LOGINMara's POVThe corridor was reeking of blood and disinfectant.It was impossible to ignore the harsh metallic feeling that clung to the back of my throat no matter how many times I swallowed. The harm was already done even if security had blocked off the lower floor and red lights were still faintly throbing above us.Bodies lay covered now. White sheets stained dark in places.Guards stood at every corner. Weapons drawn. Eyes scanning.This was not chaos.Chaos was loud. Chaotic things unraveled without intent.This was precise.Calculated.Someone had planned this.Ryan moved first.He did not ask questions. Did not look at Damon for approval. He simply took control of the situation like a man who had already accepted that the rules had shifted."Get him up," he ordered, gesturing to the restrained attacker. "Now. Full isolation. No medics. No interviews. I want him breathing and conscious."Two guards hauled the man to his feet.He groaned. Spat blood on the floor.The man groaned
Mara's POVThe hospital room felt smaller than it had an hour ago.Not because anything had changed but because I had.There were too many guards now. Too many footsteps passing the door too many voices dropping into murmurs the moment I shifted in my seat or crossed my arms. I could feel their awareness of me like a low grade pressure against my skin. Not protection exactly. Observation.Like I was something that needed watching.As if I were an issue just waiting to arise.Perched on the edge of the chair next to the window staring out at the pale afternoon sky my fingers were tangled so tightly that my knuckles ached.It was a clear sky. Blue. typical.Everything out there looked normal.In here nothing felt normal.For me waiting had always been the worst part.Waiting was where fear bred stories. Where doubt sharpened itself into blades.The summon loomed like a weight in my chest unspoken but omnipresent. Every second that passed without resolution felt deliberate as though some
Damon’s POV The morning came quietly. To me it sounded too quiet for a pack that was standing on the edge of a complete fracture. I woke up with Mara curled against my side, her breathing was slow and even, her hair fanned across my chest like she belonged there… which she did. Whether the council agreed or not. For a moment I stayed still, letting the reality of the warmth of her body anchor me. For a while, now, the nights had always been heavy with decisions, with promises that could not be taken back. But waking up beside her felt like confirmation, rather than just comfort. When she stirred, her eyes met mine without hesitation. There was no doubt. There was no fear. We freshened up in silence, a quiet companionship that didn’t need words. Downstairs, the safehouse smelled faintly of freshly brewed roots and strong coffee. The strong coffee was Zeta’s doing, no doubt but the brew was all The Mage. Ryan was already seated, scrolling through reports on his tablet, his postu
Damon’s POV I didn’t say anything after Ryan spoke the words. “The vote is against you.” He has said. That sentence had weight. Not because it surprised me but because it confirmed something I had been feeling in my bones since all these happenings. Since Marius and since the council began moving like a beast with too many heads and no visible spine. I turned away from them all and went into the bedroom. The room was quiet, too quiet for a place that had become a battlefield in everything but blood. I opened the wardrobe and stared at the clothes like they might tell me which version of myself I needed to be right now. Alpha. Weapon. Mate. When my own family was trying to tear me apart, it was hard to be a son or a brother. I pulled out a black outfit. It wasn’t one that showed rank or anything. It wasn’t submissive but it wasn’t defiant either. Just undeniably present. My hands were steady as I dressed. That worried me more than anger ever had. If I could be calm now, t
Damon’s POV The summon arrived without the usual ceremony. There was no knock on the door, no warning howl. It was just a thin, official letter slid beneath the door of the safehouse like a blade meant to test its sharpness before it was sent to its owner. Mara was the one who picked it up. I watched as her fingers went still when she read the seal on the letter, her shoulders tightened in a way that made something ugly coil in my stomach. Zeta and Ryan were already moving around, instincts flaring up and the room filled with that sharp metallic tension that always came from a foreboding moment. “How did anyone get to know about this place?” Ryan said first, voice low. “It isn’t listed, Marius brought me here himself. He told me not to disclose this location… ever.”Zeta leaned in behind Mara, examining the paper as if it might bite him. “This wasn’t delivered through official channels. No pack runner and I don’t think there’s a record of this location anywhere.” I didn’t need
Alpha Harrick Wrenfield’s POV The silence in Stormdawn had become insulting. I stood at the tall windows of my study, my hands clasped behind my back, staring down at the inner courtyard of my palace. My guards moved with too much caution and very little confidence. The stone beneath my feet had been laid by my own grandfather and the banners on the walls carried victories that were older than most packs. And yet, here I was waiting on the news of my own daughter like a man who had misplaced a trinket instead of a whole Alpha Princess. “Still nothing, Alpha,” one of the guards finally said, his voice was careful, as if scared not to annoy me. Too careful. I didn’t turn. “Search again.” “Sire, we have,” another replied quickly. “The outer holdings, the roads the merchants use, even the low territories near the river.” “And what about Redwind?” The first one ales, hesitating. “We could…” I pivoted so sharply that the guard immediately flinched. “No. When did I ask you to do tha







