LOGINI woke up before Lucas the next morning and decided to sneak out of the room to let him sleep for a bit longer while I made breakfast. I had been worried about this day for a while. I had a hard time accepting any normalcy in my life before. It led to some behavior I wasn’t proud of. I made the choice not to be that person anymore, and I had had four great months of stability.Lucas had done so much to help with that. He had supported every interest I had. Encouraged every contact. When my schedule filled up, he gave me the confidence to do more on my own. But he still went out of his way to prioritize our relationship. He planned date nights. Outings. Trips. All while keeping up with his Alpha responsibilities. That included navigating the still-strained relationship between me and my father. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have found a balance for it all. I truly loved our lives together.But I always knew there was something coming to threaten this life. After yesterday’s meeting
It was well into the night when I knocked on Sera’s door. Keeping to the shadows in case any of her neighbors got nosy. I heard her approach the other side of the door, waiting for her to unlock it.“Lucas,” she greeted me as she opened it, standing in the doorway in her robe. “You’re late.”I stepped inside, shutting and relocking the door behind me.“I had to make sure Sutton wouldn’t wake up,” I told her. “I don’t want her to know that I left.”Sera shook her head unhappily. “Don’t you think it’s time to tell her?” she said, going to a sideboard and pouring me a whiskey. “She’s going to catch on at some point.”“You know I can’t do that,” I said warningly. “And she won’t find out from you.”Seraphina raised her hands in the air. “Hey, you’ve thoroughly commanded me to silence,” she said. “I couldn’t tell her if I wanted to.”“Which you do,” I pointed out, taking the glass she offered. “You’ve made that clear.”“No, I want you to tell her,” she argued, taking a sip of her own drink.
I didn’t even know where I was going. I just started walking. Heading toward the street so I could get away from him. I shouldn’t have agreed to come. I had told myself I was done with all this mess. But I still couldn’t tell him no. I hated how much I always missed him when we didn’t talk. I hated how much I still wanted him, even though he made it clear there wasn’t anything between us.Flashes of the night of the ceremony played through my mind. Just like they always did when he was close. Or when I thought of him. Or when I lay down to go to sleep.I’d meant it when I asked Jaden to bring me into the pack that night. More than that, I wanted it to be him to do it. I hadn’t intended it to go further than that, but the connection that formed between us that night felt so intimate.I kissed him. Letting go of all my inhibitions. He kissed me back. Our hands moved fast. Pulling at our clothing until my fingers were wrapped around his hard length and his were pressed between my thighs.
I sat in my car at the front of the campus. I’d talked Helene into letting me pick her up for dinner a few days earlier, and I was about to come out of my skin waiting for her. I hadn’t seen her much in the last few weeks. Not since I opened my big mouth and got her pissed at me. Again.It had felt like an eternity since the night of the ceremony. The night that turned into one of the best nights of my life. And one of the biggest mistakes. I shouldn’t have been the one to bring Helene into the pack. It was too intense. I got reckless.It didn’t help that Helene had picked up on my inner conflict. She assured me it wasn’t a big deal and that we didn’t have to let it affect our friendship. That cut like a knife. Especially since I didn’t know if she was saying it to make me feel better or because she actually meant it. I couldn’t exactly explain how I was feeling to get clarification either. Not after that. So, I tried to move on and let it go.It would work for a while. We’d have week
My heart skipped a beat at hearing that name. But it was more out of surprise than anything else. I took a moment to let it register. Motty was with the Dawn Stalker pack. I guess that made sense. She would have struggled as a rogue. At least with the Dawn Stalkers she would survive. But why was she with Hannah? Did she try to get close to her on purpose? Or was this just another one of Anders’ twisted jokes?“Sutton, I know what happened with Motty,” Sera said. “But I think she’s trying to help your sister. She’s… protective of her. And the changes that I’ve seen in Hannah started after Motty was assigned as her maid.”I took a deep breath. Nodding to acknowledge what she had said. I didn’t doubt them. That sounded like Motty. Maybe I should have felt more. Anger or disgust. But I didn’t.“Did she say anything to you?” I asked. “She had to have recognized you. Known who you were.”“She recognized me,” Sera said. “She didn’t stop Hannah from seeing me. Luckily, Hannah has never asked
It had been four months since the Luna ceremony. Sutton was flourishing. She’d had an anxious start in her official role, but after a few weeks, her confidence had returned. She had fallen in love with our local museum and had been working with them regularly since they worked with her on the exhibit. She set up group gatherings in the gardens several days a week. Hosting activities from book clubs to yoga classes to horticultural lessons. She spent much of her free time learning more about the history of our pack. She even suggested picking up an old tradition of an annual Moon Tour in which the Alpha and Luna travel throughout the territory.All in all, we had been living a calm day-to-day life. Her grandfather did visit us again for about a week while Sutton and I managed to fly out to the capital for a couple of long weekends. Even Prince Raphe and Princess Nomi were making regular appearances. Helene was also getting closer to their mother’s family during those times as well. The







