เข้าสู่ระบบMALIA’S POV.The moment Blake disappeared through the front doors carrying Juna, the room erupted into noise.Voices overlapped. Questions flew from every direction. Some wolves rushed after them while others remained behind, whispering among themselves.Not a single person asked if I was alright.I stood there for a moment, staring at the empty doorway where Blake had vanished, waiting for someone to say something.Anything.Waiting for Zara to speak.Waiting for one person to point out that I had barely touched Juna.No one did.The looks directed at me said enough. Disappointment. Disgust. Accusation.As if they had already decided I was guilty. A bitter laugh almost escaped me. After everything, it still hurt. But at least I’m used to it by now.Without another word, I turned and headed upstairs. My ankle screamed with every step. The pain had grown steadily worse throughout the drive home, but now that the adrenaline had faded, I could feel every pulse of it.The stairs felt endl
MALIA’S POV.The stranger’s gaze lingered on me for a second longer than necessary. Then, just as quickly, he exhaled through his nose like he’d already decided something.“I guess you have someone to leave with after all,” he said.Something in his tone I couldn’t place. Almost like disappointment he had no right to feel.His hand slipped back into his pocket.“Stay safe,” he said.Then he turned and walked away before I could even process the fact that I hadn’t asked his name yet.I watched him disappear into the darkness.For a second, a small voice urged me to at least get his name.But Zara’s voice cut through the night.“Malia!” she said, grabbing my arm. “Blake brought the car. We need to go now.”I hesitated.My gaze flicked once more toward where he’d disappeared.Empty now.Like he’d never been there at all.My lips pressed into a thin line before I turned back. I don’t know what I expected that to be. But whatever it was… this was for the best.I bit back the wave of pain t
MALIA’S POV The stranger immediately turned toward me. He was dressed entirely in black, his expression calm despite the madness unfolding around us. While everyone else seemed frantic, he looked completely in control. His dark eyes swept over me once. "Are you hurt?" The steadiness in his voice grounded me more than it should have. "No," I answered automatically. His gaze dropped to my ankle. One dark eyebrow lifted. For the first time, I noticed he was younger than I'd initially thought. "Liar." Despite everything happening around us, a tiny laugh almost escaped me. Almost. "I'm fine." "You can barely stand." His tone wasn't mocking. Just matter-of-fact. Before I could argue, another crash sounded nearby. His attention shifted immediately toward the disturbance before returning to me. "We need to leave." Something about the certainty in his voice made it impossible to argue. Not that I want to! His hand settled lightly against my waist, ste
MALIA'S POVI grabbed another glass of champagne the moment I returned to the ballroom.Draven's words had followed me back inside and refused to leave my head.Pack your bags.The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. If he'd agreed to take me in, what exactly was I supposed to do now? Was I expected to travel to his territory myself? Was he coming for me? Why hadn't he explained anything properly?I took another sip, letting the cold tangy liquid settle some of the tension knotting my chest.It didn't help.A deafening snarl suddenly ripped through the ballroom.The sound was so vicious that conversations died instantly. My hand jerked, champagne sloshing over the rim of my glass as heads snapped toward the center of the room.Then came the crash of breaking glass.A scream. And the unmistakable pop of shifting. My stomach dropped. Two wolves had already transformed.They slammed into each other with enough force to overturn an entire table, sending food, flowers, and sha
DRAVEN’S POV. By the time the SUV stopped outside the towering glass building downtown, irritation already burned dangerously beneath my skin. Most office lights had been turned off. Except the one that should not have been on. My office. I let out a sharp breath, bracing myself for whatever new problem my father had created this time, before stepping inside the building. The second the elevator doors opened, I stopped cold. Men moved in and out of my office, carrying documents and boxes like scavengers stripping a corpse clean. Rage surged instantly. No one was allowed in my office, much less touching my things with their filthy hands. “What the fuck is going on here?” Every man froze at the sound of my voice. One of them glanced nervously toward the office doors instead of answering. “Alpha Mikyal ordered—” “Take everything back,” I snapped, cutting him off. But nobody moved. They were looking at each other, as if my father’s words carried more weight than mine. My wo
DRAVEN’S POV. The scent of wild berries and vanilla trailed after me even after I shut the rooftop door behind me. The agitating scent still clung stubbornly to my shirt, where she’d crashed into me earlier. My jaw tightened instantly as Ghost stirred restlessly inside me. Even with my strong control over him, my wolf had developed a fixation on that scent. After all, we’d spent an entire night with it tangled around my sheets, only for her to disappear before sunrise and leave behind a four-word text. It was a mistake. And somehow, despite all that, she still thought she could negotiate with me like this was some corporate merger instead of a desperate attempt to escape her own mess. Human emotions were inconvenient. And Malia seemed to drown in hers. I stepped into the elevator. My beta, Corbin, already waited inside, his usual unreadable expression slipping slightly as he glanced at the lipstick stain still faintly visible against my shirt before arching a brow. I ignored







