FAZER LOGINRYKER“We’ll leave by nightfall. The territories that-“Kade’s voice faded into the background, along with every other preparation him and Ash could muster. Attractive alpha?My chest tightened, something annoyingly close to jealousy pressing against my lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe.There was no way Iris actually had anything to do with Ash.But the evidence stared right in my face.That smug look on her face, those clothes she wore as she literally ran out of Ash’s room like it was on fire. Like she just did something she regretted.“Ryker.” Ash’s aggravating voice dragged me out of my spiraling thoughts. Rage found its way to my throat.I swallowed. “What?”His eyes narrowed on me. Confused. Of course he was going to stand her and pretend like nothing happened.I tore my gaze away from him before I did something stupid. Like ripping out his throat and feeding it to the vampire werewolves.“You’re painfully honest.” I said to Kade. His gaze sharpened, already susp
IRISEverything felt weird the second I woke up.The air felt too hot, the sun too bright, my body still buzzed but my mind couldn’t care enough to remember why.My eyes fluttered open, vision blurrying and the second I pushed myself off my bed, my head throbbed. A throaty groan escaped my lips before I could stop it, the sound grating on my already sensitive ears.My fingers dug into an unfamiliar mattress. I stilled. This wasn’t my bed. It was colder and not nearly as worn in.I blinked away the haze and slowly, my surroundings came into focus.Small. Clean… like sterile clean. A single bed wedged against the wall. The guest rooms. I was still on pack grounds.The knot in my chest loosened, but not enough for relief.How did I get here?I forced my eyes shut, shutting out the sound of sheets rustling and breeze bellowing. The images flashed violently beneath my eyelids. The woods. The run. Then a sound and then…Nothing.No matter how hard I pushed, my mind wouldn’t go past that sce
ASH The noise in the forest, the wind through the trees, insects, the distant call of wolves… they were all drowned out by the sound of blood rushing in my ears. Move. Every instinct I had screamed at me to step back, to put distance between us before this turned into something I couldn’t undo. But my body refused. Iris stood a few feet away, as still as a statue. Her scent was thick in the air… it was overwhelming. Wrapping around my lungs like smoke and dragging me under. This wasn’t normal. Her eyes locked on mine. Confusion and something darker flickering in them. But just as quickly it came, that expression was extinguished, replaced by a calmer, deadlier look. The kind of look that would make men jump to their deaths. I balled my hands into a fist, claw digging into my palm. Iris was Ryker’s ex. And someone very special to Kade. Although we were going through a rough patch now, we were brothers. But my wolf thought otherwise. He didn’t care, not when her
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, awkward laugh.Ash just stood there, staring into my soul like he was trying to find something missing.Okayyyy.I stepped back. His grip tightened. My brows pulled together. “Ash-““You're lying.” I blinked, scoffing before I could stop myself. “Excuse me?”“Something's wrong.” He doubled down. “Tell me. What is it?”There was something about the way he said it. Not demanding or forceful. Just… sure. Like he already knew I was on the verge of falling apart and didn’t judge me for it or look at me like I was a broken doll that needed to be fixed. And somehow, that was enough.The words came before I could stop them.Everything I’d held back since they found Katrina’s body spilled out of me in
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 that.”I blinked down at my plate. My spoon hovered halfway to my mouth before I realized I hadn’t moved in a while. I set it down carefully, forcing my hands to stop shaking as I shifted in my seat.“I just don’t understand how everyone can act so…”“Normal?” Alpha Kade finished for me.I nodded weakly, already feeling my throat tightening. He sighed deeply. “We all loved Katrina.” He said quietly. “You and I more than most but the bitter truth is that we have to look toward the future.”My jaw tightened.“The pack doesn’t stop because we’re hurting, Iris. If we fall apart, then everything she’s fought to build falls with us.”My eyes stung, Alpha Kade’s eyes softened. He reached across th
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 place.A smirk tugged at my lip as I entered fully into the hall.Iris didn’t bother holding back her sneer as she stood. “I’ll… meet you back at the house.” She mumbled to Kade, purposely avoiding any other person in the space.She didn’t give him a chance to respond before bolting out through the other entrance. A ploy to avoid me completely I assumed.“Not everything is about you.” Ash interjected like he could hear my thoughts but his eyes never left the door Iris had walked out of. Eventually, he tore his gaze away clenching his jaw like it personally offended him. “Let’s just do what we came here to do and leave.”Ash and his undying hatred for this place. I ignored his grumpy reque







