LOGINChapter Forty NineBLAKEI found Tricia in the hallway still holding the exemption paper.She was standing motionless, her eyes fixed on the words, her expression unreadable.I could already tell the contents of that paper were…big to say the least.I moved past Voss and didn’t bother asking her what the document said.Instead I moved to Tricia and asked.I guess I had decided I was done learning things about her secondhand. She deserved better than that."Tricia," I said quietly, stepping closer. "What does it say?"She looked up at me, her expression grim."Voss said there is another option," she began, her voice careful. "A formal Council exemption. It recognizes me as Blackwood's Luna, protected under pack law rather than Council custody."I felt a flicker of relief, though I didn’t give too much into it…I could smell a catch coming. "That sounds like what we wanted, right?”She shook her head slowly. "There is a condition to it."Of course there was…with the Council there always
Chapter Forty EightTRICIAIt didn’t take a genius to see that Voss didn’t trust Blake one bit. A common case of the sins of the father passing to the son.If I needed to really break something here, I needed to talk to Voss alone…I stepped forward then to her and leaned over. “Magistrate Selene, can we talk?”“Just us.” My tone was soft and light. Her eyes stayed on me for a beat long, then she nodded.“No.” Blake’s cold voice cut in then. “Whatever you need to talk…it should be said here.”I turned to him and walked forward. “I need to speak with her.” My tone was low so that only he could hear.“I will not leave you only with her..” he shot back, his tone low as well.“Do you trust me?” That question made me pause. He froze for a breath, then nodded.“I do.”“Then trust that I’ll handle this.”I could see the conflict in his eyes…the battle raging on there. He glanced back at Voss behind me, then back to me. Then he sighed.“Fine..”And so, myself and Voss walked through the ga
BLAKE Magistrate Selene Voss….she indeed was her. “She hates waiting..” Petra the maid added that last part. I wasn’t looking at her anymore, my eyes were fixed on only Selene now… “Blake.” A soft voice came beside me. Tricia. I turned partly to her then. “What now?” The question beckoned at me..truly. All eyes were on me now. Waiting for my decision. “Tricia, come with me. We’ll see at the gate first.” “Alpha.” Rector called and stepped beside me, his tone low. “She is a threat…a foreign one. It is in your right to shut the gates on her.” “And risk making enemies of the entire Council?” I shot back. “It’s too risky..” I stepped away and out of the laundry room, Tricia behind me. And so…I met Selene at the gate, the way an Alpha was supposed to meet a Council envoy. Standing tall, giving nothing away, though every part of me wanted to slam the gate shut instead. The torches flickered, casting dancing shadows across her face, and I forced myself to remain still. Selene
TRICIAEveryone froze for a long while. I did for sure…. She was here?! The Council lady was here?!! How and why?The moment the token that Charlotte placed down stopped humming and silence fell—Blake didn’t let it last long. He snapped to Rector at once. “Tell the guards...all entries and exits should be sealed up. Now!”Rector nodded sharply and stepped away. Odalys and Xavier arrived just as Rector walked away then. “What’s happening?”Xavier asked sharply.Blake turned to Xavier at once. “With me now.” And just like that, the two of them stepped away.And so…that tense silence fell again in the estate. The type of quiet I have learned to hate so damn much… the kind that meant something bad was coming but no one knew exactly when or where.I sat with Charlotte while Blake and Xavier organized the search, going room by room, corridor by corridor, checking every face against every name on the household roster.Odalys who stood by the doorway and observing the search happening, tu
BLAKEWhen the guard broke the news, the entire yard went dead silent.Charlotte was here, huh…Finally, I moved to the guard and spoke. “Take me to her. Now.”He nodded as we turned to walk away when Tricia stepped forward as well.“I’m coming too.”I glanced back then, our eyes fixed on each other for a while. Then I sighed.“Fine. Let’s go.”And so, I moved to see Charlotte at the gates, Tricia right beside me. Both of us were still carrying the glow of the Vault on our skin, the gold light fading slowly from our palms and faces. The Blood Moon was still up there in the sky..glowing down brightly on us.When we arrived there, we saw her…Charlotte looked…well, different, atleast more than she had at the Tribunal. She wasn’t wearing a dress that cost more than a house for one. There was no stylish hair or her excessive make up…She was wearing simple clothes, her hair pulled back in a messy knot, her face pale and her eyes looked tired out. Well, I suppose trying to be blunt—sh
Chapter Forty FourTRICIAThe moment I placed my hand on the wall, it split wide open.Exactly the way it did before, warm gold light spilled out into the red glow of the Blood Moon overhead. The two lights mingled together…painting the entire yard with a strange and ancient color.There was an earthquake that followed right after—but after a while it calmed down.I did not look back at Gerald or Blake or anyone else standing behind me. I already knew what I needed to do, and I did not need permission to do it. My palms were flat against the stone, the symbols blazing under my skin, the Vault humming in response to my touch.Odalys was at my side in seconds. The real anchor was unwrapped now, cradled carefully in both hands, humming faintly against her palms. The light it emitted was soft and warm, like a heartbeat made visible.The First Wolf stepped out from the darkness of the open Vault. Its massive white body was silhouetted against the gold glow.It turned and the moment it
Tricia "You are hurting me!" I screamed, trying to pry Tristan's fingers off my arm.The wood of the door splintered with a deafening crack behind him. Another heavy blow shook the stone floor beneath my feet. Someone, or rather something, was trying to tear the tower down to get inside.Tristan d
Tricia The woman was gone. One second she was standing in the beam of the headlights, a pale ghost in the middle of the road, and the next, there was nothing but the dark, empty forest.My heart was thumping so hard against my ribs I thought it might actually break through. I stared at the spot wh
Blake"Alpha, you should really consider choosing a mate. You can't do both jobs yourself all the time, and your pack needs an actual Luna."Rector's voice was a low drone in the back of the SUV. I stared out the window at the passing trees, my jaw set tight. He had been saying the same thing for t
Blake’s POVThe Red Haze. That was the only way to describe the world right now.My wolf, Fenris, was thrashing against the bars of my mind, a feral beast demanding blood. He wanted to tear Tristan limb from limb for touching what was ours. But more than that, he wanted to tear me apart for hurting







