LOGINLioraI sat curled up on the cold stone floor, my body trembling violently as I clutched my throat. Tears streamed down my face, stinging the raw, sensitive skin where Alaric’s claws had dug in. Every breath came in raspy, painful hitches. My skin burned under the dark red bruises left behind by his vicious grip, a terrifying reminder of how close I had just come to having my neck snapped like a dry twig.Footsteps echoed frantically down the corridor before Max burst around the corner. The moment his eyes landed on me, his expression shifted to shock.“Liora!” He ran over, dropping to his knees beside me and reaching out. “What happened to you? Who did this?”Tears spilled over my lashes as I threw myself forward into his arms, sobbing against his shoulder. His hands pressed against my back, but as I wept, his head whipped around, staring down the dark, empty hallway toward the shattered dungeon gate.“What?” Max breathed, his tone instantly hardening into disbelief and anger. “He le
AlaricMy consciousness returned in a haze of agonizing heat.Every breath felt like breathing broken glass. I opened my eyes, my vision swimming, and immediately clutched at my left flank. Someone had slapped a makeshift linen bandage over the gunshot wound, but the silver bullet was still lodged deep inside my flesh, eating through muscle, melting my tissue, and spreading its suffocating poison directly into my blood.The dark, smoking blood had already soaked straight through the wrappings.My inner wolf whined weakly, trapped behind a wall of metallic paralysis. My Alpha strength—the raw surge of power that usually made me unstoppable—felt drained, fading away by the second.I looked around the small, damp space. Cold concrete floor, damp stone walls, and heavy iron bars. A dungeon beneath White Moon.Elias and Max had locked me away to rot while the silver did its work. They had taken the flash drive. They had destroyed the evidence. They had taken everything. But none of that ma
SeleneThe memory washed over me like a sudden burst of warmth.Months ago, back when I still walked the streets of Moonstone Pack as Alaric’s Luna, I had bumped into a fragile woman huddled under a torn canvas stall during a heavy downpour. She had been shivering, trying to sell small bundles of dried herbs. I remembered buying out her entire stock on the spot, slipping extra cash into her calloused hands, and ordering her to go home to safety.She had wept that day, telling me through tears that the money would buy life-saving medicine for her dying husband.And now, here she was.“You…” My voice broke, tears welling up in my eyes.Before the old woman could say another word, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her frail shoulders, pulling her into a tight, desperate embrace. The heavy weight of the last two days—the terror, the blood, the constant running—seemed to melt away for a single, fleeting second.“Thank you,” I sobbed softly into her neck. “Thank you for saving me
SeleneThe sudden hiss of air brakes woke me from a restless, terrified sleep.The heavy transport truck came to a halt, the engine cutting down to a low, idling rumble. I scrambled backward in the dark truck backspace, hiding behind a stack of wooden crates, my heart racing fast.The driver bumped the back door, sliding the heavy metal latch open. Rain-scented air rushed into the claustrophobic space instantly."End of the line, kid," the driver called out, peering into the shadows. "We’re twenty miles past the White Moon border line. The gas station's right across the road. You’re safe here."I didn't wait to be told twice. I tumbled out of the back of the truck, my feet hitting the wet asphalt. My hands were still stained with Allie’s dried blood, my knuckles scraped raw, and every muscle in my body ached, but none of that mattered.I was away from White Moon. But Alaric was still back there, completely unaware of what had happened."Thank you," I rasped to the driver, but he was a
Alaric"Answer the phone... Answer the damn phone!" I growled into the receiver, pacing the small motel room like a caged animal.Nothing. The call just kept ringing, Elias deliberately ignoring me, letting me bleed out in anxiety.I couldn't stay in this room for another second. Every instinct roared at me that Selene was out of time. I grabbed my keys, bolted down the stairs, and threw myself into the SUV, slamming my foot onto the gas.I tore down the main road, heading back toward the mudslide blockade, but as soon as I pulled up, the highway patrol guard stepped into the road, waving his flashlight frantically."Alpha, I told you, the road is completely closed!" the guard shouted through the heavy downpour. "The bridge is gone! You can't pass!""Get out of the way!" I snapped."Sir, you'll drive straight off a drop-off! No vehicles can clear this!"I slammed my hands against the steering wheel, a dark, murderous fury surging in my chest. I didn't have time to wait for a crew to c
MaxA agonizing throbbing pounded behind my eyes, every heartbeat driving a spike of sheer agony through my skull.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even groan. For hours, I lay pinned to the damp forest floor, numb and helpless, staring blindly up at the dark canopy while the poison slowly worked its way out of my system. Blood trickled down the side of my face from where that weak, frantic bitch had smashed a rock into my head over and over again.She thought she killed me.When the paralysis finally broke, a harsh gasp tore from my throat. I sat up slowly, clutching my blood-slicked forehead, my vision swimming with red."Damn it," I spat, gnashing my teeth together until my jaw ached. Pain flared across my face, but the fury burning in my chest was far worse. She had tried to execute me. Selene. She had actually tried to end my life.It was far too late to track her down in the pitch-black woods now. She was already gone.My furious gaze shifted across the grass, landing on the limp bod







