LOGINThe hallway outside the delivery room was filled with a silence unlike anything I had ever experienced. Not peaceful silence. Not comfortable silence. The kind of silence that came from people waiting for something completely beyond their control. The kind filled with nervous breathing, restless movements, and terrified glances toward a closed door. Since Kane had entered the room, something impossible had happened. The panic that had consumed Sophie seemed to ease. The doctors stopped arguing. The healers stopped questioning. The entire room somehow settled around my son’s presence. Nobody understood it. Nobody knew how to explain it. At this point, I wasn't sure anyone cared about explanations anymore. We just wanted everyone alive.Selena sat curled against my side on one of the wooden benches, her tiny head resting against my shoulder while I gently ran my hand through her hair. The poor thing had cried herself into exhaustion. Every few minutes, she would lift her sleepy eyes tow
The house had transformed into complete chaos. Doctors moved quickly through the halls. Nurses carried supplies from one room to another. Warriors stood outside despite having no real purpose there except to protect Damien from his own panic. The moment Sophie's labor began, every carefully built wall of calm disappeared. Even the vampire doctors who had been monitoring her for weeks looked tense. Their expressions remained professional, but their movements gave away the truth. This pregnancy had always been different. Dangerous. Precious. Fragile. Nobody knew if the curse would awaken. Nobody knew if the baby would survive. Nobody knew what Kane's connection to her truly meant. We only knew one thing.The baby was coming.Now.Inside the delivery room, Sophie held onto my hand so tightly I was sure my fingers would be bruised afterward. I didn't care. Pain twisted across her beautiful face with every contraction. Sweat dampened her hair. Her breathing became uneven. Damien stood besi
Life settled into something that almost resembled normal again. Almost. The vampires were given a small house near the northern borders of Black Crescent territory. Far enough from the pack house that everyone felt comfortable, but close enough that the elders could monitor them if needed. It took nearly three days of arguments, security discussions, and endless planning before everyone finally agreed. Even then, Jackson looked personally offended every time he passed their house. Hugo wasn't much better. Cassius pretended to be calmer about it, but I knew him too well. Every night he checked security reports himself. Every morning he confirmed patrol rotations. Every afternoon he somehow found a reason to ride toward the northern border. He never admitted it was because Damien and Sophie lived there now. I never called him out on it.The strangest part was how quickly the pack adjusted. Not accepted. Adjusted. There was a difference. The wolves remained cautious around the vampires,
I found Damien exactly where I expected him to be. Outside. Alone. Standing near the edge of the territory with his gaze fixed on the dark forest beyond the rogue house. The meeting had ended hours ago, yet sleep felt impossible after everything that had happened. Kane and Selena were home. Sienna was with Rowan. The warriors remained on patrol. Everything should have felt normal. Instead, my thoughts kept circling back to the same images. Kane touching Sophie's stomach. Sophie crying. Damien looking at his daughter as though she were already slipping away. Hope. Dangerous, desperate hope. Damien didn't turn when I approached. "I was wondering when you'd come." I folded my arms. "I almost didn't." A faint smile touched his face. "I wouldn't have blamed you."For several moments, neither of us spoke. The forest rustled softly around us while moonlight spilled across the trees. Finally, I broke the silence.
By the time we finally returned to our room, I felt as though I had aged ten years in a single day.The house had fallen quiet around us. Kane and Selena were asleep, the elders had retired to their quarters, and even the patrols outside had settled into their familiar rhythm. Yet despite the peace surrounding Black Crescent, my mind refused to rest. The moment the bedroom door closed behind us, I loosened the collar of my shirt and sat heavily on the edge of our bed. Across the room, Sienna moved toward the window and stood staring into the darkness. Moonlight spilled across her white nightdress, softening her features, making her look almost untouchable. For several long moments neither of us spoke. We simply stood there with the weight of the day pressing down on us, trying to make sense of vampires, curses, dead children, impossible prophecies, and our son somehow standing at the center of all of it."What are we supposed to do?"Her voice broke the silence so quietly that it almo
The drive back to the pack house was unusually quiet. Not tense. Not fearful. Just quiet. The kind of silence that followed something none of us fully understood. Cassius drove while I sat beside him staring out the windshield, my thoughts still trapped inside that rogue house. Behind us, Selena had fallen asleep halfway through the journey with her head resting against Kane's shoulder. Kane, however, remained awake. He spent most of the drive staring out the window at the passing forest, unusually thoughtful for a six-year-old. Every now and then a small smile would appear on his face for no apparent reason before disappearing again. I knew better than to ask. At least tonight.By the time we reached home, the moon had climbed high into the sky. The familiar scent of the pack house wrapped around me the moment I stepped inside. Dinner lingered in the air. Laughter drifted faintly from somewhere downstairs. Floorboards creaked beneath our feet. For the first time all day, the crushing
I stared at the well-built wolf in front of me.He stood with the easy authority of someone who did not need to announce his rank. Broad shoulders. Controlled stance. Calm eyes that are measured before reacting. If I kn
Something in me broke the moment she left me standing at the corner of the street. Maybe everything broke in me. Realisation came crashing down on me that I couldn’t bear to stand on my own two feet. Tears clouded my vision and my wolf screamed to be let out.I couldn’t. Not here. Not where my kids
“He is their father.” Austin’s voice made me freeze. I turned to look at him. “He is right?”“What?”“I see the way you two are. The Mate bond comes to life when you stand beside him. And Kane resembles him in every possible way.” As if I didn’t know that.“What difference does it make?” I asked Au
I agreed to one day. Just one. It should have felt simple. Instead, it felt like the beginning of an ending. But the joy and relief on Alessio’s face was invaluable. I stood in my bedroom staring at the half-open wardrobe, my fingers hovering over neatly fold







