Se connecterIrene's POVThe war room felt smaller with everyone crowded inside.Elders filled the seats around the main table. Maps and diagrams spread across every surface. The smell of blood and smoke still lingered on our clothes from the battle hours before.We had won the skirmish. But winning a battle wasn't the same as winning a war.
Karson'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.
KARSON"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
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?







