Cassius’s POVThe scent of stone, incense, and soil clung to my skin long after I’d left the tomb.I stumbled out of the dark crypt like a man drunk, barely hearing the elders behind me as they whispered their condolences. I didn’t want their words. I didn’t want their hands on my shoulder. I didn’t want anything except to be left alone.The walk back to the packhouse was a blur. Every breath of cold morning air stung like ice on my lungs, but it didn’t chase the heat building under my skin. My fingers trembled. My teeth clenched. I felt unsteady—as if my body was no longer my own.Because the dream hadn’t left me.Because his voice still echoed in my head.I slammed the door of my bedroom behind me and headed straight for the shower. Steam filled the space quickly, fogging up the mirrors and wrapping around me like a ghost I couldn’t escape.The water was scalding, but it didn’t burn enough.Lorien. Again. In my damn dreams.I had woken up hard—so hard it made me sick. My fists clenc
CassiusI stormed down the corridor, my mind still buzzing with frustration. But no matter how fast I moved, Julian’s face wouldn’t leave me. His expression, tight-lipped and strained, followed me like a shadow.“Cassius… Your grip.”I froze in my tracks, the memory of his voice echoing in my head. I could still feel it—his wrist beneath my fingers, the way I had gripped it too tightly. I could still see the flash of discomfort in his eyes, and I knew in that instant I had hurt him.I cursed under my breath.Shit, Julian...I could almost feel my fingers on his skin again, the way they had dug into him without warning, the pressure too harsh, too sharp. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. I hadn’t meant to do any of this. But I had been so goddamn angry, so overwhelmed by everything crashing around me. I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t control myself.I remembered how quickly I had released him, like my hands had been burned. The guilt twisted in my gut the moment I realized what I had done.
LorienThe night was suffocatingly quiet, save for the soft rustle of the trees outside and the gentle hum of the wind. I lay still in my bed, staring out the window at the pitch-black sky. The room was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the moon that was hidden behind the clouds. My thoughts drifted as I listened to the sounds of the night—the occasional rustle of leaves, the distant howl of a wolf. But something else broke the stillness.A strange, almost imperceptible sound.I froze, my heart skipping a beat. It came again—faint but deliberate, like a low scraping noise, the kind you only hear when something is moving just outside your reach. My senses immediately heightened, and a wave of unease crawled up my spine.I stood up quietly, careful not to disturb Kieran who was sleeping nearby, his rhythmic breathing the only sign of life beside me. I glanced back at him briefly, my chest tightening. I hated disturbing him. After everything we had been through together,
LorienI had never been so terrified in my life.I sat there, heart racing, looking at Matthias who seemed to have just dropped a bombshell that I couldn’t quite process. His eyes were dark, unreadable, but there was a flicker of something there, something that both terrified and confused me. “How long, Lorien?” he asked, his voice low, but somehow unwavering. “How long have you been hiding it?”I could barely breathe. The word pregnant echoed in my mind, rattling around, refusing to settle. Pregnant? How could that even be possible? I shook my head, trying to clear the fog in my brain.“Pregnant?” I let out a nervous laugh, trying to keep my voice steady. "A man can’t get pregnant."The tension in the room thickened immediately, the air going still. My nervous chuckle faltered as I saw the expression on Matthias’s face shift. His lips pressed into a thin line, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing up and crossing the space between us. I didn’t even have time to react before he
CassiusI couldn’t shake the irritation clawing at me as I stood outside the pack hospital room. Something wasn’t right, and I knew it. Isabella—a woman who was supposed to be as strong as the Alpha blood coursing through her veins—had supposedly fallen down the stairs and hit her head? That didn’t sit well with me. A woman like her didn’t just “trip.” If she was truly an Alpha’s daughter, she was supposed to be made of tougher stuff. But here I was, pacing the hallway like a fool, still not believing the doctor’s words.Julian stepped up beside me, his usual smirk in place. “What’s going through your head?” he asked, leaning casually against the wall.I didn’t even look at him. “I don’t buy it,” I muttered. “An Alpha’s daughter doesn’t fall down the stairs. That’s weak, Julian.”He didn’t argue with me, just tilted his head slightly, as if to remind me he could see right through me. “You’re right. But that’s not what’s bothering you, is it?”I shot him a glance, annoyed that he was
LorienThe guest room was bigger than I expected—almost absurdly big. The walls were a soft cream color, and there was a huge bed with thick blankets that looked far too fancy for someone like me. I hovered awkwardly by the door, unsure if I should even step further in. Everything felt too pristine, too untouched. Like I might ruin it just by breathing too hard.Before I could decide whether to sit or not, the door swung open again and Matthias strode inside. I stiffened, pulse jumping in my throat. He didn't say anything at first, just closed the door behind him and stared at me, his arms crossed over his chest. There was something heavy about the way he looked at me—something that made me feel small and trapped. “Sit,” he said simply. I hesitated, but Matthias was already crossing the room. His hand landed firmly on my shoulder and he pushed me down into the nearest chair. It wasn’t rough, exactly, but it was firm enough that I knew better than to argue. My heart hammered in m
