ANMELDEN"Alpha, did the wind shift? Your scent is like a coming storm," Jordan Reed noted, catching the lethal tension in Connor’s posture."The Creative Century pack have snatched Lisa. They are trying to corner Ava at a dinner, using the girl as bait to force a blood-pact," Connor rumbled, his voice vibrating with a low growl."But the Century clan has kept to the High Council laws for seasons now. It seems suicide for them to revert to their old, feral ways," Jordan mused. He remembered the dark legends: how they once used wolfsbane-laced wine to subdue a rival she-wolf until she lost her mind. After that, they claimed to have purged their ranks and installed a new leader. "Why would they risk the Shadow Alpha’s wrath now?""The rot in a stray’s heart never truly heals. It only hides.""Should I lead an extraction party to retrieve the Luna?" Jordan suggested."No. Stay here and watch the perimeter. I’m handling this hunt personally." Connor didn't wait for a response. He grabbed his keys
Before the sun had even crested the peaks of the Vale Hills, Lisa slipped away to a hidden tavern on the edge of the neutral territories. She carried a heavy satchel containing every scent-trail and record we had on Mark Whittaker. She was there to meet a rogue tracker named Zavier. He was the younger cousin of Xenophon, the lead smear-artist who had first tried to blackmail us.Zavier sat in a shadowed corner, clad in dark furs and leather, his hair slicked back with a vanity that spoke of someone who enjoyed the spoils of the city more than the hunt. When he saw Lisa, he didn't even lower his hood. "What's worth the risk of meeting a Vale tracker in the open?"Lisa didn't know that Ariadne had already commissioned Zavier to release a doctored memory-stone of me. She simply leaned in. "If I offer you a haul of gold, will you keep it from your cousin’s paws?""How much gold?""You and Xenophon should know by now: Ava Hart is a she-wolf made of iron. You can drag her name through the m
At this moment, the Creative Century pack once again sent me a summons to their territory..."During the High Council Awards, when they thought Riley Knox would be the one to claim the alpha-luna status, they did everything they could to cut ties with us. Now that the bed-climbing stench has faded from your name, they’ve suddenly found their loyalty again. How can they be so spineless?" Lisa looked at the scroll in front of her, her lip curling in a snarl of pure disgust.I simply leaned my head against Connor’s shoulder, a silent smile playing on my lips. My silence was her answer; I had no intention of running with scavengers.Seeing I had no interest in that den, Lisa shifted her focus. "Ava, what do you think the Council will do with Riley now?""The Alpha of Creative Century didn't start with a noble lineage; he clawed his way up through the fighting pits and the dark-alley taverns. He has connections in both the sunlight and the shadows," Jordan Reed explained, his voice as prec
"Master, do you intend to—""Naturally. I am going to personally support my mate."The night sky over the territories was scattered with cold, shimmering stars. Riley Knox stared up at them through the window of her cramped rental, her breath hitching. She hadn't left this room in days. Ever since her body had rejected the life inside her, she had been weak and hollow. To avoid the baying press and the scouts of rival clans, she hadn't dared visit a healer.And, of course, she was penniless."Elijah, once I reclaim my status, I’ll buy a sprawling estate by the Silver River," Riley murmured, trying to convince herself. "We’ll return to the high life, the way things were meant to be. This exile won't break me. We survived the fall; the ascent is waiting."Elijah didn't offer a word. He simply forced a grim smile that didn't reach his eyes."Are you still snarling at me? I only took your tribute to buy silks and jewels. Do you really need to show me your teeth over a few coins?"Elijah r
"Tell them I’m retreating to my den to recover. My spirit isn't ready for the hunt just yet," I said, skimming the latest scrolls from the various fashion houses. "Connor mentioned that Nova Star Agency is holding trials for their elite pack in a few days. I need to sharpen my senses for that. Besides, there are lingering scents I need to wash away."Lisa watched me closely. She couldn't always read the shifting tides in my eyes, but after years of running in the same pack, she had a hunter's intuition about my moods."You're tracking Riley Knox, aren't we? That she-wolf has seemingly vanished into the tall grass.""A wolf can only stay hidden for so long before they hunger," I replied. "Finding her isn't the challenge. Her lead tracker has a mate and cubs to feed. Lisa, find him. Whisper in his ear that a powerful Alpha is looking to sign her for a major campaign.""And that 'Alpha' is you, isn't it?" Lisa asked, testing the waters."She is like Blake... her word won't clear my name
"Halt the scent-tracking tonight," Connor replied flatly before cutting the link. Jordan Reed nodded, slipping his device into his pocket with a heavy sigh.He knew the Shadow Alpha better than most. This was a male who reigned over the Vale Media Group with iron and silence; he would never allow the pack to see a crack in his armor, not even the woman who held his heart.Following my declaration that the debt was settled, Turner Studios remained silent for days. The whelp Blake had placed in charge was a yearling with no nose for crisis.No longer owing each other? The public was beginning to see the truth. My supporters began circulating scrolls detailing every time the agency had used me as a decoy or a sacrificial lamb—from the substitute hunt at the Pacific Crown Gala to the recent slander. It was a trail of blood and bruises that would have broken a lesser wolf. Yet, I was the one offering a truce.Under the weight of constant insults, while struggling to reclaim my own territor
Despite the sudden storm of venom from the tabloids and the fractured howling of the public, I refused to let their noise disrupt my spirit. I traded my runway silks for a flowy, Bohemian maxi dress, letting the wind catch the fabric as I reclined on the deck of a private yacht. Connor sat across f
Riley’s eyes were frantic, searching for a way to force Blake into suggesting a termination. She wanted the blood of their bond to be on his hands, so he would be the one to sever the tie. She knew that after three years of sharing a territory, a clean break was a myth; their histories were too int
The following sunrise, as Blake and Riley entered the Turner Studios den, they were greeted by a mountain of tributary gifts piled upon Blake’s mahogany desk. Riley’s eyes darted across the colorful wrappings, a cold pit forming in her stomach as she realized she had completely forgotten it was Bla
I turned my gaze toward Riley, the cold edge of my disdain enough to make a lesser wolf whimper. I wanted to tell her, “Not every predator is a scavenger like you,” but I realized I couldn't be bothered. Riley would only find a way to scent a lie in the truth.In the heavy oak doorway of the den, B







