LOGINKarson's POVThe scratches on her arm weren't deep.But they were there. Red lines carved into her skin. Evidence of a fight that could have gone differently. Evidence of my failure.I watched her apply the ointment. Her movements efficient. Practiced. She didn't wince at the sting. Didn't hesitate or fumble.
Irene's POVThe battlefield was still settling when Karson appeared at my side.He moved fast despite his injured leg. Limping across the blood-soaked ground like the wound didn't exist. Like nothing mattered except reaching me."Irene." His voice was rough. Breathless. "Are you hurt? Did they—"
Irene's POVLexie was broken beneath me.Bleeding. Whimpering. Defeated.I shifted back to human form. Stood over her crumpled body. Ready to end this once and for all."It's over, Lexie." My voice came out cold. Flat. "You've lost."
Irene's POVMidnight came slowly.I waited in the shadows near the depot. My body tense. My senses stretched to their limits. Every rustle of leaves. Every whisper of wind. Every distant owl call amplified in the darkness.The children were hidden safely behind the main building. Far from the trap zone. Close enough to alert us if their sharp noses detected anything unusual.
Irene's POVThe trap needed bait.Good bait. The kind that would make Lexie abandon caution entirely. The kind that would draw her in like a moth to flame.I knew exactly what that bait needed to be.Me.
Irene's POVThe news reached me before dawn.Ken slipped into my tent while the camp still slept. His face grim. His eyes sharp with urgency."Princess. We have a problem."I sat up immediately. Sleep forgotten. "What is it?"
IRENE Karson stopped by the next day and the day after that. It's been three days now and he's shown up every day to say hi to the kids and me. Unlike the first time, he stayed a little longer and even one time, he stayed over for lunch.His visits left me paranoid but also nervous... In a good way.I
KARSON I could barely sleep through the night as I tossed and turned at each side of the bed. The shocking discovery still left me in a daze.How did she cope all alone for five years but more importantly when did we have sex that she conceived a child?My head was spinning from over thinking things a
IRENEThey ran into my arms and I hugged them tight, saying a silent prayer to the goddess in thanks. I pulled away, smiling at them and threading my fingers through their hair before I suddenly pulled their ear."How could you be so comfortable in a stranger's house!" I scolded with clenched teeth, c
KARSONThe look in Alpha Lucas's eyes could send shivers down the spine of an ordinary wolf not to the ones of an Alpha like myself. He was barking off the wrong tree, he just didn't know it yet. For a woman whom I had once wed and whose heart belonged to me, he didn't stand a chance.I had the upper-







