MasukLeona’s point of viewThe sound of laughter carries over the waves, light and endless, blending with the rhythm of the ocean.I stand a few steps back, barefoot in the sand, watching them.Archie is in the middle of it all, trying and failing to play soccer properly. Orion is running circles around him, fast and determined, while Rae shouts instructions like she’s the one in charge. Penelope, Steph’s little girl, who was named after me, keeps kicking the ball in the wrong direction, giggling every time she does, and Archie pretends it’s part of the game.And then there’s Evie.She stumbles slightly as she runs, the uneven sand catching her off guard, but before she can fall, Rae is there instantly, grabbing her arm and steadying her.“Careful!” Rae scolds, her voice full of protective seriousness.Evie just laughs, brushing herself off as if nothing happened.I can’t help but laugh, too.Because Evie is nothing like her mother.My gaze softens as I watch her run back into the game, he
Leona’s point of viewMarc moves suddenly, before I can stop him, before she can protest, and He bites down.His mark sinks into her neck. I gasp, my eyes widening and tears falling from my eyes.Quinn gasps weakly, her body jolting as the bond forms, and he moans.Marc pulls back slightly, his forehead pressing against hers, his voice low.“You can hate me,” he murmurs. “But I’m not letting you go. Not now. Not when I just found you.”I hold her tighter, tears falling freely as I watch her cling to that fragile thread between life and death.And for the first time since this all began, I pray she survives.“She will live. I can feel it,” Marc says to me.“You said you just found her. Is she your…” The words can’t come out of my mouth.“Yes. Let me take her,” he says, lifting her in his arms.I struggle to my feet and look at Archei speaking with Steph. She has a rifle in her hand and also a bag where Alex pulls some clothes.My mother is shielding the kids from the ground.“Take them
Leona’s point of viewThe moment Kylie’s body goes still beneath me, something inside me should settle.It doesn’t.Her blood is still warm on my hands, her lifeless eyes staring past me into nothing, but I don’t feel victory. I don’t feel relief.I feel it.Archie.Through the bond, it hits me like a blade to the chest. His strength was fading, his body weakening.My breath stutters. “No.”I shove myself to my feet, my body screaming in protest, every cut and bruise demanding I stop, but I don’t. I can’t.He’s losing, and people are dying. I can feel the panic in his chest.“Leona!” Evander shouts behind me, but I don’t stop. I run.I run toward that pull in my chest that grows weaker with every second.“Archie…” His name breaks from my lips as I push harder, forcing my body to move faster than it should. My vision blurs, my lungs burn, but none of it matters.I reach for something deeper, inside me. Something I have never felt.The shift tears through me, bones snapping and power fl
Leona's point of viewMy fingers tighten around the knives in my hands, their weight grounding me. Across the clearing, Kylie stands in her wolf form, larger than any normal wolf, silver fur matted with dirt, golden eyes locked on me with pure hatred.Let her hate me. She shouldn’t have taken my children.“You should’ve stayed gone,” She snarls at me, shifting back to her human form. My lungs burn, and my feet feel like they are on fire.“Oh, Kylie. Did you really think you stood a chance?” I raise my eyebrow, my eyes roaming around her face. She must be crazy to think Archie would have been with her after finding out what she used to do.“I thought you side fight side by side,” Evander mutters behind me, his voice tense.I don’t look back. “Get out of here.”“I’m not leaving you.”“Evander.” My voice drops. “Now. This is between her and me.”He hesitates.That is all it takes, and Kylie lunges.“Move!” I shout, but she isn’t coming for me.She goes straight for Evander.My heart slam
Archie’s point of viewA voice cuts through the chaos in my head. ‘Step aside.’I freeze for half a second, my heart still pounding violently in my chest, my eyes locked on Rae and Orion.‘Step aside, Archie.’My head snaps up to the window.There, standing in the shadows of the pack house, behind the curtain, is the person I thought might have betrayed me like everyone else.Steph,She’s alive. She’s here.Her gaze locks onto mine, steady despite everything happening around us. She gives me a subtle nod.‘Trust me,’ she mind links to me, but I don’t know if I can trust her. Not after what happened. I’m glad she is alive, but how can I trust her?Sera shifts beside Rae; the knife is still pressed to her throat. Kylie tightens her grip on Orion. Claudette watches me like she’s waiting for me to break.I don’t have time.I don’t have options right now. I am clearly outnumbered, surrounded by people I fought for, building this pack from nothing,So, I do the only thing I can, and I trust
Archie’s point of viewThe pack house comes into view as I drive through the driveway to where my kids areEvery instinct in my body screams at me to turn around, that this could be a trap, and I know it is, but I don’t.I slow the car instead, gravel crunching beneath the tires as I pull up to the front. The engine hums for a second, then I kill it.It’s too quiet.My jaw tightens as I step out of the car. The moment my boots hit the ground, shadows begin to shift. One by one, they emerge from the darkness: wolves, men, faces I know.They surround me in seconds.A trap.Just like Leona feared.My chest tightens, but I keep my expression blank, forcing calm into my veins even as something unfamiliar coils in me.Fear. It’s a strange feeling for me. I do not feel such emotions, but even since I met Leona nine years ago, I felt it then, and I feel it now.I push it down.I scan them, my eyes cutting through the circle, and then I see her stepping out from the entrance of the pack house.
Archie’s point of viewI shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t think of her as anything more than someone temporarily under my protection. But every time she speaks, something shifts inside me, and I fucking hate it.Earlier, when I found her with Steph staring at my men, something inside me snapped. For a m
Leona’s Point of View“What did you just say?” Archie asked, his eyes locked on Steph. If he looked at me with such a glare, I would cower or stop breathing, but she doesn’t flinch.She stays with a straight face and her voice steady. “Yup. Helps strengthen the bond. Otherwise, every time you stay
Leona’s point of view“She’s nothing to me! Whatever happened was just some fucking mistake. She’s just another—” I hear him say, but stops when he sees me standing there.Another whore. I know what I am to you, Alpha. I understand that’s all I am to you.“Leona,” he says, his voice so low.I smile
Leona’s point of viewWhen I wake up, my head is throbbing, and my body feels like I just ran a marathon. But there’s an ache between my legs that makes me wince in pain. Did he force me last night? I try to push on my hands to sit up, but my wrist hurts.I lift my hands, and my heart freezes when







