LOGINKARSON
"Luna has asked to clear your schedule this weekend, Alpha."
I lift my head from my computer, making the guard uncomfortable with an arched brow. "What?"
She couldn't reach out to me first? I pinched the bridge of my nose, irritation flaring in me, subtly. I had a lot on my hands and she was thinking about a vacation? What else could it be besides that?
"Tell her there's a lot to do," I dismissed, turning my attention back to my work. "If she w
Irene's POVThe Pack grounds came into view just as the sun began to set.I stopped at the tree line. Hidden in shadow. The concealment cloak wrapped tight around me.Everything looked different.Guard towers that hadn't existed befo
Irene's POVI woke to find the old woman packing supplies into a worn leather bag.My heart jumped. "What are you doing?""Preparing for your departure." She didn't look up from her work. "Your ribs have healed. The burns are closed. Your strength has returned. There's no reason to keep you here any longer."
Irene's POVThe old woman moved like water.Fluid. Effortless. Despite her age and weathered appearance, she demonstrated the combat technique with a grace that took my breath away."You're telegraphing your strikes," she said, circling me in the small clearing outside the cave. "Your shoulders tense before you move. Any experienced fighter will see it coming."
Irene's POVThe days blurred together in the cave.Wake. Eat the bland porridge the old woman made. Drink bitter herbal tea. Sleep. Repeat.Slowly, painfully, my body knitted itself back together.The burns on my back stopped weeping
Irene's POVPain woke me.Sharp and insistent, radiating from my ribs with every shallow breath. My head throbbed. My limbs felt like lead.I tried to open my eyes. The light hurt. Everything hurt.Where was I?
Karson's POVThe war room smelled like blood and smoke.Maps covered every surface. Battle reports stacked in messy piles. Half-empty coffee cups scattered across tables. Nobody had slept properly in days."They're regrouping near the eastern ridge," Ken reported, pointing at the map. "Approximately sixty wolves. Mixed forces from Shadow Pack and Iron Claw."
IRENE"Here comes the chew train," I almost felt bad for Mirabel. She was trying so hard, but Karen's bored expression wasn't in the least encouraging.Aunt couldn't control her laughter, making matters ten times worse. Carl, on the other hand was swinging his feet as
IRENE"Don't you think the weather's a little too hot for turtle necks?" Aunt asked as she picked up a fresh red apple and placed it in her basket. Her gaze shifted to hold my gaze and her soft smile as she glanced at my outfit made my cheek burn."It's not what you th
KARSONI couldn't make sense of what just happened. She bolted out of my room like the floor was molten lava and there was nothing I could do about it, not when she looked me dead in the eye like a mouse trapped between two large mouse traps.Was that fear in her eyes or anger? I must admit the bit
IRENE"Mummy! Uwaaaah!"My thoughts scattered, panic and confusion setting in. Where was Mirabel? What happened to them? Did I trust the wrong person?"Let me see you," I cupped their faces, scanning them from head to toe with my heart beating twice as fast. "You're okay, you're okay. What's wrong?







