Se connecterThe Alps rose to meet us like ancient sentinels. Jagged. White-capped. Beautiful in a way that didn’t ask permission to be dangerous.The jet cut through the clouds with quiet confidence, banking just enough that the mountains filled the window - vast, immovable, utterly unimpressed by human ambition. I felt my wolf stir at the sight of them. Old land. Old power. Territory that remembered blood and bargains long after men forgot their names.“Show-offs.” Damon muttered, peering out his window. “All that rock just to flex.”Kieran didn’t look up. “You’d like it here. Everything’s polite on the surface and lethal underneath.”Damon grinned. “My favorite aesthetic.”The plane descended smoothly, tires kissing the runway with barely a whisper. No applause. No relief. Just that quiet internal shift that came with arrival. The sense that the game board had changed, and every piece had just been reset.Cameron rose first when the seatbelt light blinked off, offering me his hand without a wor
The airport wasn’t an airport. Not really.No crowds. No announcements echoing over tinny speakers. No blinking departure boards screaming destinations to anyone who cared to look. This place existed to move people who didn’t want to be seen, and planes that didn’t want to be remembered.Concrete. Glass. Silence.I stepped out of the car and immediately felt it. The way the air changed when power moved through a space. Not magic. Not quite. More like pressure. Expectation.Kieran was already scanning the perimeter, posture relaxed but eyes sharp, every sense tuned outward. Damon lingered a few steps behind us, jacket open, hand resting casually near his side like he wasn’t carrying three different contingencies under that calm exterior.Cameron stayed close to me. Not hovering. Just… present. A constant at my shoulder.“This place gives me a headache.” Damon muttered. “Too clean.”“That’s the point.” Kieran replied. “No witnesses.”I glanced at him. “Comforting.”He gave me a look tha
By the time breakfast ended, Vale was already shifting into battle rhythm.Not loud. Not frantic. Just efficient.Silas disappeared first with phone to his ear. Kieran fingers flying across a tablet as he issued orders that would reroute money, ownership, and influence faster than most people changed clothes. Rowan followed him out, rolling his shoulders like he was heading for a sparring ring instead of a command center. Damon lingered, eyes tracking every movement, already half gone into patrol mode.I stood near the windows with Cameron, watching the grounds below.Guards doubled. Wards reinforced. Vehicles repositioned - not obvious enough to draw attention, but deliberate enough that anyone watching would notice the change.And someone was always watching.“They’ll feel it.” I said quietly.“Yes.” Cameron replied. “And they’ll misread it.”I glanced at him. “How so?”“They’ll think this is defensive posturing.” he said. “What it really is… is permission.”I arched a brow confuse
The house woke like a living thing - floors creaking, wards sighing as they reset, the distant sound of guards changing shifts. Sunlight spilled through the tall windows of the dining room, catching on polished wood and steel and the faint silver lines of protection carved into the walls decades ago.We were already seated when Cameron joined us.Four brothers. Two mates. Six Alpha's. One table big enough for war councils and funerals.I hadn’t slept much. Neither had my phone. I set it down in the center of the table instead of beside my plate.That got everyone’s attention.I told them about uknown sender and the messages. Then about last night message. “Bad news travels faster when you don’t sugarcoat it.” Rowan muttered, reaching for coffee.“Then you’re going to love this.” I said.I unlocked the screen and turned it so they could see.Message after message stacked like incoming fire.— Zurich summit agenda revised— Blackridge logistics subsidiary acquiring 14% stake in Helvet
His arms stayed around me, firm and sure, but something in him had shifted. The air felt tighter. Like the world was leaning in to listen.I felt it immediately - the bond tightening, not in fear, but in warning. Instinct sharpened. My wolf lifted her head.I didn’t pull away. “Tell me.”He exhaled slowly, his breath warm against my hair. “You already know part of this.” he said. “About your aunt. About the deal.”My jaw tightened. “Mara sold information. My mother... Access.”“Yes.” His hand flexed once at my waist. “And leverage.”I turned in his arms so I could see his face. He wasn’t avoiding my eyes. He never did. That was somehow worse.“She didn’t just make a deal with Blackridge.” he continued. “She made it useful.”A chill slid down my spine.“She gave them something to watch.” he said. “Someone.”The word settled between us like a blade laid carefully on skin.“Me.” I said.He nodded once.“You were a contingency.” Cameron said. “A living one. A Vale heir placed in neutral t
Cameron lay on his side behind me, one arm draped over my waist, his chest solid and warm against my back. Not possessive. Protective. Like he needed the contact as much as I did. Like if he let go, the past might reach up and drag him under.For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Then his grip tightened, just slightly.“When I was a pup,” he said quietly, voice low and even, “everything changed in my father’s pack.”I didn’t turn. I didn’t interrupt. I just shifted closer, my fingers threading through his where his hand rested against my stomach.He took a breath. Slow. Measured. Like he was choosing each word with care.“Blackridge was different then. Harsh, yes, but not cruel. Strong borders. Strong traditions. My father ruled by respect, not fear. The pack followed him because they trusted him.”I felt his chest rise beneath my cheek.“And my uncle - his younger brother - hated that.”The words landed flat, but the bond flared, sharp with old anger.“He wanted the Alpha title,” C







