Mag-log inDAMIAN.Damian stood up, determined to get to the end of everything."Marcus?" he called.He could tell from the way the Beta looked at him that he could already sense what he was about to ask of him."Yes?""Find everything connected to this seal."Marcus nodded and stood straight. "Already started.""And I want the council kept away from these records."Marcus looked uncertain.This was the part that was difficult. Damian knew that some of the council members might already have known that Marcus was searching for something, and curiosity wouldn't let them stay quiet until they figured out what it was."They'll ask questions," Marcus said."They can ask.""Damian...""They don't get access. Just tell them you're trying to find out something important. Make sure they don't know what it is."Marcus nodded. "Understood."He turned to leave."Marcus."He stopped."Do not investigate this alone."Marcus looked at him. His eyes widened as he realized what Damian meant. "You think someone m
DAMIAN.Damian had learned a long time ago that fear did not always announce itself. Sometimes it came as shouting, sometimes as violence.But sometimes, it was simply the way a person's fingers began trembling while they tried to convince everyone they were fine.And Serena was trembling.She was trying very hard not to show it, and she was really good at it. If he wasn't already good at reading her emotions, he wouldn't have been able to notice it at all.Damian found himself wondering what she might have gone through to become so good at hiding her fear or whatever emotions she was feeling."She told me never to let them know who I was."The words stayed in Damian's mind. He looked at Serena. Her face had gone pale, her eyes fixed somewhere beyond him as though she were still trapped inside the memory.He wanted to reach for her. Every instinct in him told him to pull her closer, reassure her, make the fear disappear.But he didn't. He didn't want to do it without asking. Not when
SERENA."We don't know yet who she really belongs to."The words seemed to echo around the dining room, and Serena stared at Marcus. For a moment, she couldn't understand what he meant.The name on it wasn't Serena's. The original record. Someone had changed her records.But why?Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table."Whose name is on it?" she asked, her voice shaking.Marcus didn't answer immediately.His hesitation frightened her more than the words themselves. Damian noticed."Marcus."Marcus looked at him, thought about it for a moment, and then finally answered, "The name is partially damaged. We can read the first name, but the surname is almost completely gone.""What can you read?""Elena."Serena stopped breathing.Elena.The name struck something deep inside her. She didn't know why. She had heard the name before. Or perhaps she hadn't.Her mind searched desperately through memories she had spent years trying not to examine too closely.Her mother. There had be
SERENA.Morning came quietly. Sunlight slipped through the curtains and spread across the floor, some streaks sneaking past the curtain and gently dancing around Serena's hair, making it a golden-brown color.She opened her eyes after rolling on the bed and stared at the ceiling. For one peaceful second, she didn't remember anything about last night or how she managed to finally fall asleep.Then she did.Her heart immediately began racing, and she sat upright. The memory returned with embarrassing clarity.The hallway. Damian. The kiss.She groaned softly and pulled the blanket over her face. She tried to push away thoughts of last night from her head, to no avail. It was almost like it was all her brain could think about the minute she remembered everything.Serena gently pinched herself to be sure that everything was real, and when the pain kicked back at her, she let out another groan.What was she supposed to do when she saw him? Pretend nothing happened? That seemed impossible.
SERENA.For several seconds after the kiss, Serena forgot how to breathe. It had been brief, soft, and nothing like the dramatic moments she had imagined when she was younger and believed love was something that happened suddenly, loudly, and without warning.This had been different. It had felt almost uncertain. As though both of them had stepped toward something neither completely understood and were waiting to see whether the ground beneath them would hold.She never expected it... Neither did she expect the fact that she would be the one to make the first move... to a certain extent, at least.Serena slowly opened her eyes, and Damian was still standing in front of her. He hadn't moved away, and neither had she.At first, she wanted to believe this was nothing but a dream, that she was simply imagining everything, but then... Their eyes met, and suddenly the quiet hallway felt much smaller than it had a moment ago.Serena's heart was beating so hard that she was certain he could h
DAMIAN.Damian had faced men who wanted his position, wolves who wanted his blood, and council members who had spent years trying to find weaknesses in his leadership. He had even faced insults and ridicule from people who thought he was too naive to take over as an Alpha when he was younger.None of them had ever made him as uncertain as Serena sitting across from him in the quiet hallway at midnight. She was looking at him differently, and that made him feel even more uneasy.If she had been looking at him with the guarded expression she had worn when she first arrived at Silvercrest, he wouldn't have cared less. Or with the careful politeness she used whenever she was unsure what was expected of her.Instead, there was almost something softer in her eyes. Something that made the familiar pull beneath his ribs grow stronger.Damian held her gaze for another moment before forcing himself to look away.This was dangerous, not because he didn't want her to look at him that way. God kno







