LOGINCaspian I had spent the last several hours trying to identify the person who had decided to make my life difficult, and by the time the clock passed midnight, I was no closer to an answer.That only made me angrier.I stood behind my desk, staring at the photographs spread across it.The first showed Thane at the carnival, the second showed Rissa, and the third was a grainy image pulled from a nearby security camera.It showed a man in dark clothes, standing at a distance but watching.“Again.” My jaw tightened.“Sir?” The investigator standing across from me straightened.“Go through the footage again.” My voice wasn't loud, and honestly, it didn't need to be. “We've already reviewed it twice.”“Then review it a third time.” I snapped before he could finish. “Of course.” He nodded quickly. “Yes, sir.”I picked up another photograph and this one held Thane. My fingers tightened around the edge as I thought, someone had approached him and someone had known his name.That alone wa
Daisy The moment I saw the words on the mirror, I stopped thinking.I didn't investigate, I didn't check the closet and I didn't search beneath the bed or wonder whether whoever had written the message was still inside the room.I was a mother.Someone had entered our room while my children slept and that was all I needed to know.I turned away from the mirror, ran and shoved the bathroom door open so hard it slammed against the wall.“Thane. Rissa. Wake up.” Neither of them moved and my heart slammed against my ribs. “Wake up.”I crossed the room and shook Thane's shoulder.“Mama?” His eyes opened slowly.“Get dressed.” I let out immediately. “What?” He blinked at me.“Get dressed.”“Mama, what happened?” Rissa stirred beside him, rubbing her eyes.“We're leaving.”“Mama,” Thane pushed himself upright. “But it's night.”“I know.”“Then why are we leaving?” His little face creased with confusion. “Where are we going?”“Somewhere else.”“Now?”“Yes.” I was already moving. “Now.”
Daisy. The motel room was too quiet and after the chaos of the carnival, the silence almost felt unnatural.I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the faded carpet beneath my feet while the old air conditioner rattled somewhere above me.No matter how hard I tried not to, I could still hear Caspian's voice.“They're not going anywhere.”I closed my eyes and I could still see the look in his eyes when he said it. The certainty, the anger, the strange protectiveness I hadn't expected from him, and then there had been his other words.“I know. That isn't the problem.”I hated that sentence, but mostly because I understood what he meant.I could protect my children and I had been doing it for five years. I had protected them when I had nothing, when I had barely enough money to buy food, when I had spent nights awake because one of them had a fever and I was terrified I'd miss something and when I had built a life from nothing.I had been their mother, their father, their provider,
Daisy The world around me had become noise.Music blared from somewhere behind us, people were shouting about the damaged ride, and carnival workers were dragging pieces of broken wood away from the crowd while someone yelled for everyone to move back, but I heard none of it properly.All I could hear was my own heartbeat and the fact that Thane was standing between Caspian and me.After five years of believing I would never see him again, five years of convincing myself that the man I had loved had become nothing more than a memory I had to bury alongside everything else I had lost.And now he was standing in front of me, holding my son.His son, our son. I couldn't breathe while Thane seemed completely unaware of the storm happening inside me. He looked between us with the same curious expression he always wore whenever adults behaved strangely.Caspian, however, wasn't looking at him anymore. He was looking at me, but not casually, and not the way he had looked at me across th
Caspian The carnival had never been my idea of entertainment. It was too loud, too crowded with too many people moving in every direction without any regard for personal space.Yet there I was.I stood several yards away from the main entrance, listening to a local council representative explain the potential value of a parcel of land bordering the eastern side of the harbor.“The owners are willing to negotiate,” he said.“They've been willing to negotiate for six months.” I glared. “They're more receptive now.” He cleared his throat.“They're receptive because they know Montenegro Inc. is interested.”“Yes.”“Then we don't need another meeting.”He hesitated and when I looked at him, he immediately looked away. I had already spent too much of my time dealing with people who thought repeating the same information in different words made it more useful.The carnival occupied land that would eventually become part of the waterfront development.It wasn't the main acquisition. It w
Daisy By the time we reached the carnival, I had almost forgotten why I was supposed to be afraid.Almost.The moment we stepped through the entrance, Rissa grabbed my hand.“Mama! Look!” She squealed as she pointed toward a giant spinning ride covered in colored lights.“I see it.” I smiled.“No, look!” She grinned. “I am looking.”“It’s so pretty!” She was bouncing on her feet now, and I couldn't help but laugh. “It is.”“Mama.” Thane was already staring in the opposite direction.I followed his gaze and there was a ring-toss booth.Of course.“You want to play that?” I asked. “Yes.” He nodded.“You don't even know what the prize is.” I pointed. “I'll pick one after I win.”“You're very confident.” I laughed.“I practice.”“You practice ring toss?” I raised an eyebrow. “No.” He shrugged. “I practice winning.”“That's what he always says.” Rissa giggled while I stared at him. “And does it work?”“Sometimes.” Rissa shrugged. “Most times.” Thane gave her a look.“Come on, c
Daisy The palace was in controlled chaos, and for the life of me, I didn't know what to think of it. Servants rushed through the corridors with bolts of black silk and silver threaded veils draped over their arms, while guards stood straighter when I passed, bowing low enough that their forehea
FourDaisy The clearing had gone so quiet I could hear my own pulse in my ears.“I want her.” Even in a million years,I never thought I'd hear those words,not from Nathan, and definitely not from the Greek god in human form; Caspian.His voice didn’t need to be loud. It carried anyway, low, contr
Caspian The second I stepped into the kitchen, the bond turned vicious. It wasn't angry as usual, this one was worse. It felt desperate. It hit me all at once, sharp enough to make my chest tighten painfully as my gaze landed on Daisy standing beside Octavian with a mug cradled between her han
DaisyThe smell of pine and expensive cologne always made my stomach turn, but tonight it was suffocating. The Hall was draped in silver and black silk for the Lunar Awakening. It was the night every shifter in the Blood Moon pack waited for. The night the future Alpha turned twenty five and finall







