MasukEvery step away from Cane’s quarters was a step toward a different kind of darkness. I didn't cry. Tears were for people who still had something left to lose.I reached the heavy door of the storage locker. My hand hovered over the magnetic lock for a heartbeat. I could hear the beating of my own heart.The lock hissed open.Caspian was exactly where I had left him, restrained in the steel chair. The overhead light caught the silver in his hair and the sweat on his brow. When he saw me enter, his lips curled into a knowing smile."Back so soon, Eloise?" he asked, his voice smooth.He tilted his head, his ice-blue eyes scanning my face."Let me guess. The reunion didn't involve you. Was the Alpha too pre-occupied with his 'mate' to notice you’d returned?"The mention of Nara, sent a flash of rage through me. I didn't answer him. I didn't scream or throw a punch. I just walked toward him, my movements slow and deliberate.I reached for the hem of my tactical jacket and pulled it off, le
The Charger screamed down the mud-slicked backroads of the Everglades, the engine’s roar the only thing drowning out the tension inside the cabin. Viper drove like a man possessed, his knuckles white on the steering wheel as he pushed the car to its absolute limit.I sat in the passenger seat, my lungs burning, my 9mm still warm in my hand. I didn't dare lower it. Caspian was slumped behind me, his breath hitching in spurts of pain from the bullet hole in his leg.My eyes flickered to the rearview mirror.Cane was in the back, but he wasn’t looking at the road, or the hostage, or even at me. He was completely focused on Nara. She was clinging to his arm, her head resting against his massive shoulder. In the light of the passing trees, she looked fragile. But then, her gaze shifted.She caught my eye in the mirror.For a fleeting second, the "victim" mask slipped, and she flashed me a sharp, snarling grin. It wasn't the look of a rescued prisoner; it was the look of a wolf who had just
"Great! You let him get away!" I screamed.Cane reached out, his fingers brushing Nara’s cheek, which made my skin crawl."Nara," he whispered, his voice broken.I stood there, a gun in each hand, feeling like the intruder in a story I had written myself into.Cane snapped back to reality, the soldier taking over. He reached for his radio."Viper! Viper, do you copy? We’ve been compromised. The target has escaped through the North-East emergency exit. Move in! Initiate the secondary extraction phase. Now!"Silence. Only the white noise of an empty frequency hissed back at him."Viper, respond!" Cane roared into the comms.Still nothing. The silence was terrifying. It meant the "ghost run" wasn't just blown; it was buried."Something happened," Cane rasped."We need to get out of here. Now!"He didn't look at me. He didn't offer a word of apology for pointing a loaded weapon at my heart. Instead, he reached down and took Nara’s hand, pulling her to her feet. He tucked her into his side
Caspian had me pinned. I was backed into a corner near a stack of cooling units. His weapon was steady, leveled at my head, while the other hand gestured toward the empty table where the young wolf had been."You’ve always been your own worst enemy, Eloise," Caspian said."You had a chance to be part of something that would change the world. But you let your feelings for a beast compromise your judgment, and you just blew your cover. Was it worth it? Was that one life worth the death of your entire mission?"I gripped my 9mm, my knuckles white."It was worth more than anything you’ve ever built, Caspian. My father might have given you the blueprints, but you’re the one who started all of this."Caspian stepped closer, the shadow of his gun darkening my face."Sentiment is a poison, Eloise. It’s why you’re going to die here, in the middle of a swamp."A smirk started pulling at the corner of his mouth. But the smirk died instantly.A shadow detached itself from the rafters directly beh
The visual of that wolf beneath me shattered the last of my discipline. I didn't care about the headcount anymore. I didn't care about the strategic positioning of the outriders or the extraction protocols we had spent hours drilling in the bunker.I reached for the comms unit clipped to my belt, my thumb pressing the transmit button with a trembling force."Cane, I've found them," I whispered, my voice thick with a cold, sharp rage."North Sector. Laboratory hub. They’re... they’re harvesting one. I’m going in. Right now."Static hissed in my ear for a fraction of a second before Cane’s voice tore through, sounding like an earthquake."Eloise, stand down! You are not cleared for engagement. We are in recon phase. Give me the headcount and get back to the sublevel. That is an order!""I don't give a damn about your orders!" I hissed back, my eyes locked on the technician who was reaching for another dial, preparing to send another surge of electricity through the wolf’s spine."If you
Cane’s presence was so heavy it seemed to pull the oxygen from the room. He looked like a god of war, his eyes fixed on the map of Zone 4.“The herbal salve,” he said, his voice cutting through the silence.I held up a ceramic bowl filled with thick sludge and twisted my face in disgust. It was a mix of Silver Moon sage, crushed marsh lily, and a chemical neutralizer.“It’s a scent-masker. It mimics the smell of water and industrial ozone. The Iron Claw won't smell us. They’ll smell the swamp and the machines,” Cane explains.Viper, leaning against a support beam in his human form, looked at the sludge.“Good,” he replied.Cane took the bowl, rubbing the salve over his forearms and the back of his neck. He moved toward me, his hand catching my chin, forcing me to look up before starting to gently cover my face with the sludge.“The Blood-Hounds wait at the primary drainage junction, two miles out,” Cane commanded, his voice low.“Viper, you keep the comms silent unless I give the sign







