LOGINADRIAN'S POVThe victory at the supernatural court doesn't last long.Two weeks. That's all we get. Two weeks of peace. Two weeks of building. Two weeks of believing maybe we won. Maybe it's over. Maybe we can finally just exist without threats. Without enemies. Without war.Then the message arrives. Not from the High Council. From someone worse. Someone who sees our victory as a threat. Someone who can't let us succeed because our success proves his entire worldview wrong.Alpha Corbin. Leader of the Northern Coalition. Controller of five territories. Traditionalist. Purist. Someone who believes the old ways are the only ways, not when we taught we've defeated Adher. That hybrids are abominations. That challenging authority is treason. That we need to be eliminated before our ideas spread.The message is simple. Direct. Terrifying.Alpha Metcalfe,Your defiance of supernatural law emboldens others to do the same. Your acceptance of a hybrid mate threatens the purity of wolf bloodline
ADRIAN'S POVThree days after the Council leaves we get the summons.Not a request. Not an invitation. A summons. To appear before the full supernatural court. To answer formal charges. To defend ourselves against accusations of treason, defiance, and violation of supernatural law."This is bad." Marcus stares at the official document. "Full court. Not just the High Council. Every supernatural faction. Vampires. Witches. Fae. All of them. They're making an example of us.""Let them try." I take the document. Read it carefully. "We appear. We defend ourselves. We show them we're not afraid. That we stand by our choices. That we're willing to face whatever consequences they throw at us.""They could execute us Adrian. Both of you. Public execution to prove no one defies supernatural law and survives." Marcus looks worried. Actually worried. "We should run. Disappear. Take the pack and vanish before—""No." Freya enters. She's been listening. "We don't run. We don't hide. We face them. S
FREYA'S POVI wake up to sunlight and the weight of Adrian's arm around my waist. The mating mark on my neck tingles. Fresh. New. Permanent. A constant reminder that we're bonded now. Officially. Completely. Forever.The bond itself is different. Stronger. More vivid. I can feel him even though he's still asleep. Feel his contentment. His peace. His love washing through the connection between us.It's overwhelming. Beautiful. Terrifying. Everything I wanted. Everything I feared. Everything we are now.He stirs. Opens his eyes. Sees me watching him. Smiles. "Morning. How do you feel?""Different. The bond is so much stronger. I can feel everything you're feeling. It's..." I search for words. "Intense.""It is. Gets easier to filter after a while. To separate your emotions from mine. To maintain your own identity while being connected." He traces the mark on my neck. "But right now it's new. Raw. Overwhelming. Give it time.""Do you regret it?" The question slips out before I can stop i
ADRIAN'S POV She steps toward me, fingers already working the buttons of my shirt, eyes locked on mine...dark, challenging, hungry. “Then show me,” she whispers, voice low and rough. “No holding back. No protecting me from you. No controlling everything. Just us. Raw. Equals. Mates.”I don’t move. I let her strip me bare, slow and deliberate, her knuckles brushing my chest, my stomach, the line of hair disappearing into my pants. Every touch is fire. My cock is already hard, straining against the fabric, and when she finally shoves my jeans down, it springs free, heavy and aching. She wraps her hand around me without hesitation—firm, possessive—stroking once, twice, thumb swiping over the wet tip.“Fuck, Freya…” I groan, hips jerking into her grip.She smiles, wicked and beautiful. “My turn.”I reach for her, hands shaking with the effort to go slow like she asked. Button by button, I peel her shirt open. Her skin is flushed, nipples tight under the lace bra. I trace the edge with
ADRIAN'S POVI watch her walk away. Watch her choose herself. Watch her leave me because I couldn't be what she needed. Couldn't see her properly. Couldn't treat her as equal. And every step she takes feels like death. Like losing the only thing that ever mattered. Like watching my future disappear into the darkness.She's at the gate now. Almost to the car Clara has waiting. Almost gone. Almost free. Almost lost to me forever. And I realize something. Something fundamental. Something that should have been obvious from the start.I can't let her go. Won't let her go. Not like this. Not without fighting. Not without telling her the truth. The whole truth. Not just the deal. But why I made it. Why I've been so desperate to protect her. Why I've been such a controlling asshole. Why I can't seem to see her as equal even though she is. Even though she's always been."Fuck the deal." I'm moving before I finish the thought. Running. Shifting partially. Faster. Need to reach her before she dr
FREYA'S POV Adrian appears at the top of the stairs. He looks at me. At Clara. At my bags. Understanding dawns on his face. "You're leaving. Now. Tonight."Yes." I force myself to meet his eyes. "Don't try to stop me. Don't make this harder than it already is. Just let me go.""I read your letter." He comes down the stairs slowly. "Found it on the bed. Went looking for you. And here you are. Running. Like I'm some monster you have to escape.""You're not a monster. You're just someone who can't see me as equal. Who can't give me what I need. Who can't change enough to make this work." I grip my bags tighter. "Please Adrian. Let me go. Let me choose this. Let me have at least this one decision. This one choice you don't override. This one thing that's completely mine."He stops at the bottom of the stairs. Looks at me with so much pain it takes my breath away. "I can't. I can't just watch you walk away. Can't let you leave thinking I don't see you. Don't respect you. Don't value your







