MasukAbel's POV Old man Coyote The amber liquid swirled against the crystal walls of the glass, catching the low light of the bedside lamp as I stared blankly at the dark floorboards. A slow, wild grin spread across my lips."Twenty-first of August," I muttered to the empty room.The date tasted like ash and copper on my tongue. The day I had lost my wife. The day my life had shattered into unsalvageable glass. The memory clawed its way to the surface, dragging me backward through time.I had been all dressed up, standing before the full-length mirror as I smoothed down the lapels of my tailored tuxedo. I had stared at my reflection with an uncharacteristic, dopey grin stretched across my face. To me, that morning had represented everything that made me happy. I was finally walking down the aisle with the love of my life, Lisa.The door to the dressing room swung open with a bang, and I didn't even bother turning around. I was too busy adjusting the black bow tie at my collar, staring at
Vanessa POV Night mare The sharp scent of leather and charcoal perfume filled the room as I smoothed down the sleek black fabric of my trousers. My hands trembled as I pulled the sleeves of my tailored coat down over my wrists. Black felt appropriate. It was the armor I chose whenever I had to face a world that made me bleed."No! Mummy, no!"Ethan's voice shattered the quiet. He threw himself against my knees, his small hands clutching the black fabric of my coat so tightly his knuckles turned white. His face was flushed red, tears spilling hot and fast down his cheeks as he stomped his bare feet on the hardwood floor.I dropped to my knees, helpless. My heart fractured as I reached out to frame his tear-stained face. "Ethan, baby, please...""You said two stories! You didn't stay!" he sobbed, burying his wet face right into the crook of my neck, his little arms locking around my collar with terrifying strength. His tiny wolf pulse fluttered wildly against my skin, sending waves of
Vanessa's POV Residue of the past. The heavy front door clicked shut, carrying Abel’s scent out into the cool night air. My eyes remained locked on my father. I grit my teeth so hard my jaw burned, my wolf bristling beneath my skin, clawing at my ribs to tear the smug indifference right off his face. He simply adjusted his cufflinks, completely nonchalant, as if he hadn't just upended my entire world.I turned on my heel and stormed up the stairs to my room.Inside, the silence did little to soothe the storm. Every thought kept dragging Abel back into the frame. I didn't hate the man himself, but his very presence was a rotting anchor to a past I had bled to bury. He carried the lingering ash of Ronan's memory, a dark shadow I refused to let back into my life.I had just stepped out of the bathroom, pulling a wide-toothed comb through my damp hair, when my bedroom door yanked open with a violent thud."Mummy!"Ethan bolted into the room stark naked, his tiny legs slapping against
Vanessa's POVThe air inside the estate’s private sunroom always smelled of jasmine and warm oak. Today, it smelled like pine needles, ozone, and sheer, unadulterated audacity.I stopped dead in the arched doorway, my breath hitching as the mug of tea in my hand nearly slipped through my fingers.Abel was sitting in my father’s plush leather wingback chair. One leg was crossed casually over the other, his tailored coat draped over the armrest, revealing the crisp, dark lines of his dress shirt. He held a delicate china cup in one hand, taking a slow, leisurely sip while my father sat across from him, looking more relaxed than he had in five years."What is he doing here?" My voice hit a screeching, high-pitched register that completely betrayed the icy corporate composure I’d spent the entire drive home building. I looked like a frantic, ruffled bird standing on the threshold, but I was too furious to care. "Did you follow me home? Is there nowhere in this city where I don't have to l
Vanessa's POV Blood and Iron "Abel."The name slipped past my lips before I could stop it, a thin, fragile breath that instantly dissolved into the sterile air of the boardroom.He stared at me.Abel. Alpha of the Blood Moon pack—a small, almost insignificant territory nestled deep in the northern crags, yet notorious for housing wolves who bit far above their weight class. He was the only Alpha who had ever dared to look Ronan in the eye without flinching, the only man in the entire region who treated Ronan's suffocating authority as a mild inconvenience rather than absolute law. That was all in the past. But looking at him now, standing in the center of the executive floor, I felt no desire to reconnect. None at all.“Mine? No—not mate. But close. Dangerous. Strong,“ my wolf clawed frantically at the inside of my skull, her voice a low, obsessive hum that vibrated through my teeth. She was practically vibrating with a restless, inexplicable hunger, leaning forward as if desperate
Vanessa The fabric of the tailored charcoal suit felt entirely too crisp, too structured against skin that still remembered the ghost-weight of chains. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my dressing room, smoothing down the lapels for the fourth time. The trousers were sleek, pooling slightly over black leather heels, and the silk blouse underneath buttoned high up to my collarbone, effectively hiding the faint, pale scars that lingered near my throat. I looked like a CEO. I looked untouchable.Inside, my stomach was a knot of ice and razor blades."We are marching into a den of wolves," my wolf paced restlessly along the edges of my mind, her claws clicking against bone. "They do not know our teeth. They will test us.""I know," I muttered under my breath, grabbing a heavy silver ring from the vanity and sliding it onto my index finger. Just something solid to anchor myself.When I walked down the grand staircase and entered the formal dining room, my father was already s