CassiusI woke with a jolt, my heart pounding erratically in my chest. The sudden rush of anxiety hit me like a freight train, my breath shallow as my senses heightened. I wiped the sweat from my brow and glanced at the old clock on the wall. It read 2 a.m. The darkness of the room pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating. Something wasn’t right. My wolf was pacing anxiously in the back of my mind, urging me to do something, to move. But what? I couldn’t explain it. The feeling, the sense that Lorien was in danger, was palpable. I shifted in bed, restless, my mind spinning. Lorien. I hadn’t thought about him as much as I should have—at least not consciously. I’d pushed everything about my mate aside, buried it beneath layers of denial. But tonight, it was as if the world was forcing me to remember. I couldn’t shake the feeling, and it gnawed at me, making it impossible to lie still. My wolf wouldn’t stop nagging me, the constant reminder that I was the reason Lorien wasn’t here
Lorien The gun slipped from my trembling fingers, hitting the ground with a hollow thud. The sound echoed too loudly in the suffocating silence, sending a fresh jolt of terror racing through me. My heart hammered against my ribs so violently I thought it might burst straight through my chest. Blood.I blinked rapidly, my stomach twisting painfully. Blood was spreading, pooling in dark, sticky rivers across the ground—but... not from me.Damon.His uniform was soaked through with dark red, the fabric clinging to his skin in a grotesque display. His face was twisted into a crazed grimace even as he staggered toward me. His eyes—wild, feral—fixed on me with a hatred so raw it made my stomach churn.For a moment, stupid, reckless relief washed over me. He was hurt. Maybe he’d fall. Maybe it would stop.But the feeling soured just as quickly, curdling into dread.Despite the gaping wound in his side, Damon lunged, snarling like a rabid animal. His movements were jerky, almost unnatural, a
ZuriaThe silence in the hospital was deafening.Each tick of the clock on the wall echoed like thunder in my ears. My fingers trembled in my lap, clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white. The smell of antiseptic made my stomach churn—not with nausea, but dread.Danny had driven like a man possessed, ignoring traffic lights, muttering prayers under his breath. I had never seen him like that. And now, he sat somewhere outside this room while I sat on the edge of a cold hospital bed, waiting to hear if the worst had already happened.My mind wouldn’t stop racing. What if I’d already lost them? What if the bleeding meant they were gone and there was nothing left inside me but emptiness? My babies. The ones I had once tried to ignore, to forget about. But now the thought of losing them felt like someone was tearing open my chest.Please, just let them be okay. I didn’t mean to be careless. I didn’t mean to hurt them. Hot tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t breathe.I had told myself
LorienThe air was thick with tension, the scent of metal, dust, and forest clinging to everything like a second skin. Seven men stood silently behind me, their boots crunching against the gravel in almost perfect unison as they adjusted their weapons. The weight of my own gun pressed against the small of my back beneath my coat, cold and familiar. My fingers twitched toward it instinctively, though I made no move to draw it. Not yet.I shifted slightly, wincing when a sharp ache spread through my lower back. I rubbed at it absentmindedly, then glanced down—my coat hung a little awkwardly over the slight but unmistakable curve of my stomach. Six months. I hadn’t been able to hide it for weeks now, no matter how hard I tried. Not that I owed anyone an explanation. Not anymore.A shadow flickered in the doorway ahead. My breath hitched. Then, he stepped out.Alpha Mathias.Even now, after everything, my body reacted to the sight of him with a frustrating kind of treachery. My muscles te
LorienMatthias’s grip on my waist tightened, pulling me back to him, and I could feel every inch of his chest pressed against my back. My breath hitched, and the world seemed to narrow to the space between us, the heat of his body seeping into mine. I should pull away, tell him to stop, but the words lodged in my throat, too heavy to be spoken. “You’re avoiding me,” he murmured, his breath warm against my ear, his voice so low it almost seemed like a confession. His hands slid around to my front, slowly sliding up my stomach, pulling me even closer.“I’m not avoiding you,” I answered, my voice flat, almost as if I were trying to convince myself more than him. “I’m fine.”“You don’t look fine.” His tone was patient, like he was studying me, piecing together some puzzle I wasn’t sure I wanted him to figure out.I shifted uncomfortably, feeling the weight of his touch, the overwhelming pull of his proximity. “I’m just... busy.”“Busy pretending,” he added, and there was a subtle bite t
