MasukNina POVThe silence after Enzo’s confession stretched so long I could hear my own heartbeat echoing in my ears. His words hung in the air like smoke and I was choking.We can’t be together forever the way you probably want.I can’t give you my love.Everything he said kept replaying in my head like a movie. I was without a mate all my life when I finally got one he doesn't want to love.I won’t let Dexter or Enzo make me feel weak again.I sat on the edge of the bed, knees drawn to my chest, staring at the floorboards until the grain blurred. Sky felt fear and betrayal. Enzo was trying to protect himself the only way he knew how, by building walls I had already helped tear down.And I couldn’t even blame him. I was actually betraying him and he was scared I would just like his ex.Because I was the threat he feared.I snuck out and I had handed Dexter the keys to Silverfang’s destruction and sold out the man who had just crowned me Luna and who I swore to protect and choose.Tears
Dexter POVThe forest swallowed me and my warriors whole the moment we left the lightning split oak tree behind. Nina’s broken sobs still echoed in my ears like sweet music, but I didn’t linger on them. Weakness had its uses, and right now hers was serving me perfectly.I had the patrol schedule. The first real cracks in Silverfang’s defenses. Enzo’s precious little mate was delivering exactly what I needed, piece by trembling piece. But it still wasn’t enough. The protection spell’s anchor stone remained the ultimate prize the heart of their ancient magic. Once I had its location, Silverfang would fall from the inside out.And I had the perfect tool already in motion.Lily Harper.I glanced at my watch as the black SUV ate up the miles back toward the human city. 7:42 a.m. She will be finishing her early journalism seminar soon. Perfect timing.I had spent the last few days tightening the noose around her with surgical precision. “Chances of meetings in the library. Late night text
Enzo POVHer head rested against my chest, warm and heavy, her breathing still uneven from the tears she’d tried so hard to hide. In that moment she looked so genuinely honest vulnerable, open, like the walls she kept rebuilding were finally crumbling. I think she was scared.I wanted to believe her.I wanted to wrap my arms tighter around her, kiss the top of her head, and tell her that whatever storm she was facing, we would face it together.But I couldn’t.Because less than an hour ago I had watched her sneak out.I had rushed to the border patrol meeting, but my mind refused to settle. The mind wasn't at peace I was restless and uneasy, like something was definitely wrong.Halfway through Max’s report on thinning patrols near the eastern ridge, I stood up mid-sentence, muttered something about needing air, and left the war room without explanation.Something was wrong with my mate.I returned to our quarters quietly, expecting to find her still asleep or perhaps reading by the w
Nina POVThe forest felt difficult to walk through on the way back.Every step sent dread right through me, I was cold from the inside out, the kind of chill that came from handing over your soul piece by piece and still owing more.The paper I’d given Dexter burned in my memory secondary armory entrance, patrol times, and the weak points I’d observed during my short time here. Information that could get wolves killed. Wolves who had smiled at me during the crowning feast. Wolves who now called Luna, they trusted me and trusted Enzo.I climbed back onto the lower roof of the Alpha quarters the same way I had left, muscles aching from the tension.The balcony doors were still cracked open. I slipped inside my heart beating so fast, I quickly changed back into the soft lounge clothes I left on the bed. The note I had scribbled earlier was still there no one touched it,I crumpled it and tossed it into the fireplace, watching the edges blacken and curl until it burned to ashes.The break
Nina POVThe bathroom mirror was fogged from the cold water I’d splashed on my face, but it still showed me the truth I didn’t want to see: swollen lips, flushed cheeks, wild eyes, and the faint red marks on my neck where Enzo’s beard had scraped against my skin. I looked like a woman who had just been thoroughly kissed by her mate.I looked like a traitor.Sky was still purring in the back of my mind, smug and satisfied. That was hot. His hands, the way he pinned us, the growl when you gasped… I could feel how much he wanted us. Why are you hiding in here? Go back out there and finish what we started.“Because I can’t,” I whispered to my reflection. My voice cracked. “Because in less than an hour I have to sneak out to meet Dexter outside the pack and hand over the armory codes. Because my father is missing two fingers already and if I don’t show up, he’ll lose more. Because I just let myself fall into Enzo’s arms like I deserve to be there, when I know I didn't.”Sky huffed, curling
Lily POV The first time that night a tiny flicker of fear gripped me, and my heart was beating so fast. He glanced over at me, “I’m sorry, Lily. I should have mentioned it earlier. I need to stop by my apartment for just a minute. There's a book I promised to lend you for your paper. The one on ancient myths? It’s on my shelf, and I completely forgot to give it to you and the chances of my coming into the school tomorrow are slim. I have an emergency. Traffic really is a nightmare, and I figured we could swing by on the way. I won’t keep you long. Promise.” His voice was so calm, so reassuring, that the flicker of worry vanished instantly, that was a valid reason to go to his house. Plus, he wasn’t some stranger, he was Professor Dexter Kane the man who stayed after class to answer my endless questions, who remembered I liked extra foam on my coffee, who looked at me like my thoughts were the most interesting thing he’d heard all day. There was nothing predatory in his tone.
Enzo Everything about her was a quiet assault on my control.The way her dark lashes fanned against pale cheeks still bruised from battle. The faint rise and fall of her chest beneath the thin hospital gown, the stubborn set of her jaw even in sleep, like she was already fighting me in her dreams.
Alpha DexterNina fell right into my trap, and now she’s terrified of me. It's almost too easy. She’ll do anything I ask to keep her precious father safe. Banishment? Execution? Those are tools in my hand to use freely, but I don’t need to wield them yet. Fear is what I have over her and it can go f
NinaPresent time day The battlefield still lived behind my eyelids every second I closed them, the smell of blood of dirt couldn't go away, the sound of claws tearing flesh and howls turning to gurgles. I had been right in the middle of it,kneeling in the mud beside fallen packmates, trying to st
NinaThe next dayI stumble out of the pack house, my legs carrying me on autopilot through the winding paths of the compound. The air is crisp, laced with pine and the distant howl of patrols, but it does nothing to clear the fog in my head. Dexter’s words echo like a curse: medical records, Luna,







