MasukSage woke in the medical building for what felt like the hundredth time in her life.Margaret was beside her. Kade on the other side. Both looking exhausted.“The baby?” Sage asked. Her voice was hoarse.“Still there. Heartbeat strong.” Margaret showed her the ultrasound screen. “But you’re on strict bed rest. Any more stress and you will miscarry.”“I can’t be on bed rest. The war—”“The war will happen with or without you running around making it worse.” Margaret’s voice was firm. “You’re pregnant. High risk. You don’t get to be Alpha right now. You get to be a mother protecting her child.”“But the pack needs—”“The pack needs their Alpha alive and sane. Not dead from stress.” Kade grabbed her hand. “Cole can lead temporarily. You focus on staying pregnant.”Sage wanted to argue. But the cramping pain was still there. A reminder of how close she’d come to losing this baby.“Fine. Bed rest. But I want updates. Every day. On everything.”Cole came by that evening. Brought reports on
The bullet hit the ceiling. Marcus had aimed high deliberately. Warning shot.“Everyone down!” Cole yelled.Wolves scattered. Some shifted. Some dove for cover. Marcus’s rebels blocked the exits.Sage moved in front of Kade’s wheelchair. “What do you want, Marcus?”“What I’ve always wanted. Control.” He walked further into the room. Blood dripped from a wound on his shoulder. He looked half-dead but still dangerous. “Thought I’d let you vote? Choose your future? That’s not how this works.”“The vote is pack law,” Victoria said. She’d been observing from the side. “You can’t just—”“I don’t care about pack law. Or the council. Or any of this.” Marcus gestured with his gun. “I’m taking what should have been mine from the start.”“You lost,” Kade said from his wheelchair. “Your rebellion failed. Accept it.”“I lost because you cheated. Because she cheated.” Marcus pointed the gun at Sage. “Half-blood bitch who shouldn’t even exist. And you let her lead.”“Lower the weapon,” Victoria comm
Sage’s white wolf launched at Marcus before anyone could react.She hit him hard. They went down in a tangle of fur and teeth. She got her jaws around his shoulder and bit down until she tasted blood.His wolves moved in. Fifty of them surrounding her.She didn’t care. Kade was chained behind her dying and she’d tear through all of them to save him.Marcus threw her off. She hit the cave wall. Stunned.He shifted to human. Grabbed the silver knife. “Bad decision.”She shifted back. Gasping for air. “Let him go.”“No. I think I’ll kill you both. Right here. Right now.” Marcus walked toward her. “But you first. Make him watch.”He raised the knife.Then the cave entrance exploded.Not literally. But it felt like it. Wolves poured in. Fifty of them were wearing council colors.Victoria at the front. “Stand down, Marcus!”“You tracked me.” Marcus spat. “Of course you did.”“Sage warned me about your attack. About everything.” Victoria’s voice was cold. “You’re under arrest for treason aga
Sage’s miracle came from an unexpected place.One of the imprisoned wolves was a female named Rachel. Mid-thirties. Quiet. Had been in the cage for two weeks.She waited until the guards changed shift at three AM. Then whispered to Sage. “I can pick locks.”“What?”“The silver chains. I can pick them.” Rachel held up a small wire hidden in her hair. “But I need time. And a distraction.”Sage looked at Kade. He was barely conscious. The silver poisoning was affecting him worse than her. He’d been shot with silver bullets too recently. His body couldn’t handle more exposure.“How long?” Sage asked.“Ten minutes per lock. There are four of us. Forty minutes total.” Rachel looked at the guards. “Can you distract them that long?”“I’ll figure it out.” Sage touched Kade’s face. “Stay with me. Just a little longer.”He mumbled something. His skin was gray. Fever burning through him.She started screaming. “Help! He’s dying! Please, someone help!”The guards came over. “Shut up.”“He’s having
The first week in Montana was hell.Everyone was assigned jobs. Kade worked construction building new cabins. Sage ran the medical clinic treating injuries and illness. Cole managed security rotations. Beth helped in the kitchens.They were prisoners pretending to be guests.Alpha Marcus ran the sanctuary like a military camp. Rules for everything. Wake at dawn. Training from six to eight. Work assignments until five. Dinner. Lights out at ten.No phones. No internet. No contact with the outside world.Sage felt suffocated.She was treating a wolf with a broken arm when Dana came in. “We need to talk. Privately.”Sage finished the cast and followed Dana outside. They walked to the edge of the compound where guards couldn’t hear.“What’s wrong?” Sage asked.“Everything. This place is wrong.” Dana looked around nervously. “Wolves are disappearing. Three in the past week. Marcus says they broke rules and got sent away. But I don’t believe him.”“Sent where?”“Nobody knows. They just vani
Sage shifted back into her naked human form. “Now you know.”“How many of you are there?” Sarah asked. Her voice was barely a whisper.“Thousands. All over the world. We have existed alongside humans for millennia.” Sage put her clothes back on. “We’re not a threat. We just want to live in peace.”“People need to know. The government…”“They will panic, hunt us and probably start a war.” Kade stepped forward. “Is that what you want? Mass hysteria? Military hunting civilians? Because that’s what happens if you expose us.”Sarah picked up her gun. Put it in her holster with shaking hands. “I have evidence. Lab results. Video. I can’t just ignore it.”“You can if you want to prevent bloodshed.” Victoria spoke up. “Detective, there are supernatural councils that maintain peace between species. Exposure laws exist for a reason. To protect both sides.”“Species?” Sarah looked sick. “What else exists? Vampires? Demons?”“Many things you don’t want to know about.” Victoria moved closer. “Let
The week passed faster than Sage expected.Kade recovered quickly once the wolfsbane was completely out of his system. By day three, he was training hard. By day five, he was back at full strength. By day seven, he was better than before.The pack had rallied around him after the challenge. Even wo
“I’m asking if you want to complete a real mate bond, not a contract, not a business arrangement. The real thing.” His hand tightened on hers. “I know it is complicated. I know the pack will have opinions. I know we still have things to work through but I want you to stay. Permanently.”“Are you su
The fight was brutal from the first moment.Marcus lunged immediately going for Kade’s throat. Kade dodged and countered with claws raking down Marcus’s side. Blood sprayed across the dirt.Sage watched from the edge of the clearing with her hands clenched so tight her nails cut into her palms. Ril
The peace lasted exactly three days.Sage was at the clinic treating a patient with a sprained ankle when Riley burst through the door with blood running down his arm.“We need to talk,” he said. “Now.”She finished wrapping the ankle and sent the patient home, then turned to Riley. “What happened?