CassiusI sat alone in my father’s office—no, my office now. The air felt colder than usual, like the walls themselves knew the weight of the title that had just been dropped on me. Tonight, I’d be crowned Alpha. Everyone expected me to celebrate, to raise a glass, to smile like I wasn’t dying inside.But I didn’t want celebration. I wanted silence.All my life, I’d been trained to take this position. I’d been molded, beaten, shaped into the perfect heir. And now, sitting in the chair my father ruled from for decades, I realized how little I knew about the truth of our pack. The secrets. The rot underneath the polished floors. The lies they never told me because they thought I didn’t need to know.I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the desk, and ran a hand through my hair, dragging it over my face with a sigh. The wood beneath my arms felt unfamiliar. Wrong. My skin crawled, like it knew this seat belonged to a man whose shadow I couldn’t escape. No matter how much blood I spilled
LorienThree days had passed since Damon’s death, but the ache inside me felt older, like something worn smooth by time. The healers said my wounds should have closed within a day, but I wasn’t surprised that they hadn’t. Omegas always took longer to heal—weaker, they said, as if it was a curse stitched into our skin. At least now the pain had dulled into something bearable. I could breathe without wincing. I could move without feeling like my body was betraying me. But there was something else gnawing at me now, something more confusing than broken ribs or bruised pride. It was Alpha Matthias. The way he hovered, the way he smiled like he was proud just to see me awake—it was overwhelming. And it made my heart flutter strangely, in a way I didn’t know how to handle. Because Matthias was kind. He was patient, gentle in a way I had never experienced. Not even Cassius, for all the times he had kissed me soft and slow when no one was looking, had ever treated me the way Matthia
CassiusShe was bouncing on my cock like a woman possessed.Her nails dragged down my chest. Her moans echoed in the room, practiced and calculated. And yet—Nothing.Not a twitch. Not a spark. My body was still as stone beneath her, utterly unbothered by the performance happening on top of me.She leaned down and pressed kisses all over my chest and neck.I clenched my jaw, my hands gripping the sheets instead of her waist. This wasn’t working. Again.“Cassius,” Isabella growled, her hips grinding with more urgency, “what the actual hell?”I grabbed her by the waist and flipped her off me with a sharp motion. She landed on the bed with a thud, hair splaying across the pillows. Her eyes flared in fury.“You’re kidding me,” she snapped. “This is the third time this week. Are you even trying?”“I said I’m not in the mood.”She sat up, pulling the covers around herself with dramatic flair. “Not in the mood? You’re never in the mood anymore, Cassius! How do you expect me to get pregnant w
LorienThe world felt distant—like I was sinking into water, the edges of everything blurring, fading. Each sound came muffled, like it had to push through a thick fog just to reach me. My legs wouldn’t hold me. My knees buckled, but I didn’t fall—not quite. I swayed instead, arms limp at my sides, and when I tried to raise them, to hold myself together, they only shook.My hands trembled uncontrollably, small broken sobs tearing free from my throat before I could stop them. They felt raw, like they were scraped out of me. I hated how weak I felt, how clearly my omega instincts bared themselves under the weight of fear and exhaustion. My whole body was trembling with it—not from cold, but from the collapse of everything I’d held together until now.A shadow moved toward me—tall, imposing—and my body tensed. My heart leapt into my throat, panic spiking as my instincts screamed run even though I had nowhere to go. The forest was behind me, thick and silent, and there was blood, his blo
Lorien The gun slipped from my trembling fingers, hitting the ground with a hollow thud. The sound echoed too loudly in the suffocating silence, sending a fresh jolt of terror racing through me. My heart hammered against my ribs so violently I thought it might burst straight through my chest. Blood.I blinked rapidly, my stomach twisting painfully. Blood was spreading, pooling in dark, sticky rivers across the ground—but... not from me.Damon.His uniform was soaked through with dark red, the fabric clinging to his skin in a grotesque display. His face was twisted into a crazed grimace even as he staggered toward me. His eyes—wild, feral—fixed on me with a hatred so raw it made my stomach churn.For a moment, stupid, reckless relief washed over me. He was hurt. Maybe he’d fall. Maybe it would stop.But the feeling soured just as quickly, curdling into dread.Despite the gaping wound in his side, Damon lunged, snarling like a rabid animal. His movements were jerky, almost unnatural, a
CassiusI woke with a jolt, my heart pounding erratically in my chest. The sudden rush of anxiety hit me like a freight train, my breath shallow as my senses heightened. I wiped the sweat from my brow and glanced at the old clock on the wall. It read 2 a.m. The darkness of the room pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating. Something wasn’t right. My wolf was pacing anxiously in the back of my mind, urging me to do something, to move. But what? I couldn’t explain it. The feeling, the sense that Lorien was in danger, was palpable. I shifted in bed, restless, my mind spinning. Lorien. I hadn’t thought about him as much as I should have—at least not consciously. I’d pushed everything about my mate aside, buried it beneath layers of denial. But tonight, it was as if the world was forcing me to remember. I couldn’t shake the feeling, and it gnawed at me, making it impossible to lie still. My wolf wouldn’t stop nagging me, the constant reminder that I was the reason Lorien wasn’t here