LOGINIRIS“See anything yet?”The human’s voice echoed through the almost quiet air. I ignored her, my sharp gaze shifting. From the ventilator. To the worn out couch. Nothing out of the ordinary.I moved toward the sound, toward the door.My fingers wrapped around the handle, hesitating only for half a second. Then I pushed it open.I wasn’t met with stairs. The walls weren’t concrete. They were made of stone. Torches lit the path, the stench of stale wood and something metallic cutting through the thick air.Ice slowly crept into my veins.I might have not known a lot about the human world but this did not look right. I took a step forward. Then frowned, looking down.Bright red ruffles pooled at my feet, stretching all the way to my waist where a leather satchel sat. My fingers brushed against the dress. I froze. These weren’t my hands.Neither were they the hands I’d seen before.This was someone else. A woman still. Her skin was a rich, deep brown, contrasting sharply against the red
IRISThe steady dripping of that faucet somewhere was starting to drive me insane. My knee bobbed, my fingers strangling themselves.My head snapped to the human. “Stop glaring at me.”Her expression didn’t change. “Are you some type of witch?”“No.”“You sure?”I glared at her. Then chose to ignore her altogether, shifting my gaze to the motel’s worn out rug. Where the hell was Ash? Did he leave us here and go back? He must be mad that he got the babysitting gig.I pushed off the bed, ripping the blinds open. An empty parking space. A rusted car. My jaw ticked as I shoved it close with more force than necessary.My feet refused to stay in one place.The human finally let out a breath between annoyance and unease. “Can you quit that?”I gnawed on my bottom lip. What’s going on back home? Was the battle over? It’s been three days now. It should have been.So why weren’t we on our way back?Dread settled in my stomach.The door swung open and Ash walked in with plastic bags on each arm.
KADEThe last of my people streamed into the underground tunnels, their fear making my chest tighten.I had brought this evil right to my doorstep.But this wasn’t the time for guilt. It was time for war.“Everyone,” I started, waiting for the chatter to die down before continuing. “I know you might all be confused and frightened. It is your right to be.” My jaw ticked. “It is no secret that some are displeased with my decisions. Your claims that I haven’t lived up to the title of Alpha.”Some gazes shifted. Some murmured.“In a way, it is not wrong. I ignored my duties for far too long but I tell you right now, I swear to you, my pack, my family, that I will not let any harm come to you. Your brothers. Your mothers… your children.” My throat tightened. “I will go into battle with my fury and bring the heads of our enemies to you.”“So I ask you one last time to put your faith in me. As your leader. As your friend. And as your weapon.”Cheers erupted from the crowd, scattered claps e
RYKER“Evacuate everyone!” Kade roared, his jaw ticking as his subjects scurried in confusion. “Women and children first.”His gaze snapped to me. “Ryker,” he said, making me jerk back to the world around me.Chatter. Hurried footsteps. The stench of fear in the air.“Snap out of it.” Kade barked, already carrying two pups on both arms. “Take Annalise with you. And the replica.” His eyes wavered.His fingers twitched. “Take the danger far away from here.”I nodded stiffly. “Got it.” He grabbed my wrist as I was about to move. “And find Camille. Iris is and she got into a fight earlier. She could be anywhere.”My feet were on autopilot, my sharp gaze searching through the sea of people. Brown hair caught my eye. I moved. “We need to get out of here, Annalise."Her face was set in stone. “I didn't sign up for this.”That made something dark spark in my chest. “Well, neither of us have a choice now.”She looked past me, her gaze wavering before digging into her bag and bringing out the
IRISFor one brief second, I felt completely weightless. The world disappeared. And suddenly I was somewhere else.A room.No.A study.I knew that immediately, even though I didn’t know how. My breathing grew faster as I looked around.The walls were covered in dark wooden shelves. Books lined them from floor to ceiling. Thick candles burned on a desk, their flames dancing despite the fact that every window was shut.My hands came into view. Only they weren’t mine.I froze, my brows furrowing.They were smaller. Paler. The fingers were longer than mine and way more delicate. I turned them over, staring at the palms.A woman’s hands.What the hell?I tried to speak but nothing came out.Then footsteps echoed somewhere outside the room. There were voices. Several of them. The words were muffled, but somehow I understood them clearly.“She’s inside.”Another voice answered. “Don’t let her escape.”Fear slammed into me as I stumbled backward. The room shifted beneath my feet, the walls b
IRISI glanced at Kade one last time before turning on my heel. Ash’s gaze on me was unmoving. Then his eyes shifted past me. They lingered for a second longer before he nodded stiffly. At Kade.That only made the knot in my stomach curl tighter. “Come on,” Ash said, snapping me out of my own head. Throughout the night, we trudged through the woods, not stopping for any reason. Not when our limbs ached. Not when our throats burned. Not even when the broken distant howls of wolves cut through the air.We didn’t stop until the sun slowly peeked out from dark clouds. The human’s yelp made my pulse jump. I turned. Then frowned. Her face was planted in the dirt, her foot caught in a tree vine.Ash’s jaw ticked but he helped her up without a word. He hadn’t said a word since we left. Annalise stayed back. And he was here.This wasn’t the time to be thinking of that. So I put my curiosity to better use. “So,” I forced out, my voice thick from lack of use. “Is it finally safe to tell us wh
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
IRISThe rain poured from the sky heavily, washing everything tangible away, my sanity included. My eyes stayed fixed on the headstone in front of me, my fingers tightening around the rose stem until the thorns bit into my skin. I barely registered the sting.Water soaked through my clothes, making
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







