MasukIrene'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."
IRENEI could barely keep still on the way home. My legs shook and bounced off the car floor as different bad thoughts crossed my mind.I could picture their crying faces and imagine them looking for their mummy. I hoped Karin wasn't talking back and Carl wasn't crying his eyes out.Like every other n
KARSONI watched Irene storm out of the house without another word. Alpha Lucas tagged along with the kids clinging to his body like they couldn't get enough of him. The little ones seemed to share an attachment to him.I didn't want her to leave just yet, but after that scary speech to Lexi who hadn'
IRENEMy thoughts went dead and my heart stopped at the news. I tried to make sense of what I was hearing. Did I mishear?"What did you say?" I turned my gaze to Karson who looked very uncomfortable, biting his mouth and gripping the wheels."I said the kids are at… Lexie's."I looked out the window, wa
KARSONIrene was crying again, her shoulders trembling greatly and the sight broke my heart. She was a strong woman and seeing her crumble like this had my feet moving and my arms spreading to embrace her.It warmed my heart that she even let me and she hugged me back-- so tight. I patted her hair as







