MasukAvery’s POVThe drive to Nightwolf took three hours. Bjorn fell asleep in the back seat halfway through, his head lolling against the window. I watched him in the side mirror, his chest rising and falling in slow, shallow breaths.Gideon didn’t say much. He kept his eyes on the road, hands steady on
“Avery, you hurt me, too,” Gideon cut me off.I snapped my mouth shut.“You kept my son from me for ten years,” he said. “You lied to me, ran from me, and made me believe I’d never have the family I wanted. So trust me when I say the feeling is mutual.”The words stung, but I deserved them. I knew I
Avery’s POVI pushed myself up from the bed as soon as I heard Bjorn’s voice. Gideon moved over to me and offered me his arm. I looked at it for a moment, then up at his face, set firm and yet threaded with a tenderness that I couldn’t ignore. Finally, I took it and let him guide me out of the room.
I looked away. I didn’t answer; I couldn’t. My throat felt too choked up, not just from my injuries, but from all of it.“Why did you keep him from me?” Gideon’s voice was barely above a whisper. “All these years, and my son was right here. Why did you lie to me?”I opened my mouth, then closed it a
Avery’s POV“Why isn’t it healing?”“She took a direct hit from an Alpha. The scar may be permanent…”The pain radiated from my face, spreading down my jaw and into my neck. I tried to open my eyes, but even that hurt. The light filtering through my eyelids was too bright, making me wince.Someone w
She didn’t answer right away; she just kept staring at the ring with her jaw clenched in that way I’d never seen it before. For someone like Melissa to look so worried, when she was usually calm and smiling, made my blood run cold.“Melissa,” I said.She finally looked at me. “I’m worried about Gide
These people would never question the Luna’s commands in a public forum, but they would air their doubts privately to neighbors or friends. Gossip spread quickly in a tight-knit pack, and their silent glances and whispered judgements were palpable if you knew what to look for.The grocer had complet
Avery’s POVAnd then he was gone. The one person I thought might be able to intervene, who might have been able to throw me a lifeline, instead turned and walked out my bedroom door. He held all the cards, and instead of playing the hand that could have saved me, he had done the equivalent of polit
Avery’s POVAfter Jessica’s unpleasant visit, I felt as though even my long-shot hope had been decimated. I had written the letter as she requested, though it pained me to have to write my false testament to her character. It wasn’t all lies. I had no doubt that ruthlessness, pride, tenacity, and a
Avery’s POVDierdra stomped across the room towards us as Gideon stepped back from me guiltily. I could see her eyes measuring the distance between us, my state of undress, Gideon’s body language. She was doing the math. “What are you doing?” she sneered at me, “Gideon has a pack to run, he doesn’t







