LOGINNadia POVThe great hall was full of noise, but it was the wrong kind. It wasn’t the happy noise of a pack sharing a meal. It was the tense, sharp noise of a pack holding its breath. Every laugh from Noah’s end of the room felt too loud, like a challenge. Every quiet word from our end felt heavy, like a secret.You could see the split right down the middle of the room, clear as a knife cut.At the head table on one side, Noah sat in his big Alpha chair. Maya was pressed to his side like a second skin, her arm linked through his. Around them sat Kael and the other younger warriors, the ones who liked Noah’s new, bold way of talking. They laughed loud at his jokes, they cheered when he spoke, but their eyes were hard, always watching us.At the other big table, Neal sat. I was right beside him, my chair close to his. Old Man Hermlock was there, his wrinkled face serious. the healer sat with us too, and a few of the older, steadier warriors with grey in their hair and scars on their arms
Maya’s POVNoah is soft in my hands now. Like warm clay. After his big fight with his brother, he came to find me. He held me close, his face buried in my hair. He told me I was the only one who truly understood him. The only one who saw his vision. It is almost too easy now. But easy is boring. I do not just want to be loved. I want to be listened to. I want my words to be law. I want people to hear my voice and jump.It starts small. In the kitchen after the noon meal. The head cook is there, a large woman with a red, sweaty face, stirring a big pot.I walk in, smiling my sweetest, most harmless smile. “Hello there,” I say, my voice like a soft song.She turns, wiping her hands on her dirty apron. “Oh. Miss Maya. Do you need something? Something to eat?”“The Alpha Noah was just talking with me,” I say, my voice light and airy, like I am sharing a happy secret. “He said the smell of strong onion is too much for him now. It hurts his head. For dinner tonight, he wants only the gentle
Neal's POVThe morning felt wrong. The air was too still. My Valerie was too quiet.She had kissed me goodbye, her lips soft and sure. But her eyes… they were somewhere else. A place I couldn’t reach. She had written Just stronger on her pad. And she was. I could see it in the straight line of her back, in the way she watched everything now. But the stronger she got, the farther away she felt. Like she was building a wall of that new strength, and I was on the other side of it.I pushed the worry down. I had to. The pack was coming apart like old rope, and my brother was the one fraying the ends.I found him in the war room with his current closest warrior, Kael. Maya was there too, of course, sitting in the corner like a pretty manipulative thing.“Noah,” I said, my voice flat. “We need to talk about the northern border. Lucien’s wolves are testing us. They’re getting closer every day.”Noah didn’t look up from the map. “I know. I’ve decided to pull the patrols back. Tighten our circ
Nadia's POVThe morning light felt different on my skin. It wasn't just warm. It was sharp. Clear. Like the world had come into focus while I slept in Neal's arms.He was still sleeping beside me, his face peaceful. I watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. Last night had been real. The love was real. But something else was real now, too. Something that had slept inside me for a long, long time had woken up.I slipped out of bed without waking him. I dressed quietly. My movements were smooth, silent. I felt calm. But it wasn't the calm of peace. It was the calm of a wolf before a hunt. My mind was quiet, but my eyes were seeing everything.In the kitchen, the morning gossip was already flowing."Did you hear?" a young cook whispered to another. "Lucien's scouts were seen near the northern river again. Getting bolder, they are."My hand didn't shake as I poured tea. I just listened. The name Lucien didn't make me flinch anymore. It made my blood go still and cold."They say he's
Nadia''s pov Beautiful," he murmured, his fingers trailing along my jaw, down my neck. "Always so beautiful."I arched into his touch, a soft moan escaping me. His hands moved lower, cupping my breasts. His thumbs circled my nipples, teasing them to hardness. I gasped, my back arching off the bed."Neal," I breathed, my fingers tangling in his hair.He lowered his head, capturing one nipple in his mouth. His tongue swirled around it, sucking gently. I writhed beneath him, my hands clutching his shoulders.He released my nipple with a soft pop, turning his attention to the other. His hand slid down my stomach, dipping into my panties. His fingers found my clit, already swollen and sensitive. He stroked it gently, his mouth still working my breast.I was lost in the sensations, my body arching and trembling. He slid my panties down my legs, discarding them. His fingers returned to my core, slipping inside me. I was already wet, so ready for him."You're so wet," he murmured against my
Nadia POVThe healer’s hut was quiet, but the pain in my legs was loud. It was a sharp, hot ache that made my eyes water. Neal sat on a stool beside the cot I lay on, holding my hand. His thumb moved back and forth over my knuckles, but his face was like stone.The healer, clucked her tongue as she spread a cool paste on my burns.“This is bad, Luna,” she said, her voice gentle but firm. “The tea was boiling. The skin is angry and blistered. You must not walk on these legs for a few days. You must rest.”I nodded, tears slipping from the corners of my eyes. They weren’t just from the pain.Neal’s hand tightened around mine. “Will there be scars?” he asked, his voice low and rough.“Perhaps,” she said softly. “But the body heals. The heart… that is sometimes slower.”The door to the hut burst open. Noah stood there, his chest still bare from the training grounds. Maya was a step behind him, peeking over his shoulder.For a wild second, my heart leaped. He came. He came to see if I was







