LOGINBronte's POVSerena is still talking.Her arms are warm around me and she smells and she's saying something about how excited she is for the mating ceremony, but I'm not really listening because over her shoulder I can see Sebastian across the room.He's looking right at me.I don't know what my face does in that moment but whatever it is, he sees it. He sets his drink down on the mantle slowly, deliberately, and straightens up.He starts walking.He doesn't rush, doesn't push through the crowd, just moves through the party with his hands in his pockets like he's going nowhere in particular, stopping briefly to say something to one of the warriors he passes. But his eyes stay on me the whole time and I feel every step he takes.Serena is still talking."...and I was telling Alexander just this morning that Blue Moon Pack hasn't had a Luna in so long, we're all just so ready for—"Sebastian stops right beside us. He doesn't look at Serena. He looks at me, and up close his expression is
BRONTË I barely slept.Every time I close my eyes I see Alexander's hand on the bathroom door handle, see Sebastian pressed against the wall inside, see how close we came to everything falling apart.By the time morning comes I'm exhausted and my head pounds.I drag myself out of bed and get dressed, dreading going downstairs but knowing I have to.The dining room is already full when I arrive. Pack members eating breakfast, talking quietly, the usual morning routine.Alexander sits at the head of the table with his beta beside him.When he sees me, his expression doesn't change."There you are," he says, his voice neutral. "I was beginning to think you'd sleep all day.""Sorry, I didn't sleep well.""Again." He gestures to the empty chair beside him. "Sit."I sit and one of the pack members immediately brings me coffee and a plate."Thank you," I say quietly.Alexander continues his conversation with his beta about patrol schedules, but I can feel him watching me from the corner of
BRONTË Alexander drives us himself, no beta, no guards, just the two of us in his car heading away from the pack house."Where are we going?" I ask."You'll see." He reaches over and takes my hand, lacing our fingers together. "I wanted to spend some time alone with you before things get even more hectic with the ceremony preparations."I look out the window as the pack territory passes by, trees and trails I've started to recognize from my time here, and I try to remember the last time Alexander and I were alone like this, just us without pack business or ceremony planning or other people watching.I can't remember."You're quiet," he says."Just tired. I didn't sleep well.""Still having those bad dreams?""Something like that.""You should talk to the pack healer. She can give you something to help you sleep." He squeezes my hand. "I need you well-rested for all the preparations coming up."We drive for another twenty minutes until the trees open up and I see water sparkling in th
BRONTË The last thing I remember is Alexander walking me upstairs and kissing my forehead at my door.And then it's morning.Irina is already up, already dressed, already pulling my wardrobe open with the kind of energy that should be illegal before eight. She holds up two dresses, comparing them, completely unbothered by the fact that I'm sitting up in bed still wearing last night's clothes."You slept in your dress," she says without turning around."I noticed.""The zipper left a mark on your back." She hangs one dress back and lays the other across the chair. "Your mother is downstairs making enough food to feed both packs. She's already cried once and it's not even eight o'clock."I reach back to find the zipper. "Can you—"She's already there, undoing it with practiced fingers. "You're really leaving today.""That was always the plan.""I know." She helps me step out of the dress, hands me the one she picked. "I just didn't think it would feel like this.""Like what?"She looks
BRONTESebastian steps inside and closes the door most of the way, leaving it open just a crack."You're back early," I say."Patrol didn't take as long as Alexander thought." He stays near the door, covered in dirt and sweat. "We need to talk about last night.""What about it?""Don't do that. Don't pretend nothing happened.""Nothing did happen. Alexander interrupted before—""Before what?" He takes a step closer. "Before we did something we can't take back?""Sebastian—""I've been out on that border all day trying not to think about it. Trying not to think about how close we were. How close I came to kissing you." He runs his hand through his hair. "And I can't stop thinking about it.""We can't do this.""I know.""Alexander is already suspicious.""I know that too.""Then why are you here?""Because I can't stay away." He moves closer. "I've tried. You know I've tried. But every time I tell myself to keep my distance, I end up right back here.""This is dangerous.""Everything a
BRONTË I slip out of my room at 11:58.The pack house is quiet, just the usual night sounds of old wood settling and distant patrol footsteps outside.I move down the corridor as quietly as I can, taking the back stairs that servants use, avoiding the main hallways where pack members might still be awake.When I reach the library, the door is closed but there's light coming from underneath.I push it open.Sebastian is standing by the window, his back to me, still wearing the clothes from patrol though he's cleaned most of the dirt off."You came," he says without turning around."You knew I would.""I hoped." He turns to face me. "I wasn't sure."I close the door behind me and lock it. "We shouldn't be doing this.""I know.""If Alexander finds out—""He won't.""You don't know that. He's already suspicious. He came to my room right after you left asking if someone had been there.""What did you tell him?""That I was alone.""And he believed you?""I don't know. Maybe." I move furt
NARAYA“Roger… where are you?” Melissa's voice drifted down the corridor. Her heels echoing closer.The aggressive heat in Roger's eyes melted into a cold panic. He dropped his hand from my shirt, stepping back just enough to break the intimate space between us.“Play along,” he whispered, his orbs
NARAYA“Daddy? Who is this woman?”A cold, unexplainable ache ripped through my chest as the little boy’s words echoed in my head for a few seconds.My Roger... Daddy?I stared at Roger, waiting for an explanation. A laugh. An indication that the pup was lying, joking, or even wrong.But his face w
“The hardest lies to escape are the ones we tell ourselves for love.”NARAYA“You do know I’m still against you doing this, don’t you?” Zilla growled, stomping up the stairs behind me. Her fingers tightened around the flower basket.My jaw tightened. I took the remaining stairs two at a time and sk
NARAYA“Tell me you are joking, Raya.” Zilla's eyes widened behind her glasses. I lowered my gaze, suddenly picking interest in tracing the lines in my palm.“I’m not.”“Geez, Raya, you are twenty-three, not eighteen. How could you let that happen?”Neither of us spoke for a moment as we let the mu







