LOGINHe spoke first, his tone low but firm enough to carry. “We can wait,” he said. “Children will come when they’re meant to. The Pack already has its heart.” The room stilled for a breath. Mara looked over her shoulder, her hands still sunk in flour, her eyes soft and startled. “You mean me?” she asked
LILAThe house woke before dawn. Old wood shifted, the hearth whispered, and the air felt different—alive again. I stood at the foot of the stairs when I heard them coming. Two sets of steps, uneven from the road, but in rhythm all the same. When the door opened, cold air rushed through the hall. Ga
“I thought I had to be perfect,” she said. “Every step, every word. Like one mistake would make them lose faith in me.”“Then let them,” I said. “Let them see we bleed too. Let them see what real looks like.”Her eyes lifted toward the sky, catching the first streaks of gold between the branches. “T
GAVINHer breath came out in bursts, sharp enough to cut. She pressed her palm to her mouth, like the words might spill if she didn’t hold them in. I moved before I thought, closing the space, catching her hands in mine. Her fingers were cold and damp, her pulse racing under my thumb.“I can’t be wh
GAVINThe scent hit me before I saw the gate—hers, faint and fading, scattered by wind. I caught it the second I stepped into the hall, and everything in me snapped to attention. The council chamber still echoed in my head, the droning voices, the talk of territory lines and alliance disputes. I had
MARAI knelt beside a pool fed by a narrow stream. Moonlight rippled across its surface, silver on black. My reflection flickered there, the same face that wore the Luna’s mask every day, only softer now—bare, unsure, alive. I cupped my hands in the water and let it run down my wrists. The cold snap
Tyler’s hand tightened around mine, and he leaned in, brushing his lips to mine with a tenderness that made my whole body hum.This time, I didn’t pull away.The kiss deepened slowly, like the calm after the storm outside. Tyler’s hands were warm on my back, pulling me closer, and I let myself melt
But Gavin didn’t.I spotted him across the room, tiny fingers already reaching for the same dish from a pup-sized buffet table. My heart slammed against her ribs.“Gavin, wait—!”A warrior I didn’t recognize stepped between me and him, handing Gavin a napkin and casually swapping the dish before I r
And when Tyler spoke with his clear, confident voice, I leaned forward just slightly, like I was part of the conversation.And then came the moment they thought I’d falter.Councilor Elda turned to me with practiced calm. “Luna Green, as the mother of the hybrid child who now carries Alpha Blackwood
LILAThe great hall felt colder than usual, or maybe it was just the way Thomas’s presence sucked warmth from the air. I stood near the heavy oak table, fingers curling around the edge, steadying myself. His lean frame appeared from the shadows near the far archway, eyes sharp and calculating.“Thom







