JERRY'S POV__________________________________My heart is pounding as if it were trying to escape as I stand in the mansion's hallway with my back to the chilly stone wall. My eyes are burning red, the air is heavy, and it smells of tension and old wood. This alpha curse is itching beneath my skin. Clutching the bloodstone shard in my pocket, I'm sixteen-year-old Jerry, lost in the chaos of Crescent City. The voices in my head—fight, protect, kill—are louder than ever, and it's hot and pulsing like a heartbeat. Sasha is beside me, her blond hair disheveled and her arm covered in blood from our escape from the cartel den. I'm trying to decide whether or not I can trust her after everything as she watches me with her gentle yet perceptive green eyes.Mom's coma monitor beeps in the adjacent room, and flickering lamps dimly light the hallway. Every sound reminds me that she is fighting for her life after sacrificing herself for us, and it feels like a knife in my stomach. Though it soun
DEBBY’S POV__________________________________I’m sinking in this coma, my mind trapped in a dark, swirling void, like I’m lost in a storm that never ends. My body’s heavy, useless, but my thoughts are sharp, clawing for my son, Jerry. I’m Debby, stuck in this haze, and every vision of him feels like a knife in my chest. He’s out there in Crescent City’s shadows, the bloodstone shard burning in his pocket, its pulse pulling at his alpha curse. I can feel him running, Sasha at his side, and I’m terrified—terrified she’s leading him straight to Damon, that ruthless alpha who’ll kill him for that stone. I want to scream, to pull him back to the mansion, but I’m just a ghost in this darkness, watching my boy fight for his life.The haze shifts, and I see Levin in the mansion’s war room, his broad shoulders tense, his dark eyes locked on a fake bloodstone. It’s a witch’s trick, glowing crimson like the real thing, but it’s a lie meant to fool Damon’s pack. I feel Levin’s plan—a gambit to
JERRY’S POV__________________________________My heart is slamming against my ribs as I run through the back alleys of Crescent City, my boots banging on the cracked pavement. Bars, warehouses, and shadows scuttling with peril are all blurred by the neon lights. I'm Jerry, sixteen years old, cursed, and my eyes are burning red from this uncontrollable alpha power. The shard of bloodstone in my pocket feels like it's on fire, and its pulse echoes the voices in my head that are telling me to fight, run, and kill. I can't let it go, even though I detest the way it tugs at me. Beside me, Sasha is gasping for air and has blood streaming from the place where she was slashed by a cartel thug in that den. I thought I could find answers by following her into that mess, but now we're on the run and Damon's wolves are after us.As we hide behind a dumpster, the smell of blood and trash fills the air, burning my lungs. Despite the pain, Sasha's green eyes are sharp and pale. "We need to keep goi
DEBBY’S POV__________________________________I feel like I'm in a never-ending storm, my mind trapped in a swirling black void as I drown in this coma. My mind is keen and clawing for my son, Jerry, even though my body is useless and heavy as stone. Every vision of Jerry feels like a kick to the gut, and I'm Debby, trapped in this daze. With the bloodstone shard burning in his pocket and his heart pounding, he is out in the dark streets of Crescent City. It is drawing him farther into danger, and I can feel its pulse, like a heartbeat calling to his curse. That hunter girl I can't trust, Sasha, is with him, and I'm afraid she's taking him directly to Damon's wolves.As the haze changes, I see Jerry in a neon-lit street with a strong smoke and blood odor. His hands are shaking, his eyes are glowing red, and his alpha power is aching to escape. Beside him, Sasha is scanning the shadows with her knife shining and her blond hair pulled back. "This way," she murmurs in a low, urgent voic
JERRY’S POV__________________________________My boots are scuffing the stone as I stand in the mansion's courtyard, my heart thumping in my chest like a drum. The cold moonlight creates lifelike shadows that seem to be observing me. I'm Jerry, sixteen years old, cursed, and my eyes are burning red from this uncontrollable alpha power. Like a hot coal, the bloodstone shard in my pocket pulses in time with the voices in my head that tell me to fight, run, and kill. Even though I detest it, I can't let it go. Blood is dripping from Sasha's temple as she leans against the wall beside me. I'm the moron who followed her into that alley in the hopes of saving her, and she's hurt from our altercation with Damon's wolves.Levin is standing in front of me, his alpha aura weighing heavily like a storm, his dark eyes blazing. His voice reverberating off the walls of the mansion, he yells, "Jerry!" "Why in the world did you run off like that?" He's my father, but I've hated him for years because
DEBBY’S POV__________________________________I feel like I'm drowning in a black river as I go deeper and deeper into this coma, my mind a whirling jumble of whispers and shadows. My mind is keen and clawing for my son, Jerry, while my body is stuck, heavy, and useless. I can feel him walking through the shadowy streets of Crescent City, his hands gripping that accursed piece of bloodstone, his heart racing. Every vision of Jerry pierces me like a blade, and I'm Debby, stuck in this emptiness. I'm a helpless ghost watching my boy struggle for his life as he runs from Damon's wolves with Sasha by his side.As the haze changes, I see Levin in the war room of the mansion, his dark eyes fixed on a city map, his broad shoulders tense. I can sense that he is preparing a dangerous scheme to deceive Damon, the vicious alpha who is pursuing Jerry in search of the bloodstone. I see Levin holding a phony stone, its red glow a witchcraft fabrication. In order for Levin to save me and put an end