LOGINElla looked down at her boots, then looked up into the darkness. "I had my reasons," she said softly."Hmm, still mysterious as I remember.” Jax commented. He kept his arms crossed over his chest as he continued walking slowly beside her."Mysterious. That has a nice ring to it." She looked up a bit to meet Jax's eyes. A second later, she looked back down at the dirt path.“So, you go around choking everyone you come across?” Jax asked teasingly.She cleared her throat. "Yeah, that. Sorry about earlier. I was just... just being cautious. You never can be too careful these days.""True," Jax agreed with a slight nod. "No offense taken. You have a very solid grip."“I try my best.” She shrugged."So Jax," Ella said, shifting her weight. She slowly started walking forward, guiding him deeper into the quiet paths of the garden. "What brings you all the way to the Lockwood Pack?""I came to see Alpha Damien," Jax replied, adjusting his pace to match hers.She tilted her head, her green clo
Jax closed the heavy door behind him and took a look around the room. He was surprised. The Lockwood pack was much more advanced than the Voss pack. They used technology in a way his home pack never did. In the corner of the room, a sleek digital screen was mounted on the wall, showing the weather and pack news. The lights came on automatically when he walked past a small wall sensor.He walked over to the large glass window and pulled the curtains aside. The view was beautiful. The window looked out over a neatly planned garden. There were rows of thick bushes cut into perfect shapes, and stone pathways lined with glowing lanterns. A few blue flowers grew around a small water fountain in the center. The water made a calm, trickling sound.Jax sighed and walked over to the bed. He sat down on the edge, testing the mattress. It was so soft. He let out a long, heavy groan of relief as the tiredness from his long journey finally left his back. He laid down for a brief minute, staring at
"Come with me," the big man said.He turned around and started leading the way down the long hallway. He was wearing a dark, crisp button-up shirt with grey trousers. The clothes looked neat and professional, but they were loose enough to let him move easily if he had to run. Jax followed close behind him. As he looked around, he realized this hall led straight to the Alpha’s private chamber. The Lockwood packhouse was massive. It was easily twice the size of the Voss packhouse. Looking at the high ceilings and the wide stone walls, Jax knew this pack had a huge number of members. It made perfect sense why everyone called them the strongest force in the South.Even though Jax was the Beta of the Voss pack and one of its strongest fighters, he could feel the heavy weight of Lockwood’s superiority pressing down on him. The air here felt thicker, charged with a different kind of power.As they walked forward, Jax kept his eyes open. They passed several other men standing guard along th
Jax walked over to the corner of the hall where Serena was standing. She pretended to be busy fixing the white cloth wrapped around her hurt shoulder. "I guess you finally got what you always wanted," Jax said with a warm smile. He stopped a few feet away and put his hands in his pockets.Serena looked up from her bandage and sighed. "It was really hard, Jax. There were times I wanted to give up. But I will do my best. I want to work hard and do a good job in this new position. I want to show everyone I can handle it."Jax smiled bigger, his eyes crinkling. "Well, get ready to work. Do not think I will go easy on you just because we are friends now.""Yeah, friends," Jax said. He looked amused by the shocked face she was making. "Why do you look so surprised? Is it a bad thing?"Nothing, really," Serena mumbled quickly, shifting her weight from one boot to the other to hide her racing thoughts. She cleared her throat to change the subject, her expression turning serious. "So... what'
The main hall of the Voss Pack Assembly Center was filled with noise and movements. Banners from different pack offices hung from the high roof, and the benches were packed with Trainees for the administrative positions as they hurried back and forth, holding their paperwork, lists, and reference letters. On the far side of the hall, the last group of applicants for the kitchen and tracking departments were finishing their tests, their voices adding to the loud hum in the hall.A long table sat in the middle of the hall. Alpha Ronan sat right in the center, looking calm and powerful. Next to him was Isolde, who was dressed nicely in a beautiful dark blue dress. On Ronan's other side sat his father, Maxwell, along with three chosen council members. They were the judges. Their job today was simple: review the scores from the past three weeks, listen to the final talks, and officially name the winners for each position.Serena had finally been let out of the pack clinic earlier that morn
Liora's POV "Can we get the blue one, Mum? Please?" Finn asked, tugging hard on my jacket as we walked down the aisle of the grocery store. He was pointing a small finger at a plastic toy boat sitting on the shelf."Finn, you already have three boats in your room," I said, laughing softly as I moved my shopping cart forward. "And we came here to get fresh cream for Lena, not more toys.""But this one has a little flag," he argued, his lower lip sticking out in a pout.Before I could answer, Finn suddenly stopped walking. He nudged my leg with his elbow, his eyes wide as he pointed toward the far corner of the store near the bakery section. "Mum, look. It's that girl whose dad helped us out from that crazy woman."I stopped the cart and looked down at him, narrowing my eyes slightly. "Finn, what did I tell you about using foul words like crazy? We don't call people that.""Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his shoes. "But look, it's her."I turned my head around fully and my eyes la
KIRA’S POVI kept running after Liora and I went our separate ways. Her words were still echoing in my head. *Sometimes I still need this.* She wasn’t wrong. The mansion was safe, warm, everything we had fought for. But some mornings the walls felt like they were closing in, and the only thing that
In the Voss pack, the search for Liora had become intense. At first Liora's parents thought Liora was just upset due to the outcome of the Moon's ceremony but days passed and there was still no sign of Liora and hence they started panicking, especially her mum.Every morning Serena’s parents gather
The howls finally faded as the rain continued, leaving a silence that felt even more dangerous. It was as if the forest was holding its breath, waiting for the next move. I held Finn tight against my chest. He was so small and warm, his soft breathing the only thing keeping me grounded. My arms ac
I sat by the dying fire, staring into the dark. Even though the others were asleep, the image of those black wolves on the ridge wouldn't leave me. Their yellow eyes felt like they were still burning holes in my back. I tucked my hands under my thighs to hide the shaking. When Kira glanced at me, I







