LOGINRYKERThe stench of stale blood and rotten flesh clung to me like a second skin. My ears rang. The sun burned hotter than it was supposed to.Two days.We’d been searching for two days. We’d killed hybrids at every stop. I lost count. And still, no Iris.My wolf slammed against the cage of my chest. I felt helpless. Worse than hopeless. The more packs we stormed, the more territories we combed through, the less faith I had that Iris was still here.Then a thought struck me. I shook my head so hard my brain rattled. It wasn’t possible. But what if-“What if Iris isn’t in any werewolf territories?” I said aloud.Ash paused, his tired eyes shifting to me. “There are still a few places we haven’t checked.”I ran a hand through my damp hair and released a hard breath. “Don’t you think we would have found her already?”Ash shrugged like his shoulders weighed a ton. “We won’t know until we look.”“If you cared,” I seethed under my breath, rising. “You’d be finding us a way to get to- oh I do
IRISThe scenery was all an illusion. I watched as Alex ordered his minions to set the boxes. Runes. Watched as the peaceful scenery dissolved like salt in water. How they all stood unfazed as the ground beneath us trembled. And eventually, the facade fell, giving way to something older.My stomach dropped.The beautiful field cracked apart before my eyes. Grass withered into dust, stone erupted from the earth, ancient pillars clawed toward the sky. Every instinct inside me screamed one thing.Run.Again.My mind screamed to do it. But Alex motioned for me to come closer… and my feet obeyed.My gaze flicked to the mouth of the crypt that now stood in the place of the grass field. towering black stone. The massive engraved doors stood taller than anything I’d ever seen, runes glowing inside the rocks themselves.The darkness from within warned me to steer clear.“We do not have much time,” Alex said evenly. “And I would hate to kill your Alphas for being too persistent in finding you
IRISThe sound of gravel crunching underneath me and hard wood pressing into my skin was enough to jolt me awake. My body jerked upward, my eyes blinking rapidly to clear the haze. My wrist no longer felt burdened with the weight of the chains. They felt free.For one glorious second, I thought I’d escaped.Then I looked up.Green eyes stared back at me.I scrambled away instinctively until my back slammed into a wooden door. My pulse hammered.The woman sighed exasperated before planting her hands on her knees. She stared at me like some zoo animal then leaned back. “Save yourself the effort, princess.”I noticed her from when her friend dragged me across the woods like a log of wood. I ignored her warning, letting my eyes roam. We were moving. Wood flanked my sides. Even above. And beneath. A cart.I gritted my teeth. “Where are you psychopaths taking me?”She huffed a laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.”My eyes narrowed. What did that even mean? I didn’t get to ask her. The car
IRISThe clear liquid hissed against the wooden floor as Alex continued mumbling ancient words beneath his breath. He’d circled the room three times already, sprinkling the scentless mixture into every corner like he was sealing me inside.It was starting to grate on my nerves.“You’ve gotten what you want,” I gritted out as my fingers tightened around the sheets. “Why don’t you let me go and I’ll forget this ever happened.”Alex paused at the corner of the room, tilting his head back so he could look at me. “Bold of you to assume you have any say in this.”The fear simmering beneath my skin slowly gave way to irritation.“Stop doing that.”He turned fully, his eyes narrowing at me. “Doing what?”I clenched my jaw. “Talking like you know something I don’t.”His lips twitched for the first time. “But I do.”“Then tell me.”“Why?”I blinked. Then let out a sharp sigh whike using the hand that wasn’t bound by chains to run through my hair. “What. Do you want?”He placed the bowl of conc
ASHHer scent was gone.Not faint. Not lingering. Gone. Like it was never there in the first place. It was impossible. It couldn’t have been more than a hour since I noticed she was gone. There was supposed to be residue in normal conditions.This wasn’t normal.Someone erased her scent.And for some reason, my gaze refused to move from the treeline in front of me. I could hear their bickering. It was muffled. Kade was still trying to convince himself that Iris didn’t mean more to him than his pack. Ryker was spiraling.Despite my expression remaining blank, I was unraveling too. But unlike Ryker, who wore his heart on a sleeve, and Kade, who was certain this didn’t affect him as much, I couldn’t afford to let my emotions cloud my judgement.I dragged my eyes back to the pair. “Did any of you catch a scent?”Their eyes snapped to me. Ryker scowled. Kade narrowed his eyes. I took their silence as an answer.“Someone erased her scent.” I turned back to the treeline before I could catch
KADE “You lost her?” Ryker’s growl was rough enough to shake the walls of the hallway, his hands balling into a fist. Ash’s panic overrode the flicker of irritation. “It was your fault she ran into the woods by herself.”My spine locked. “What?”Their eyes snapped to me, faltering only for a second. Glenda stepped forward, confusion written all over her face. “I can see you gentlemen have a lot on your plate.” Her gaze flicked to Ryker who looked like ripping off Ash’s head. Her lips flattened. “I’ll head back.”No one spoke.Not when her footsteps faded. Not when the hallway descended into a heavy silence. My mind was absent. All I could think of was that Iris was missing.I didn’t appreciate the way my chest tightened. That voice in the back of my head wouldn’t shut up.Not again.Not another person slipping through my fingers while I stood helpless.No. She wasn’t gone. Not if I had a say in it.“Someone explain to me exactly how Iris, who you were supposed to be watching,” I tu
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
IRIS“Iris,” Mr Rowan said, his voice roughened by lack of use.We all mourned Katrina in our own way. I hadn’t seen Camille for days. She was likely holed up in a cave somewhere, trapped in her wolf form so she wouldn’t have to feel the crushing weight of loss. For their dad, it was alcohol.And m
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







