LOGINKILLIAN.I read the Black Haven activity report again and again, but the glowing lines on the screen refused to change no matter how many times I went through them. The system confirmed a perfect match—heartbeat pattern, wolf signature, blood profile, and several security markers I barely understood. Claude stood beside me with his arms crossed, repeating his explanation like saying it again would somehow make the truth easier to accept."Someone may have copied her biometric data, Killian. It's possible with the right resources and enough time."I shook my head, my jaw tight. "Miller Security doesn't make mistakes like that. A perfect match means Candice personally tried to open the file."The realization sat heavily in my stomach. I pictured her leaving Crescent Moon that night, abandoning her car on the empty woodland road, wiping every tracker from her phone, and disappearing without leaving anything behind for us to follow. For the first time since she vanished, a possibility I h
CLAUDE."Trace it," Killian snapped the second the recording started. "Now. I want to know exactly where this came from."I was already at the terminal, my fingers moving quickly across the keys as I tried to find the source of the feed. The system blocked me before I could finish the first command. I tried another route, but the result was the same. Candice had built the system too well."It's no use, Alpha. She built the walls high. We're not getting through."Killian's jaw tightened, but he turned back to the recording.Candice's image remained on every monitor in the command center. I recognized the office behind her from years ago. Her hair was shorter then, which meant Leo and Lia were probably still toddlers. She looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes, but completely focused."Black Haven was created after I discovered someone accessed Leo and Lia's medical records when they were eighteen months old," she said. "I never identified the person. The breach came through a le
KILLIANI couldn't stop staring at Lia. Aldric's words still hung in the underground passage like smoke after a fire—"They were never coming for Leo. They came into this pack for her." My daughter stood pressed against Marta's side, one small hand gripping the older woman's dress so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Leo stood in front of her, naked after his shift and barely able to stay on his feet, but he refused to move. His small chest rose and fell heavily, his eyes still fierce even though exhaustion was clearly taking over."Get him upstairs," I told Darian, my voice rough. "Have the healer check him over."Leo shook his head quickly. "No. The bad man grabbed her. I have to stay. Mummy isn't here to protect her."His words cut straight through the anger boiling inside me. For a second, I couldn't breathe. My son was barely more than a pup, yet he was standing guard over his sister because I hadn't been able to keep their mother safe. I forced myself to remain calm and drop
ALDRIC.Twenty years. That was how long I'd kept my mouth shut about the final months of Northern Vale. Surviving those days meant burying names, faces, and memories so deep that I almost convinced myself they could never hurt anyone again. But now, I stood in Killian's command center, staring at that damn map of the northern woodland while Candice was still missing and my granddaughter had pointed directly toward land that should have meant nothing to her. The room suddenly felt too small, the air too heavy with the smell of old paper and the fresh fear hanging around us.Killian's voice broke through the silence like a blade. "Explain."I dragged a hand over my face, feeling the weight of every one of those twenty years in my bones. "Northern Vale wasn't destroyed by rogues or some simple territorial fight like the Council records claim. Years before Candice was even born, several powerful families inside the pack became obsessed with keeping strong Alpha bloodlines alive. They trac
KILLIAN'S POVI stood in the entrance hall, Claude's words still ringing in my head like a warning. The Wolf Council. Coming for my children. My wolf pushed hard against my ribs, angry and protective, but I forced myself to stay calm."They can't just take them," I said. "Not from my territory. Not while I'm still breathing."Aldric stepped closer, his face showing the kind of caution that came from living through things like this before. "It's more complicated, Killian. Candice disappeared while her identity and the twins' bloodline status were still under Council investigation. That gives them something to use against us. Loose ends like these... they don't like them."I paced across the hall, my boots heavy against the wooden floor. Two hours later, the front doors opened and Arbitrator Voss walked in with four Council officers behind her. She carried herself like she owned every place she stepped into. Tall, sharp-eyed, and calm in a way that hid just how dangerous she could be. S
KILLIAN.The knock came hard and fast, dragging me out of the light sleep I'd fallen into at my desk. Claude stood in the doorway, his face grim under the low lamplight."Western team found a vehicle," he said quietly. "It's hers. Forty miles out, just past the border."My stomach dropped. Everything I'd been trying to hold together since yesterday almost broke apart right there. I stood without saying anything and crossed the hall to Leo's room. He was fast asleep, curled up under the covers with that paper wolf held tightly against his chest like it could protect him from every bad thing in the world. His breathing was soft and steady, one small hand gripping the blanket. I stayed there a little longer than I should have, taking in the sight of him safe, then stepped back and found Marta waiting in the dark corridor."Don't say anything to the kids yet," I told her, keeping my voice low. "Not until we know what this is. Keep them upstairs if you can."She nodded tightly, her arms fo
CANDICE'S POV The line just cut out. I stayed there in the empty briefing room, phone still pressed to my ear like a total idiot — just listening to silence. My heart was pounding so hard I swear I could feel it in my teeth. Slowly I lowered the phone and stared at the unknown number on the screen
KILLIAN’S POVThe drive back to Crescent Moon Pack should have cleared my head. It didn’t.My grip tightened around the steering wheel as her face refused to leave my mind. Candice Miller. Even her name felt wrong—like something that didn’t quite belong.I exhaled slowly. “Candice Miller…” I mutter
Candace Miller’s POV (Sara) Six years had gone by since everyone thought I died at that clinic. I stood in my bathroom, staring at the woman in the mirror. She was not the weak Omega who used to clean floors until her fingers bled. She was not the desperate girl who did stupid things just to feel
Killian. “What took you so long?” Elaine purred, laying there all spread out on my bed like the whole damn room belonged to her already. That thin silk thing she wore was slipping off one shoulder on purpose. She stretched slow, smiling up at me with those heavy eyes. “I was getting bored waiting f







