LOGINVivienne POV — Five Years LaterFive years later, I had come to an unfortunate conclusion.Defeating my father had been easier than raising his granddaughter.“No.”My daughter stood in front of Dante's desk with both hands behind her back and her most innocent expression firmly in place. At five years old, she had already learned that the expression worked particularly well on her fathers, and Dante was unfortunately her favorite victim.“But Daddy...”“I said no.”I watched from the doorway and almost laughed. Dante didn't know I was there yet, which made the entire thing much more entertaining. He sat behind his desk wearing the same cold expression that had frightened Alphas, politicians and businessmen for years, while the tiny girl in front of him looked completely unimpressed.She wanted to go riding alone and Dante had said no three times.Five minutes later, I found them outside.He had given her the horse.I folded my arms. “Strict parent?”Dante turned slowly.Our daughter
Vivienne POVSeveral months after my father died, I learned that killing the head of a conspiracy was much easier than cleaning up the mess he left behind.The evidence recovered from his stronghold kept investigators busy for weeks. Names led to accounts, accounts led to businesses, and businesses led to people who suddenly became very interested in explaining that they had absolutely no idea what my father had been planning. Some were telling the truth. Others were terrible liars. Shadowcrest dealt with its side while my people handled mine, and between us, the network my father had spent years building slowly collapsed. The hostages were returned safely, his remaining loyalists were hunted down, and several packs discovered that agreements they thought were independent opportunities had all come from the same source.Red Hollow was one of them.Their mysterious better offer had been designed to pull them away from Shadowcrest, cut off important supplies and weaken us economically b
Vivienne POVMy father was dead.I thought I would feel something bigger when it finally happenedLike maybe relief, satisfaction or even the kind of happiness that made people laugh after surviving something terrible. Instead, I stood in the remains of the ritual chamber staring at his body while the last sounds of fighting slowly disappeared around us, and all I felt was tired.The bond with my baby was still there. That mattered more than anything else. I could feel her faint presence tucked safely inside me again, no longer being dragged toward magic that wanted to tear her apart, while my four mate bonds burned with a new clarity I still hadn't completely adjusted to. Ivy was awake in a way she had never been before, and for once, even she had nothing sarcastic to say.Then someone shouted for Maya.I turned immediately.Mara ran through the ruined doorway first, blood covering one sleeve that didn't appear to be hers. Maya followed only seconds later, and between two Shadowcrest
Vivienne POV I had been poisoned before. Shot, stabbed, beaten and betrayed by people close enough to know exactly where to hurt me. I had nearly died enough times that death itself no longer frightened me the way it probably should, but the moment I felt something pulling at the faint presence of my baby inside me, I understood terror and it wasn't the kind I could swallow, hide behind anger or fight through. This was different because, for the first time, the thing I was terrified of losing wasn't myself. The ritual circle flared beneath my knees, and something invisible reached through my body. It didn't feel like hands or claws. It was worse, like something had found the tiny bond I had only recently learned to recognize and was trying to drag it out through my bones. I screamed as Ivy exploded inside me, her panic hitting almost as violently as the pain. The pup! I knew. Fuck, I knew. My hands were still trapped by the magical restraints, but I fought them anyway, barely notic
Author's POVVivienne went alone.At least, that was what her father was supposed to believe.The black vehicle stopped outside a massive iron gate nearly two hours from Shadowcrest, deep inside territory that officially belonged to no major pack. There were mountains on both sides, thick forest behind her and enough armed men positioned along the walls to make the place look less like a home and more like a private fortress.Vivienne stepped out slowly, she wore no veil and there was no point anymore.A man approached immediately and held out his hand. “Your weapons.”Vivienne looked at him, then at the other men surrounding the vehicle. “All of them?”His expression didn't change.She sighed and pulled the handgun from beneath her coat, then another from behind her waist. A knife came next. Then another.The man's eyes narrowed then Vivienne removed the small blade strapped to her thigh.“Finished?”She considered lying but Ivy snorted inside her."Behave."I am behaving.Vivienne h
Vivienne POV“My little Viper.”For several seconds, I forgot there were other people in the room.I forgot Dante's hand was holding mine beneath the table. I forgot Kane had moved closer the second the communication stone activated, or that Ryker and Asher were somewhere behind me. Even Ivy went completely silent.That voice, it was older and deeper than I remembered, but it waa still his.My father used to call my name in that exact calm tone whenever he caught me doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing. I remembered sitting on his shoulders. Falling asleep against his chest. Pulling at the silver ring he always wore and laughing when he threatened to stop carrying me if I eventually lost it.I remembered burying him or believing I had.My fingers tightened around Dante's until I realized what I was doing and loosened them.The communication stone remained dark. There was no image, only his voice, which somehow made everything worse.“You've grown quiet,” he said.I found my v







