LOGINSage’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
They had twelve hours to pack before the convoy left for Montana.Sage stood in the penthouse looking at everything they’d built. Furniture, photos, a life, all of it being abandoned.She grabbed a duffel bag and started throwing in clothes, medical supplies, basically things she couldn’t replace.Kade was in his office destroying documents. Anything that could connect the pack to supernatural activity. Bank records, pack registries, communications with other Alphas.“The clinic,” Sage said. “We can’t just leave it.”“Jenny will run it. She is human, Sarah can’t touch her.” Kade fed another stack of papers into the shredder. “I have transferred funds to an account in her name. Enough to keep it operating for years.”“What about the asylum wolves?”“They are coming with us, all of them.” He stopped shredding and looked at her. “Everyone who wants sanctuary gets it. No one gets left behind.”By dawn they had twenty vehicles packed. One hundred wolves ready to leave. Some were crying, th
Sage spent the night planning.The council enforcers would arrive at dawn with fifty wolves and trained executioners. There was no fighting them off.But she could run.At three AM she called Cole to the operating room. “We are evacuating. Kade, me, and anyone who wants to come. The rest stay and cooperate with the council.”“Where will you go?”“I don’t know yet. Somewhere remote and off the grid.” She looked at Kade still unconscious. “But I’m not letting them execute him in his sleep.”“You realize they will hunt you forever.”“Then we stay ahead of them.” She started disconnecting monitors. “Get me a medical van with supplies. Enough to keep him alive on the road.”“Sage, this is insane…”“I don’t care. I’m not watching my mate die because the council is scared of change.” She met his eyes. “Are you with me or not?”Cole was quiet for a moment. Then nodded. “I’m with you.”They spent two hours preparing. Medical van loaded with equipment. Twenty wolves willing to run. The rest wou
“Do you both enter this bond willingly?” the elder asked.“Yes,” Kade said.“Yes,” Sage whispered.“Then we begin.”The elder spoke in the old language. Words Sage didn’t understand but felt in her bones. He called on the moon and the earth and the ancient pack bonds that connected them all.Then h
The next attack came two days later at the worst possible time.Sage was at the clinic with Jenny treating a line of patients that had been backed up since the warehouse ambush. Three injured wolves. Two human patients with the flu. One kid with a broken arm.It was noon, bright daylight. The last
“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 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?







