LorienJust as the last of the intruders dropped at my feet, I didn’t wait for the dust to settle.I ran—like a man possessed. Like a father who’d nearly lost everything. My boots hit the earth hard, lungs burning as I crossed the blood-streaked clearing. Each heartbeat was a scream in my chest, hammering against my ribs with the same ferocity as the war that had just ended. The metallic tang of blood filled the air—some of it theirs, some of it ours. Smoke curled into the darkening sky, the remnants of battle crackling like whispers of death.Lucian and Caius were still by the tree. My boys. My babies.A sound escaped me—half gasp, half sob—as I dropped to my knees and pulled them into my arms. I crushed them against me, arms trembling with the effort to keep them safe, to reassure myself they were still here, still breathing. The scent of their hair, warm with sweat and smoke, grounded me like nothing else.My breath came in broken pants, chest heaving with more than exertion. My he
LorienI wasn’t torn.Not in the way people always assumed I’d be—between my duties and my children. No, for me, the choice was always clear. I looked down at Lucian, at the panic swimming in his silver eyes. It wasn’t the fear of a child who didn’t want to be left alone. It was something deeper. A fear that whatever came next would shatter the peace we’d barely managed to stitch together.He was breathing heavily, fists clenched at his sides as if he were bracing himself for bad news.I crouched in front of him, placing a steady hand on his arm. “I’m not leaving,” I said quietly. “Not you. Not Caius. I’ve never left, have I?”Lucian bit down on his lip, brows drawn. “I acted like a spoilt brat this afternoon,” he muttered. “But I won’t stand in your path if you need to go. I know the pack needs you.”His words were mature—too mature—and they tore through me. I brushed my thumb over his knuckles, grounding us both.“I said I’m not leaving,” I repeated, firmer this time. “You and your
LorienThat night, I sat outside the little cottage, the sky wide and dark above me, filled with stars that felt too distant to matter. The cool night wind brushed against my face, rustling the low trees that surrounded our quiet shelter. In my hand, I cradled a half-full glass of pale wine—something I’d lifted during one of my less-than-noble heists. I wasn’t proud of that, but tonight, I needed something to dull the ache.The ache always came at night.It crept in through cracks I’d patched up during the day, seeping into my bones and whispering old memories. The kind I didn’t want but couldn’t stop.I closed my eyes, tipped the glass against my lips, and drank slowly.The night I walked in on him—Cassius, with a woman—it replayed in flashes like a cruel movie reel that never ended. The way he looked at her. The curve of his hand around her waist. His mouth on hers. As if I had never existed. As if we hadn’t shared something sacred. As if I hadn't bled for loving him.It was so easy
LorienI reached for him—slowly, carefully—but Lucien stepped back.The movement wasn’t aggressive. It was small, barely more than a shift of his weight as he took a step away. But to me, it felt like the world cracked open beneath my feet. The distance between us wasn’t even two feet, yet it might as well have been an ocean.My hand hung uselessly in the air, fingers splayed like I was still hoping he’d change his mind and meet me halfway. But he didn’t. He just stood there, frozen, like the very idea of my touch was something he didn’t want.That quiet rejection sliced deeper than any words could. No screams, no accusations—just a step back. And that was all it took to make my heart drop into a hollow space in my chest.My throat felt like it was wrapped in barbed wire. Still, I found the words, no matter how broken they sounded.“Am I not enough?”It was barely a whisper, the kind of question someone only asks when they already know the answer but need to hear it anyway—just in cas
LorienThree years later“I brought back the gold,” I said as I stood before Alpha Matthias’s desk. My voice was low, calm, practiced. “And the counterfeit guns too. Hidden in the same crates as planned.”The office was dim, the heavy curtains drawn to block out the early evening light. Smoke curled from the cigar in the ashtray beside him. Matthias didn’t look up right away. He was pouring himself a drink, his movements lazy but deliberate, each flick of his wrist exuding power he didn’t have to prove.“And?” he finally asked, arching a brow as he slowly leaned back in his leather chair.“There’s trouble coming,” I said. My fingers tightened at my sides. “A Blood Fang associate. One of the mafia-centered packs. They're planning to attack us.”That got his attention. The glass paused midway to his lips.“Why?” His tone sharpened, losing its casual edge.I met his eyes squarely. “Revenge. For the princess. You killed her, remember?”A long silence stretched between us. He finally sippe
LorienThe moment Caius was returned to my arms, something inside me shattered.I gasped.Not from pain—but from the weight of it all. The heaviness of the witch’s words still echoed in my bones. My body curled protectively over my child, as if I could shield him from fate itself.He blinked up at me, unaware, trusting. And somehow that made it worse.The witch’s presence still filled the room like thick smoke.She turned her golden eyes to Lucian now, who sat huddled in the cradle, tiny fingers clutching the edge as though it could anchor him to safety. His face was pale. His bottom lip trembled. He was trying to be brave, but his fear rolled off him in waves I could feel in my gut.“He’s scared,” I whispered, reaching a trembling hand to stroke his hair. “Please, just—leave him alone.”The witch ignored me.“Lucian is no ordinary child,” she declared.I looked up sharply.She took a single step forward, robes whispering against the floor.“He holds Alpha power,” she continued, voice
LorienThe room was too quiet.Not the peaceful kind of quiet. The kind that made your heart race because it felt like something was lurking just beyond the silence, waiting to pounce.They’d taken me to the inner chamber—Kieran’s personal medical space for intense cases. The walls were covered with herbs I couldn’t name, strange symbols chalked faintly along the edges. It smelled of earth and bitter root, like a forest that had never been touched by sunlight.They’d brought in a cradle for Lucian, at least. He was resting there now, his soft breaths making the silence bearable.But I couldn’t let go of Caius.I cradled him against my chest, holding him like someone might rip him away the moment I loosened my grip. My arms ached, but the fear in my chest was louder than the pain in my muscles.Was this what a cage felt like? Soft walls. Low lighting. But chains around your soul?I stared down at my son. His lashes fluttered, dreaming of something he didn’t understand. Completely unawa
LorienI was still reeling from what had just happened. The image of that glow—the way it danced around Caius like some silent, ancient guardian—hadn’t left my mind. But what haunted me even more was the sinking feeling curling at the edges of my chest.I hadn’t done anything useful for this pack. Not really.Sure, I’d completed a few well-calculated missions. Smuggled in some high-demand narcotics the pack relied on. Killed three people.I forced that last thought back into the dark place I kept it. I didn’t want to think about the blood that still lingered beneath my nails, even after so many washes.But when it came to the one thing that might’ve truly mattered—helping Matthias secure drugs from my former pack—I’d been absolutely useless. Every lead I’d chased had turned cold. Every route, blocked. And I hated that it made me feel disposable again. Replaceable. Like my only worth was in what I could do, not who I was.The conversation I’d just had with Matthias had already left a s
Lorien“What the hell is that?”Kieran’s voice cut through the tension like a blade, sharp and full of disbelief. I flinched, heart hammering against my ribs as I turned fully toward Caius. My son was still giggling—giggling—as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. As if he weren’t toying with something that no one could understand.The glow wasn’t coming from him—it hovered around him, a wispy, swirling white light that pulsed softly just above his tiny hands and lips. It shimmered like mist caught in sunlight, curling and uncurling with a strange, hypnotic rhythm, dancing in response to his little fingers.I had never seen anything like it. Not from a wolf. Not from a human. Not from anything.The guards stood rooted to the spot, faces pale and drawn, like statues carved from stone. Their chests rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. They didn’t blink. They didn’t move.And Kieran—Kieran was looking at Caius like he’d just watched him split the moon open.“Lorien,” Kieran