need lawyers," Lucien said. "Orion and I are both alphas. Our written word carries legal weight on its own." He looked at Elias. "Grab some paper and a pen.""On it."Elias hurried upstairs and came back a minute later with both.Lucien lai
By the time Elara and Voss drove away, I stood there watching them with a small smile on my face. But as soon as she was out of my sight, that smile was gone. My wolf let out a low, dangerous growl. I turned and looked at Jaxon."Are you ready for this?" he asked. "You don't have to be part of it. Lucien and I can handle getting the information.""I appreciate that," I replied, "but I'll be okay. You both have been through things like this before, and I haven't. Still... This isn't just another mission. This is about my son and my mate. If I have to get my hands dirty to protect them, then that's exactly what I'll do."Jaxon studied me for a moment, licking his lips, then gave a slow nod. "All right. Let's get started."Selene walked past me and headed down the porch steps."Good luck," she said with a shiver. "I thought I could handle this, but I guess I'm more like Elara. There are some things I just don't want to watch.""I'll tell you what we find out," I promised.She nodded, gla
That old nickname... hearing it again felt completely different now. The first time Orion stood on my porch and called me that after all those years, it filled me with pure anger. But now... it sent a warm shiver through my body."It's okay," I said. "Really. I may not want to watch what you're going to do, but I need to be part of this. I have to know what's happening. Otherwise, I'll feel like I'm being left out. I don't want to be standing on the sidelines."And that was the truth. None of this was easy or pleasant, but it still had to be done. If it helped save my son, then it was the least I could do."We'll start by talking to him," Lucien said. "Keep things simple at first. Stay calm... maybe throw in a few subtle threats. Just enough to scare him, but not enough to make him completely shut down.""Yeah," Jaxon agreed. "Nobody wants to be tortured or beaten. After dealing with this guy, I doubt Varek inspires much loyalty. If we're lucky, he'll break pretty quickly."Elias fold
After what felt like forever, I finally calmed down."Sorry," I whispered. "I guess I really needed that. Between Kael being gone... and worrying about you... I was falling apart."He gave me a small, sad smile."That's completely normal. I'm not happy that that psycho has our son either. But we're going to figure this out. We still have a plan... it's just changed a little. That's what matters. We'll make that guy talk.""Oh... damn," I said suddenly, blinking in surprise. "Shouldn't you be downstairs helping question him instead of staying up here... taking care of me?"A wave of guilt washed over me. I felt selfish. Orion had responsibilities that were much bigger than standing in the shower comforting me."We've got time," he said. "You told me Varek said he'd contact us again, so there's no need to rush. Besides... I want that guy to sit alone for a while. Let him imagine what's coming. Let fear build inside his head. By the time we question him, he'll already be close to panicki
We all gathered around the kitchen table, and I climbed onto Orion's lap. Sitting beside him just didn't feel close enough anymore. After everything that had happened... after that phone call and all the fear I'd gone through... I couldn't bear to be away from him. Our argument felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. Right then, the only place I wanted to be was with him. In the middle of all the chaos, Orion was all I had left... the only thing connecting me to our missing son.He rested one hand on my thigh and gently rubbed my back while everyone settled into their seats."So... what exactly happened while we were gone?" Lucien asked. "Voss said Varek contacted you?""He did," I answered with a tired sigh. "We tried to trace the call, but it didn't work.""That little blond tech geek blocked everything I tried," Voss said. "They must've expected we'd try something like that."Orion looked at me. "What did he actually say?"I rubbed my forehead, already feeling another headache co
By the time we got back to the alpha house, I felt completely worn out. The fight itself hadn't been the hardest part... it was everything that came with it. Seeing how much Vale had changed destroyed the little hope I still had for him. On top of that, we had failed our main mission. We didn't bring Vale back, and that made me feel like I'd failed both Kael and Elara. No matter how everything ended, I knew that feeling would stay with me for a long time.But the second the front door flew open and Elara came running toward me, I somehow found the strength to keep going. She looked completely heartbroken. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. Even like that... she was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She ran straight into my arms, hugged me tightly, and grabbed my shirt with both hands.“It's okay,” I whispered, gently running my hand through her hair. “We're okay. We're all okay.”She pulled back just enough to look me over. Her hands moved across my body as she che
I had never loved any other man the way I had loved Orion. Not even Travis. I was never completely in love with Travis like I had been with Orion. I was only twenty when Orion left, still just a kid, but we were soulmates. More than that, I was his fated mate. When Orion left, my heart had broken
She sighed and dropped into the chair facing me. “I didn’t question it. Honestly, I was still shocked about his death. I wasn’t thinking about anyone else. I’ve been gone for a long time. Long enough not to see how bad things had gotten. Orion, Dad was only fifty-seven when he died. That’s not old
Stacks of forms, spreadsheets, and bank papers were spread across the desk in front of me. All of them showed the same thing. The pack was in serious trouble. When they called and begged me to come back after my father died, part of me thought they just wanted an easy plan for a new alpha. No need
We didn’t unpack and went straight to the store after taking everything out of the car. Kael spent the drive looking around the town. I was happy to see a new park had been built. It had a playground, a small baseball field, and, to Kael’s excitement, four basketball courts.“I can walk here,” Kael







