LOGINAmaya.The arena was packed and the air felt electric, the stands filled with students, faculty, and men in expensive suits.Up in the VIP box, Dean Miller sat with the ambassadors. He was smiling, pointing down at the ice like a proud father showing off his prize horses."Amaya, stay in the center," Alvaro said as we lined up for the first face-off. "Don't push your heart rate. Let us handle the targets. You just keep the play moving.""I can do my part, Alvaro," I said,"I know you can," he whispered. "But the baby comes first. Always."The whistle blew.The game was fast—faster than usual. The other team didn't know they were playing a different game. They were just trying to score. We were trying to write a letter."Now!" Javier yelled as he brought the puck up the left side.He slapped the puck hard. It didn't go toward the net. It slammed into the corner of the rink, right under the VIP box. Crack.**DATA DROP 1: Dean Miller is on the Facility payroll. Check Account 'Gatekeeper'
AMAYA.The wooden table in the safe house was covered in maps, half-eaten protein bars, and Javier’s glowing screens. The air was thick with the smell of burnt silver and the weight of Alvaro’s anger."We can't just hide here," Javier said, his fingers dancing across a keyboard "I managed to mask the 'logic bomb' as an external hit from a rival hacker group. The Dean thinks he was targeted by a third party trying to steal his data. He doesn't know it was me.""So he thinks we’re just... what? Lost?" I asked. I was sitting on a crate, wrapped in a thick wool blanket. My stomach felt heavy, but the "spark" was quiet for now."He thinks you had a medical freak-out and the guys panicked and took you to a private Alpha retreat," Javier explained. "He sent three emails to Alvaro in the last hour. He sounds... worried. Like a man worried about his favorite car getting a scratch."Alvaro stood by the window, his back to us. "He wants us back. He wants his Subject' back in the lab.""Then we
Alvaro’s POV.The SUV rode over the dirt track, its headlights cutting through the fog a little. Every bump made the chassis groan. Every jolt sent a fresh wave of fear through me. A fear of losing Amaya and our kids."Almost there," Javier muttered from the driver’s seat. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. "Just another mile. If the Dean hasn't sold this location too, we might actually make it."In the back seat, Luciano held Amaya against his chest. He was wrapped around her like a living shield. Amaya was shivering, and her skin was hot—too hot."Alvaro," Luciano whispered, his voice cracking. "She’s starting to glow again."I turned from the front passenger seat and heart sank at the sight of her.A faint, sickly l light was pulsing under Amaya’s skin. It was a flickering light, like a wire about to snap. It ran through the veins in her neck and pooled around her closed eyes. The air in the car began to hum—a low, electric vibration that made my teeth ache.The
JAVIER The hum of my laptop was the only thing keeping me sane. In this quiet clinic room, the air felt like it was made of glass—one loud noise, one wrong move, and everything would shatter. Amaya was asleep, her face finally looking less like a ghost's and more like the girl who used to beat me at air hockey. The heart monitor was a steady beep-beep-beep. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard because it meant the spark inside her hadn't gone out. Alvaro was gone, playing a dangerous game of "Hide the Traitor" with the Pack Council. Luciano was in the corner, slumped over in a chair, finally asleep after forty-eight hours of hovering. Me? I leaned back, my eyes stinging from the blue light of the screen. My fingers felt like they were no longer functioning but I couldn't stop. The data we had pulled from the rink was a mess. It was encrypted with a shifting code—a "living" lock that changed every few seconds. Most hackers would have given up. Bu
ALVARO.The scent of antiseptic and old paper always made my skin itch. It was the smell of weakness, of places where wolves went to break. But as I stood by the window of the clinic, watching the moon rise over the Silvercrest trees, I realized that the real breaking was happening inside my own mind.I turned to look at the bed. Amaya was asleep, her breathing shallow but steady. My hands were still stained. I’d washed them three times, but I could still feel the heat of her blood on my palms. It was a brand.A reminder that the next Alpha, I had failed. I was supposed to be the shield. I was supposed to be the one who took the hits so she didn't have to.Instead, she had used her own body as a means to save us.A soft knock at the door made my claws prickle. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. The scent was unmistakable."The Council is waiting, Alvaro," Javier said. His voice was stripped of its usual mockery. He sounded old and tired."Let them wait," I growl
AMAYA.Being stuck in a bed is its own kind of prison.For someone who is romantically involved with a hockey player, movement is life. I was used to the sting of cold air on my face, the ache in my legs after a long practice of waiting for them. Now, the only thing I had to look at was the beige paint on the clinic walls and the steady drip of the IV bag next to me.But I wasn't alone.Luciano was sitting in a chair by the window, his head buried in a thick book about ancient pack laws. He hadn't left my side for more than ten minutes since we got back from the rink. Every time I shifted the blankets or let out a sigh, he was up, checking my pillows or offering me water."Luc, I’m okay," I said, my voice finally losing its raspy edge. "I’m not going to break if I reach for my own glass of water."Luciano looked up, his silver-grey eyes soft but stubborn. "Aris said bed rest, Amaya. That means you do nothing. I am your hands and feet until the bleeding is a distant memory."I rolled
Alvaro's POV She's trembling.I can feel it through every point of contact—my hand on her back, her face pressed against Luciano's chest, Javier's arm around her shoulders. Amaya is shaking like a leaf and it's making my wolf absolutely feral.Someone followed her. Threatened her. Made her afraid.
Amaya's pov I wake up surrounded by warmth.For a blissful second, I forget everything. Forget Cara, forget the facility, forget the black sedan. There's just the safety of strong arms around me, the steady breathing of my mates, the bond humming contentedly.Then reality crashes back and my eyes
Amaya's POV I'm walking the east wing hallways before first period, coffee in hand, trying to clear my head.It's been three days since dinner at their apartment. Three days since I told them about my mom, about my fears, about everything. Three days since I promised to really try.And I am trying
Amaya's pov I barely make it through first period.My mind won't stop racing. Cara's alive. She's here. Which means the facility's reach might extend here too. Which means I might have led danger straight to the people I care about.To my mates.The thought makes my stomach twist violently. I've s







