LOGINTamara’s POV The sunlight hitting the silk sheets felt like a physical assault. I sat up, vision swimming in a sickening haze. Every bone in my body ached. Each breath scraped through my chest like sandpaper.The heavy oak door clicked open. Elijah stepped inside, carrying a porcelain tray. He looked immaculate, not a hair out of place, his charcoal vest perfectly tailored. The contrast to my own disheveled state made my stomach twist.“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Tamara,” Elijah said, setting the porcelain tray down with deliberate care. His vest was sharp, his hair immaculate. The contrast to my tangled state made bile rise in my throat.“Get out,” I rasped, my voice rough, scraping like gravel.He didn’t move. He poured tea, steam curling upward. “My father’s study is in ruins. You’re a dangerous guest to keep, even for an Ashborne.”“I didn’t ask to be your guest. You forced my hand onto that arrow. You wanted to see if I’d break.” My fingers trembled as I pulled the du
Tanara’s POVI sat pressed against the door, Jenna’s oversized cardigan draped over me like a flimsy shield against the man across from me. Elijah Ashborne, he looked like a king in a charcoal suit, his expression as smooth and cold as the silver flask in his hand.“You’re staring, Tamara,” he said, his voice low, steady velvet.“I’m trying to figure out which version of you is real,” I snapped. “The one who apologized for my mother’s death, or the one kidnapping me in a car lined with silver.”Elijah tilted his head, a faint, humorless smile tugging at his lips. “It’s not kidnapping when you agreed to the deal. As for your mother… I heard of her passing through the network. Brutal. Unnecessary.”“How did you even know her?”“My father had many secrets,” Elijah said, his gaze shifting to the neon lights bleeding across Vyne City’s streets. “When I was a boy, I saw a woman in a heavy cloak slip into his study at night. A wolf in the heart of the Hunter’s den. I thought she was a spy.
Tamara’s POVMy head throbbed with a sick heat. The last thing I remembered was the floor rushing up to meet me. I groaned, my hand pressing against my forehead. Something cool and damp rested there, a washcloth.I blinked until the blur cleared. I was in my bedroom. My sweatpants clung to me, but my top was gone, leaving only a lace bra. The air bit at my skin. I rolled to the side, muscles stiff and screaming, and dragged myself toward the vanity mirror.I looked wrecked. My long brown hair hung in tangled waves, matted with dried sweat. My jawline caught my eye. “Rapunzel,” I muttered, tightening my lips.The name reminded me of Kat. A faint smile tugged at me. Kat was out in that cabin, drowning in the silence Serene had left behind. I wondered how she was holding up. I had offered her my place, but she wanted solitude. I understood.I pulled my hair back from my shoulder. The symbol Persia had called the “beginning” glowed faintly in my skin, amber light pulsing like it had alwa
Tamara’s POV The kitchen carried the rich smell of soup mixed with the faint citrus of the tea Jenna had insisted on brewing. Persia had left an hour ago. I sat at the table, my fingers tracing the worn grooves in the wood, trying to remember how home used to feel. I never thought I would come back here. Jenna moved around the counter, her movements unusually subdued. Normally she was a whirlwind, clinking spoons, humming, teasing but tonight she was quiet. She set a mug in front of me, her pink-manicured nails clicking against the ceramic. “I’m sorry, Mara,” she said softly. She didn’t look at me, her eyes stayed fixed on the steam curling upward. I blinked, startled. “For what? You’ve been the only thing keeping me sane.” “For not believing you sooner,” she whispered, finally meeting my gaze. Her expression was raw, stripped of her usual spark, replaced by aching guilt. “The bite, when Percy did what he did… it was too much. I let you stay trapped in that exile because I wa
Jenna’s POVI didn’t go to work that morning. I told myself it was because Tamara was coming back, but that wasn’t the whole truth. The house had been too quiet the past few days, and I couldn’t stand leaving it like that again.So I cleaned. Moving things around, fixing what didn’t need fixing, wiping surfaces that were already spotless. It kept my hands busy.Tamara’s room was last.I pushed the door open and paused before stepping in. It still smelled like her though a bit faint. Not the outside scent she’d probably bring back today. Just… her.Her bed was made, but not the way she usually did it. I fixed it without thinking, smoothing the sheets, adjusting the pillows. “Yeah, she’d hate this,” I muttered, tugging one corner again.Her books were stacked neatly on the desk. Since she left, I rarely came into the room so, everything had been in its exact position before her interview that night. Tamara wasn’t messy, but she wasn’t this organized either.A page slipped slightly on th
Jenna’s POV The drive back felt longer than it should have, not because of traffic but because my brain wouldn’t shut off. I replayed everything, my mom, Tamara, Percy. I had just found out he reacted to the bond too, and it looked worse with how he struggled back in the hall. I tapped the steering wheel lightly, exhaling. “This is getting out of hand,” I muttered. The town came into view slowly. Familiar roads. Familiar noise. People walking like nothing unusual existed. I parked outside the café and sat there for a moment. Kat was still at the cabin. I hadn’t expected her to follow me back; grief had settled in her, and maybe she needed solitude. Tamara had chosen to stay with her and return tomorrow. I grabbed my keys and stepped out. “Alright,” I said under my breath. “Back to reality.” The bell chimed as I pushed the door open. “Finally,” Abby called from behind the counter. “Thought you ghosted us.” “Tempting,” I replied, slipping behind the counter. The smell
Tamara’s POVI didn’t wait after Kat told me. I moved.Deep down, I felt it had something to do with me. I asked questions, searched every alley until I saw a path streaked with blood. I followed it and reached the woods.Branches snapped under my boots as I tracked the trail, chest tight, breath s
Percy’s POV I sat rigid on a chair, smoke curling around me. A figure hovered, movement too fast, too slippery to follow. My eyes swept the room, squinting to catch details, but failed.“Where am I? And why are my feet unwilling to move?” My voice was low, edged with irritation.I snarled, nose
Jenna’s POVI’ve learned life has a way of piling surprises on me. Never knew our dad, then mom disappeared. I dropped out of school to work, just to keep Tamara’s bills paid. And now? Turns out my little sister is a werewolf. Not even a witch to make things easier, but a wolf. Life’s sense of humo
Percy’s POVThe scent of blood followed us back. It clung to the wolves carrying her body, thick and metallic, trailing behind them as they crossed into the pack grounds. No one spoke. They didn’t need to.I walked ahead, jaw tight, shoulders squared despite the dull ache pressing against my chest.







