FAZER LOGINIRISRyker’s gaze softened. “You’re not fine,” he whispered. “And I’m not here for a lecture. But I need you to talk to me.”My jaw ticked. His gaze shifted to the hand that clutched at my bleeding nose.“Please Iris,” I hated the way his voice cracked. “I know I might not understand what you’re going through but you can not keep trying to handle things alone.”“You have no idea what I’m going through,” I finally said in a low, defeated tone.He closed the distance between us, gently taking the cloth away from me. “Then make me understand.”My throat burned. His eyes burned with sincerity, his warm fingers tightening around mine. “I belong to you, Iris. So if you see it fit for me to be your listening ear, then I’ll do it. Just… don’t keep everything bottled up inside.”His jaw ticked. “It will kill you faster than any poison.”I pulled away from him and sank into my bed. He sat beside me, not taking his eyes off me for a single second. “I don’t know what’s happening to me,” I final
IRIS “This isn’t a tyranny, Iris.” Kade said finally with an exhausted sigh. “Annalise is free to choose her stance in this battle.”“But this affects all of us,” I argued. “You think Alex is trying so hard to free Selene just because she missed his Luna?”That made Kade’s shoulders stiffen.“I might be her target for now but it’s clear that I’m just a means to an end.”No one said a word. Ash and Ryker exchanged a glance. Kade’s jaw ticked. And Annalise, she just stood there, staring at me with her eyes narrowed.For a split second, something almost like pity crossed Annalise’s face. There it was again, that ‘I know something about you that you don’t’ look in her eyes.I scoffed shaking my head. “Whatever,” I muttered under my breath. “We don’t need you anyway. So you’re free to run back to your little rogue town with your tails tucked under your legs.”“Iris,”Ash’s voice was firm. I ignored him and stormed out of Kade’s study, making sure I slammed the door hard enough that the wa
IRISWith every day that passed, my unease grew.My fingers fiddled with the loose rocks on Kade’s porch as my mind raced. Kade was still calculating the possibilities and technicalities of the plan. Ryker and Ash had been doing intense combat training. After the second day, they decided that Timothy would be of help too. So they filled him in.Although right now, him hovering over me was starting to get on my nerves.My head snapped up, he took a step back. “Do you mind?” I asked, my annoyance slipping into my tone. “I’m trying to spiral over here.”He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Alpha Kade made his instructions clear-““Didn’t ask,” I cut him off, forcing my attention back to the gravels. At least they were more fascinating than Timothy.I only enjoyed one minute of silence before he shifted on his seat. I closed my eyes, praying to the goddess for patience.“What, Timothy?”He hesitated. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “But I’ve got to ask. All those times that you used me to get info
IRIS“Have you seen Camille?”The human slowly dragged her gaze to me, frowning as her gaze lingered on my neck. Instinctively, I pulled the collar of my shirt higher, irritation slipping in.“Well?”A pause. “No,”I groaned and stormed out of the house. My mind of course wandered. Where could she be? I searched everywhere. Katrina’s grave. The town hall. The kitchens. The stables. Everywhere. And still… nothing.“What’s got you so worked up?”Ryker’s voice cut through the noise in my head. I turned. His steps faltered a frown tugged at the corner of his lip.“What happened to you?” His voice was hard. “Who did that to you, Iris?” I walked toward the last place within the pack that I hadn’t checked, the first place I should have gone. The only place Camille had hidden when Katrina died. The cave.Ryker’s footsteps were hot on my tail. “Iris, wait. How did that go?”His large hand closed around my wrist. I spun around, my patience already running thin. “Have you seen Camille?”His bro
IRISMy mind wouldn’t stop racing, even as I stood in front of Camille’s door, knocking until my knuckles were raw.The plan was already slowly falling into place. But there was one thing I needed to make sure of before I decided to paint a target on my back.I rested my head on her door with a sigh. “I know you can hear me, Camille. I’m sorry for keeping things from you but if you just come out… I promise I’ll explain everything.”My pleas were met with silence.My limbs ached, the steady throb I at the back of my skull was beginning to fade into the sea of worries. I slid down, pulling my knees to my chest. “Please,” I whispered. “I can’t do this without you. I hurt you by keeping it from you. Just-“My throat tightened painfully. I screwed my eye shut, sitting motionless as warm tears rolled down my cheek.I didn’t know how long I sat there. The silence of the house only grew with the seconds that rolled by. “Camille, just… talk to me.”My vision waned eventually, my consciousness
ASHI watched as Kade thumbed his temples. He was starting to make a habit out of that.We’d moved the planning to his study. Iris stormed out when she couldn’t squeeze out the information out of Annalise and of course Ryker chased after her chased after her like a love sick puppy.The familiar taste of jealousy crawled up my throat. I frowned, pushing it down.“This is a mess,”Kade exhaled sharply, dragging a hand over his face. “Tell me about it.” He paused, his gaze shifting to Annalise. “What are the chances of us dying?”She hesitated.“I’m truth, please.” Kade pushed.Her shoulders dropped. “70-30”He nodded, already assessing the situation. “That’s not too bad.”She gave him a look. “Thirty percent we live, seventy we die.”Kade closed his eyes, muttering something I couldn’t quite catch. “And without Iris?”“Considering the fact that they might lower their guard even for a few minutes… ten percent we live, ninety we die.”He swore under his breath. “So we need her if we want
IRISI've been stuck doing the same thing for a week now.Staring at the necklace.It sat on my nightstand, sunlight glinting off the blood ruby. That, also, was the only thing I’d learnt so far. That the previous stone embedded in the gold casing was a blood ruby.Elder Rain had reluctantly given
IRISEven after decades of growing up around him, I didn't know a single thing about Ash. Except that people found him terrifying.I never understood why.“Are you alright?” His warm hands still lingering on my arm.Say something.“Yeah, I just-wasn’t looking,” I said, forcing out a small, awkwar
IRISThe morning after Katrina’s funeral was worse than the day before. Camille had somehow convinced me to have breakfast with the rest of the pack, trying to get everything back to normal… but nothing was, not anymore.“Elder Rain would be furious if she catches you toying with her cooking like
RYKERI stood at the doorway, watching as Iris unraveled.It took a second for her composure to slip back into place, and with it, her rage.The look in her eyes felt like a thousand silver knives were being fired at my chest. I hated it but still, I did what I’d always done. Let my mask slip into







