LOGINBlackridge had transformed completely.Lanterns hung from the fortress walls like fallen stars while white flowers woven through dark stone softened the harsh edges of the ancient pack stronghold. Music drifted through the courtyards below, warm and alive, carrying laughter deep into the mountains.No blood. No screams. No fear. Just life.For the first time since I arrived in Blackridge, the fortress looked like something built to protect people instead of bury them.“You’re pacing.”I glanced toward Mara, who lounged shamelessly across the velvet chair near my dressing room window with a glass of wine in one hand and absolutely no respect for my nerves.“I’m not pacing.”“You’ve crossed the room twelve times.”“That feels exaggerated.”“It’s actually low.”"Traitor."I stopped in front of the mirror again.The gown the ceremonial attendants forced onto my body probably cost more than several small villages. Moon-white silk spilled to the floor in soft layers, fitted through the wais
The first thing I heard was laughter. Not screaming. Not alarms. Not the sharp metallic sound of warriors sprinting through Blackridge preparing for another disaster.Laughter.It drifted through the fortress courtyard just before sunset while golden light spilled across the mountain stone like warmth finally returning after a brutal winter.For one suspended moment, I simply stood there in the main hall and listened to it. Blackridge sounded alive again.My wolf lifted her head quietly beneath my skin. "Home."The gates opened seconds later. And they came back. I wanted to cry from relief.Cameron walked at the center of the returning wolves, dark coat hanging open over black tactical gear still streaked with dirt and blood that thankfully did not belong to him. Not much of it anyway.Relief slammed through the bond so hard my knees nearly weakened. He was safe. Hurt. Exhausted. Furious probably. But safe.Behind him came Rowan, Kieran, Silas, and Damon with the remaining strike team
The war room inside Blackridge definitly had not been built for comfort. Stone walls. Heavy maps. Long wooden tables scarred by generations of claws, blades, and bad decisions.Tonight it held something else too. Expectation.My brothers arrived just before sunset. And Blackridge felt them immediately. Not because they came loudly. The very opposite.Predators who didn’t need to prove they were dangerous rarely wasted energy pretending otherwise. The fortress guards straightened instinctively the second the front gates opened. Six black vehicles rolled through the courtyard in precise formation.No wasted movement. No unnecessary display. Just lethal efficiency. And still, it all screemed: money.I stood beside the war room balcony overlooking the main entrance while Mara leaned against the doorway behind me eating something that smelled aggressively caffeinated.“You know,” she said casually, “normal families exchange hugs.”“We do exchange hugs.”“You sent your brothers coordinates
By morning, all of Blackridge knew. - Not rumors. Not whispers behind closed doors. - Truth. The kind that poisoned the air after it finally escaped. The council had hidden the conditioning program. Children were taken. Wolves had been turned into weapons. Cameron’s father died trying to stop it. And conditioned wolves still lived among the pack.There was no containing information like that. Especially after what happened in the training grounds.The entire fortress felt raw. Exposed.I stood outside the medical wing watching warriors reinforce internal checkpoints while healers moved between exhausted wolves across the courtyard below. Nobody spoke loudly anymore. Like the pack itself feared disturbing something fragile.Behind me, Cameron was arguing with his healer. Again.“You are not leaving this room.”“I’m the Alpha.”“You’re stitched together by spite and questionable decisions.”A pause.“That feels disrespectful.”“It’s medically accurate.”I bit back a smile. Barely. The h
The training grounds smelled like blood, smoke, and rain by the time the healers arrived. Not real rain yet. Just the heavy metallic promise of it gathering above Blackridge like the sky itself had decided this pack had suffered enough and needs it to wash it off.I knelt beside Cameron while healers crowded around us, their hands moving fast over the wounds in his side and shoulder.Too much blood. Still too much blood.“He needs the medical wing now,” one of the healers said sharply.“No kidding,” Mara snapped from somewhere behind me.My hands were still pressed against Cameron’s side. I couldn’t seem to make myself let go. Like the second I did, something terrible would happen.My wolf paced violently beneath my skin. "Mate hurt. Mate bleeding. Fix it. Now."Cameron hissed sharply as the healer pushed silver-threaded bandages against the wound.“That’s unpleasant.”I stared at him. “You were stabbed and shot.”“Yes.” His voice sounded weaker now. “And somehow you’re still scarier.
The first conditioned wolf hit the barricades before the panic even finished spreading. Then everything collapsed at once.Screams ripped across the training grounds as civilians scattered in every direction. Warriors surged forward to intercept the attackers while more conditioned wolves emerged from inside the crowd itself.Blackridge turned on itself in seconds.“Tomas, stop!” his mother screamed.He shoved straight through her without even looking at her. Like she was nothing. Like he couldn’t see her at all.My wolf recoiled in horror.Mercer stood at the center of it calmly watching the chaos unfold like a man admiring his own masterpiece. Psychopath.The first conditioned warrior reached Cameron. Bad choice. Cameron met him head-on with terrifying force, slamming him into the dirt hard enough to crack stone beneath them before pivoting instantly toward the next attacker.More came immediately. Too many actually. Not warriors, just weapons following orders. No fear. No hesitatio
His mouth followed the curve of my body, not skipping a single inch. He kissed the places the world had taught me to hide. The softness. The fullness. The strength wrapped in flesh that refused to apologize for existing.My thighs trembled when he pressed his lips there: slow, open-mouthed, utterly
His restraint didn’t last.It cracked - not violently, not recklessly - but with a low, dangerous sound in his chest as his mouth found mine again. This kiss was different. Deeper. Hungrier. Less patience, more truth.His hands slid from my waist to my back, fingers splaying like he needed to feel
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 chan
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 ti







