Se connecterI turn back to Lina to plant a kiss on her forehead, and she responds by throwing her arms around my neck and pecking my cheek."Have fun, Mama," she whispers.Fun…if only she knew…"I will, baby," I promise, hugging her tightly. "I'll be back before you know it.""We're all set here," I say to Sam’s sister, who's been standing in the doorway the whole time."I'll leave her to you now."I smile at the woman, even though I’ve already started missing Lina around me, and it's not even been up to a minute."See you soon, sweetheart."Lina waves goodbye as I walk towards the car. I can feel her eyes on me, watching until I'm out of sight, and it takes a whole lot of restraint not to look back until I’m in the passenger seat next to Kane."I wanted to apologize for interfering with Lina's upbringing. It wasn't my place,” Kane says as we make our way deeper into the wilderness.We come to a rocky outcropping.Kane scales it easily, then he turns and holds out his hand to me.I hesitate for a
LIANA POV"Don't get too attached to him," I'd said. But it hasn't been quite that simple.Ever since that power outage incident, Kane and Lina have been growing closer in a way that's starting to worry me. It's like watching two magnets slowly inching toward each other, and I'm the invisible force trying to keep them apart. I also can’t help the prick of guilt I feel every time I see them together. At the same time, I remember everything I've been through and everything I've sacrificed to keep her safe and happy.A mother's instinct to protect can be a selfish thing, I suppose, but it's all I've got to hold on to right now.It's not just even about keeping them apart anymore. It’s also the fact their closeness makes me cross paths with Kane more often than I'd like.The other day, Lina had skinned her knee playing outside, and Kane was there in an instant to comfort her like it was the most natural thing in the world.People around have started noticing it too.When they ask me, I gi
I feint left, then dive right, using my momentum to barrel into one of them. We crash through the underbrush, and even as its ribs crack under my grip, it doesn't seem to feel pain like a normal wolf. It keeps fighting, slashing, and biting.Soon I’m able to get my hand around its throat, and I squeeze with all my might. It thrashes wildly, claws raking down my arms, and I only let go when its struggles weaken.I spin around, searching for my next opponent.The clearing is chaos now. There’s fur and blood and snapping jaws everywhere I look.Sam's handling some others while Jimmy's still in trouble. I spring towards the tree above Jimmy.Right below me is Jimmy, pinned under a massive rogue. I launch myself from the tree, aiming for the rogue's exposed back. My claws sink deep into its flesh as we roll away from him.We wrestled for a long time, and all I can say is, this one's way stronger than the others. It pins me for a moment, fanning my face hot with its breath as it lunges for
KANE POV"'If they can't take it, they shouldn't dish it out. That's just how the world works?'” Liana says incredulously.Her eyes are blazing with upset and disappointment.I'd said those statements to Lina not too long ago. This was because when she’d told me she didn't want to play with the other kids after they’d had an argument. Lina's always been such a sweet, reserved little girl. Sometimes too reserved, in my opinion. I'd only wanted to help boost her confidence; to show her she wasn't less than the other kids. But I can see now how my words and advice might have been misinterpreted by a child."She's just a child. She doesn't need to understand how the 'world works' right now. I don't want a life for my daughter where she has to resort to violence to defend herself."I take a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. Liana's always been protective of Lina, almost to a fault. But I've never seen her this upset before."I didn't mean to upset you," I begin, but Liana isn't fi
LIANA POVI hope Jimmy never becomes Alpha. He’s not capable of becoming one, but I still worry thinking about the possibility of him scheming something stupid to make good on his threats.For Jimmy to come to me, he must've been pushed to the wall, and I wonder what he might do next to try to get Kane out of the picture. God, I hope he doesn't do anything stupid and bring more trouble our way.I pull up to the tavern.Two of my workers rush out to start unloading the items, and while helping, I hear shouts coming from the children's play area at the back."Careful with that box, Sid. There are eggs in there," I say to one of the girls whilst picking up on how those shouts are growing louder and more frantic.Curiosity getting the better of me, I head in the direction of the commotion.I'm met with a crowd of children screaming, laughing, and jumping around in a circle.What’s got them so worked up? I muse in a bit of amusement, pushing through the buzz.There are two children wrestli
LIANA POVI hope Jimmy never becomes Alpha. He’s not capable of becoming one, but I still worry thinking about the possibility of him scheming something stupid to make good on his threats.For Jimmy to come to me, he must've been pushed to the wall, and I wonder what he might do next to try to get Kane out of the picture. God, I hope he doesn't do anything stupid and bring more trouble our way.I pull up to the tavern.Two of my workers rush out to start unloading the items, and while helping, I hear shouts coming from the children's play area at the back."Careful with that box, Sid. There are eggs in there," I say to one of the girls whilst picking up on how those shouts are growing louder and more frantic.Curiosity getting the better of me, I head in the direction of the commotion.I'm met with a crowd of children screaming, laughing, and jumping around in a circle.What’s got them so worked up? I muse in a bit of amusement, pushing through the buzz.There are two children wrestli
Josephine POVI walked along the boardwalk, Theo’s small hand in mine. With tourist season coming to an end, I could close the store on Sundays and spend more time with my kid. It felt more important than ever after Caleb turned up.“Are we going to swim today, Mama?” Theo asked, staring out at the
Caleb POV I sat in the guard post, having just completed my final perimeter check of the night. I was glad to be the only one on duty, even if I thought it was foolish. When I’d been the leader of the pack protectors, I always stationed two men on the night watch. But I hadn’t been the leader for
Josephine POVWe stopped at a guard post, where Caleb greeted two subordinates. The wolves shifted back into their human forms and retrieved their clothes.“Is it all right if I put you down?” Caleb asked. It was the first thing he’d said to me since picking me up.“Yeah, I can stand,” I said, miss
Josephine POVI felt safe with Caleb. My dad had always warned me to stay away from other shifters, and after barely escaping the mountain lions with my life, I saw why. But I knew I could trust Caleb, and not just because he saved me. There was something honorable about him. My wolf didn’t normall







