ANMELDENI raise my brows. That should scare me … to feel her so intensely. But instead, I crave that connection to her.“How fast is she?”“Fast enough that Jake couldn't catch her to get her to drink some water, and Leo couldn't get anywhere near her.”I laugh. The image of Poppy zipping around the kitchen
** Bastian’s POV **Branches crack somewhere below the ridge, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone making absolutely no effort to move quietly. Typical Alaric.A few minutes later, he appears between the trees, fully dressed, and carrying two travel mugs.I stare at him. “Did you seriously
** Bastian’s POV **The problem with running is that you can’t do it forever, and then everything you've been trying to outrun catches up with you. So I push harder.My paws pound the damp earth, sending leaves and loose soil scattering behind me as I tear through the forest. The trees blur past lik
“I'm helping!” He laughs.“You're going to be the first person I test this speed by punching if you carry on.”“See?” he smirks. “Already thinking like an Alpha.”I glare at him. Then take a long, victorious drink. No one will take this coffee from me.Jake folds his arms. “Now, how about that water
** Poppy’s POV **“Do that again,” Jake says.I pause with the mug halfway to my mouth. “Do what?”Jake is staring at my hand. “Put it down.”“No. I’ve waited long enough for this. You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.”I finally take a sip of heaven. Leo definitely made this; it has the p
** Poppy’s POV **When Alaric finally pulls away, I have to remind myself that there's a very important point to this conversation.“Bastian,” I whisper.Alaric rests his forehead against mine. “Right.”“I have an idea.”“That sounds dangerous,” he smirks, before kissing me once more.I smile agains
The absence shifts and my head snaps toward the treeline, the Twiceborn all following my gaze with their hackles raised. The hollow I felt earlier… it’s closer now. Still not visible, still wrong in a way that makes my skin crawl, but aware… watching.“Ronnie,” I say urgently. “That thing I felt. It
Remy sits beside me, close enough that his arm presses against mine. “If anything feels off, anything at all, you tell us. No hiding anything, no being brave.”I roll my eyes. “You guys are seriously overreacting.”They stare at me. Silent, united and completely unconvinced. God… I love them. My che
“Everyone stay where you are,” the woman calls. “We need statements from all of you.”Her gaze flicks briefly to the Twiceborn, and something in her expression tightens. I don’t think it’s suspicion or fear. Just a quiet, uneasy sense that she’s looking at something she can’t quite name.I’d been wo
Greg scoffs. “What are you talking about? You should be in prison for what you’ve done to her and for kidnapping my son. This is clear abuse. She even has the scars to prove it. You are all insane.”A deadly kind of anger flows through the bond from Ryder, and I place a hand on his arm to calm him.







