LOGINEmily’s POVI still couldn't believe I was hiding in the same place as Alessandro. Days had passed since we escaped that hospital and yet I hadn't seen my son even once.The first day, Alessandro told me Liam was safe.The second day, he told me Liam needed to remain hidden.The third day, he said there were people looking for the baby.By the fourth day, I was already losing my mind.Every answer he gave only created ten more questions.Every explanation sounded like a lie. And the more he refused to tell me where Liam was, the more paranoid I became.I was sitting in the kitchen one evening when he walked inside carrying a cup of coffee.Immediately my chest tightened, and immediately my anger returned.I slammed my hands on the table."Where is my son?"Alessandro stopped walking.Almost like he had been expecting it."Emily—""No."I stood up."Don't start that again."His jaw tightened."He's safe.""Stop saying that!"My voice echoed through the room."That's all you ever say."
EMILY The world kept fading in and out around me. One second I was awake, and the next I was sinking again.Everything felt heavy. My arms, my legs and even my eyelids.It was as though someone had tied weights to every part of my body and expected me to keep moving anyway.The only thing that remained constant was the movement beneath me, the wheelchair.I could feel the slight vibration every time the wheels rolled over the seams in the floor. I could hear the faint squeaking sound coming from somewhere near the back wheel.I forced my eyes open.The ceiling lights above me blurred together before slowly coming into focus.I was still in the hospital.The memory of the nurse's whisper came rushing back immediately and my heart clenched painfully.The thought of my son instantly shoved away some of the fog clouding my mind.I tried lifting my head, and the effort alone made my vision swim.The doctor pushing my wheelchair didn't look at me once, his face remained completely expressi
Emily's POVThe first thing I became aware of was the sound.A steady beeping.It cut through the darkness long before I could feel my own body.For a while, I simply floated there, trapped somewhere between consciousness and sleep. I couldn't tell how much time had passed. Minutes. Hours. Days. Everything felt distant, like I was underwater and the world existed somewhere far above me.Then the pain arrived.Just a dull crushing ache spreading through every part of me.Even breathing felt like work.I frowned and tried to move my fingers. The effort alone exhausted me.A soft groan escaped my throat. The sound startled me, it sounded weak.Slowly, painfully, I forced my eyes open.For several seconds everything remained blurry.My vision swam before finally beginning to focus and I could clearly see that I was in a hospital room. The realization hit me slowly as my heart skipped.I immediately tried sitting up and instantly pain exploded through my abdomen.A cry escaped my lips as
ALESSANDRO I had known Santos for years.Long enough to know that the man standing in front of me wasn't normal and long enough to know that whatever was wrong with Joselyn had not started with her.It started with him.The madness ran through their bloodline like a disease.The same cold smiles.The same lack of empathy.The same terrifying ability to discuss death over dinner as though they were talking about the weather.Rain continued pouring outside the safe house while Santos stood across from me, looking entirely too relaxed for a man who had just threatened me.The dead woman still sat in the courtyard behind us.A bullet hole between her eyes, blood slowly mixing with rainwater.Santos didn't even spare her another glance.I folded my arms tightly."What exactly do you want?"Santos smiled."I came to see my son-in-law."I nearly laughed."Cut the bullshit."His smile disappeared. For a moment neither of us spoke, then he stepped closer."I heard you've been mistreating my d
ALESSANDRO I still could not believe Joselyn had walked into my house like she had done.And started ordering my men around as though my authority meant nothing anymore.And the worst part?They listened to her.That alone told me everything I needed to know.Power was shifting.I barely slept that night. Every sound inside the safe house kept my wolf alert. Every creak of the floorboards made my hand drift toward the gun beneath my pillow.The council had frozen my accounts.Half my men had stopped answering my calls.The others suddenly needed “permission” before moving weapons or vehicles.Permission.For years nobody questioned my orders.Now even my own territory felt unfamiliar.I woke slowly the next morning, my head pounding from exhaustion. For a few seconds I forgot where I was. The room was dark except for the pale light slipping through the curtains.Then I felt someone watching me.My eyes snapped open instantly.Joselyn sat in the chair across the room with one leg cros
EMILY The moment I stepped into my studio, I quickly observed that something was off. I froze by the door, my fingers still wrapped around the strap of my bag while my eyes slowly swept across the room. The curtains were exactly where I left them. The lights were off. My design boards still leaned against the far wall beside the mannequin stand.But the air felt disturbed.Like someone had breathed inside my space while I was away.My chest tightened instantly.I shut the door slowly behind me and took another step forward, my heels clicking softly against the wooden floor. The silence inside the studio made my skin crawl.Then I noticed one of my drawers was slightly open.My heartbeat skipped.I knew I had closed it before leaving yesterday.I moved closer carefully, my eyes scanning everything around me. Nothing looked stolen. My expensive camera was still sitting on the shelf beside the mood boards. The framed sketches near the wall were untouched.But little things were differe
EMILYDinner that evening was painfully awkward.Gabby sat between Julian and me, happily chattering and unaware of the tension thickening the air around him, but I could feel it with every breath I took. A current of awareness pulsed between Julian and me, sharp and undeniable, making even the sma
EMILY South Valley.The name alone had sounded ominous when Julian first spoke it. Now that we were here, I understood why.It was dry and suffocatingly hot deep in the bowels of the constricted valley. For two relentless days we had crossed an arid desert mountain range, following narrow, treache
ALESSANDRO The ground shook beneath the pounding of hundreds of hooves, the thunder of them rolling across the hot desert toward the south . Dust rose in thick clouds, stinging my eyes and coating my tongue. Almost as one, the cavalcade curved and slowed, then came to a rolling halt.“The Rio.”I
EMILYHe had lied after all.I clung to the hot anger that swept through me. Anger was better and safer than the hurt and disappointment that had filled me after our night of sheer pleasure. My fingers dug into his shoulders as we cantered between two towering buttes, leaving the town farther and f







