登入Carla was exhausted. It was not just the ordinary tiredness of a long shift — the last few days had been far too heavy, and her body seemed finally to be collecting everything she had been ignoring. She entered the rest room accompanied by her colleague and left her bag on a chair, her shoulders slumped.“I just want to sleep for a few minutes. Before the shift swallows me again.”“Then sleep.” The woman answered with a soft smile. “I’ll stay here and wake you when it’s time.”Carla nodded without questioning. There was no reason to. She had known that woman long enough to trust her. They had shared shifts, conversations, bad coffee, and endless hours inside that hospital.She was just a colleague, a friend, someone Carla would never have imagined needing to distrust.“You’re really very tired.” The woman commented, observing Carla’s pale face.“I am.” Carla sat on the sofa and rested her head against the backrest, closing her eyes. “I think if I close my eyes, I won’t wake up again.”
The next morning, Carla woke up early. So did Alexei — not because he had slept particularly well, but because his body seemed to have forgotten how a full night of sleep worked ever since Boris had died.Still, there was something different about that morning. Perhaps because, for days, he had not woken up thinking immediately of corpses, clans, or Konstantin. Carla was at his side, and that was enough.The drive to the hospital was quiet, and Carla spent most of the way looking out the window while Alexei drove with one hand on the wheel, his eyes on the snow-covered road.“You’re quiet.” She commented, turning toward him.Alexei glanced at her quickly before returning his eyes to the road.“I’m driving. I need concentration.”“You can do two things at once. You always could.”“I can.”“Then? Why are you so quiet?”A small smile appeared on his face.“I’m thinking about you. That’s all.”She observed him for a few seconds, and a smile answered his.“That was surprisingly romantic.”
The afternoon had already begun when Alexei returned to the office.Carla had insisted that he eat something during lunch, and he obeyed—more or less. He ate enough so that she could not accuse him of ignoring basic needs, and returned to the room as soon as they finished.Now, a few hours later, the table was covered with documents: maps, reports, old clan records, information on territorial movements, names, addresses, photographs, and an absurd amount of notes that were beginning to occupy even the spaces where the bottles of drink normally sat.The room was silent. Alexei preferred it that way; he did not need noise, he needed to think. He sat in front of the table and ran his eyes again over the open map before him, his fingers tracing the lines that marked territories and borders.Konstantin was not a man who simply appeared anywhere. He was a Supreme Alpha—he had territory, allies, structure, men, and, above all, years of experience in hiding what he truly did. Alexei would not
The first thing Andrei noticed that morning was the silence. It was not the ordinary silence of the Demidov mansion; that place had never really been silent while Boris was alive. There was always some door being opened, footsteps crossing the corridors, a voice coming from the library, or some complaint from the old man when someone left something out of place.That morning, there was nothing.Boris’s chair remained empty in the dining room. His glass was still in the cupboard, his coat was not hanging near the entrance. And for the first time in many years, no one expected him to appear at any moment.Feliks entered the room a few minutes after Andrei. He stopped near the door and also looked at the empty chair, his red eyes traveling over the piece of furniture as if expecting to see the old man sitting there. Neither of them said anything.Yulian appeared soon after, still with his hair disheveled, his eyes tired, and he also looked at the same place.“It feels wrong.” He murmured
The earth covered the last empty space, and Alexei remained still before the grave, watching as the men finished settling the soil over Boris’s body. There was no fire to consume his flesh, nor ashes to be carried by the wind.Among the Lycans, the earth received that which belonged to the earth, and that was how it should be.The torches continued to burn around the place, casting shadows over the snow, and the Moon remained high, silent, witnessing the end of the Crossing. Alexei lowered his eyes for a few seconds, feeling the weight of the moment settle on his shoulders.Beside him, Dmitry remained silent, his expression grave. Susan discreetly held Carla’s hand, and Anatolie watched the grave with eyes fixed on the freshly turned earth. Further back, Andrei, Feliks, and Yulian stayed together, the three still carrying on their faces the pain of those who had just lost the man who had raised them.No one was in a hurry to leave. The silence stretched on, respectful and deep, and Al
The fire remained lit. The flames of the torches illuminated the stone circle, while the Moon stayed high among the snow-covered branches. Among the Lycans, the Crossing did not end when the body was delivered to the earth; there was still one last thing to do: say goodbye. Not farewell. Never farewell.Alexei remained in front of Boris’s body, and at his side Carla did not let go of his hand. He felt the pressure of her fingers against his — a silent anchor on that cold night.The silence was broken by Andrei. He walked to the body and knelt, remaining still for a few seconds. Then he ran his hand through Boris’s gray hair, adjusting a lock that had come loose.Andrei closed his eyes, and his hand remained on Boris’s head for a longer moment.“You were my father.” The sentence came out without hesitation, firm despite the tremor in his voice. “No matter what they say, no matter the blood. You were.”He lowered his head, and when he spoke again, the words came loaded with a promise:“
“This is going to be a problem, Alpha.”The Lycan murmured in his mind, its voice low and drawn out, like a warning whispered through clenched teeth.Dmitry didn’t respond. He moved his wrist discreetly, checking his watch as if trying to remind himself that time still followed rules. It was an exc
The large meeting room at Rurik Motors exuded power. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows offered a privileged view of Moscow, while the dark wooden oval table dominated the center of the room. The black leather chairs, the discreet shine of the metal details, and the absence of any decorative excess
The glass-walled room on the top floor of Rurik Motors offered a silent spectacle of Moscow at night — cold, pulsating, and indifferent. Dmitry stood before the wall of glass, shoulders straight, a lit cigarette between his fingers, releasing the smoke with the same slowness with which time seemed
Standing in front of the imposing Rurik Motors building, Susan tried to ignore the wave of anxiety that was overtaking her. She took a deep breath and adjusted her glasses on her face before entering the building.The mirrored facade reflected the gray sky, giving an even more austere appearance to







