LOGINIrene'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"No?" Why would he suddenly ask that? "No," I said firmly, this time staring at his doubtful face. "Karson," he straightened up and I lowered my head to my shoulders to smell myself. "Do I smell like that?"His nostrils flared and a flicker of lust passed his eyes. "You don't really want to ask
IRENEI dragged myself up stairs for a bath after he left and I stayed longer in the bathtub than usual. What was supposed to be a serious talk, ended with his finger inside me-"Ugh!" I wanted to bury my face in the water.'Don't be so hard on yourself,' my wolf grinned, satisfied from her dose of his
IRENE"What do you want and how'd you even get my number?" She was the last person I ever wanted to speak to and having her voice next to my ears was pricking my skin."No, let's talk about you instead," she snapped. "What do you want?""You called," I reminded her. "Plus, I wouldn't want to talk to yo
IRENEThe healers returned after a while and this time, I was put in a room and asked to shift. They gave me the privacy of changing out of my clothes since I didn't want to rip them. Once I transformed, shaking out my fur, I sat back on the floor and let them observe, going round my wolf to observe







