LOGINRileyThe heavy iron chains clanked loudly against the stone floor as Jayden dragged Elder Thomas through the double doors of the grand hall, and the old man’s knees buckled under him as he fell onto the floorboards right in front of the high wooden chair where my father sat with his hands resting on his knees. Fantine walked right beside me with her daggers tucked safely back into her leather belt, her clothes still damp from the quarry rain, while thirty of our senior pack warriors lined the walls in absolute silence to watch the traitor take his final judgment."Get up off your knees, Thomas, and look me in the eye before I play these radio recordings that my son pulled from the training shed floor," my father said, his voice deep and steady as he leaned forward in his chair, his golden alpha eyes locked onto the shivering old man."Marcus, you have known me since you were a boy, so you have to listen to me before you take advice from that northern girl standing beside your son," T
FantineThe sheets beside me were cold when my hand reached across the mattress, and the heavy pulse in my mate bond was pulling hard toward the northern ridge, so I threw my legs over the side of the bed and pulled my boots on without bothering to lace them up all the way. I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair and ran down the back stairs where one of the young guards was standing near the door with a radio in his hand, and he tried to step in front of the exit before I could reach the handle."Riley told us to keep you inside the house because he took Jayden and three trackers up to the limestone quarry to handle the van, so you need to go back upstairs and wait for his call," the guard said, holding his hands up to block my path while his eyes kept darting toward the driveway."I am not sitting in a quiet bedroom while my mate goes into a quarry with four men to face syndicate drivers, so move out of my way before I take that key off your belt," I told him, pushing past hi
RileyI lay awake in the dim light of the bedroom with my arm wrapped securely around Fantine's waist while her steady breathing rustled the sheets against my chest, and even though my body desperately needed rest after fighting off the wolf-bane poison, a sharp, sudden tug pulled through my territory bond and woke my wolf completely. The connection was pointing directly toward the limestone quarries near the northern county line, and I could feel the distinct vibration of a vehicle engine struggling and failing on the gravel road, which told me that the northern escape van carrying Elder Thomas had just broken down before it could cross out of our pack land."You are moving around too much, Riley, so just close your eyes and let your body heal before the morning comes," Fantine mumbled in her sleep, her hand reaching out to touch my arm as she turned her face into my shoulder without waking up."I am right here, Fantine, so you just stay under the blankets and get some sleep while I
FantineThe heavy door of the master bedroom clicked shut as I pushed it closed behind me, and the loud noise of the sirens outside finally began to fade while the frontline guards took over the fence line, but my hands were shaking so hard that I could barely unbuckle the leather belt around my waist. The mud on my arms was dry and tight against my skin, and the blood from the fight at the nursery stairwell was staining the torn silk of my dress, but when I turned toward the bathroom mirror, the sight of my pale face made me turn the hot water tap on immediately so I could scrub the dirt off before Riley came up the stairs."You need to slow down and let me help you with those buttons, Fantine, because you are pulling at the fabric so fast that your injured shoulder is going to start bleeding again," Riley said, stepping into the bathroom and closing the door behind him while he pulled his dirty shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor near the towel rack."I just want to get
RileyMy legs were still shaking as I pushed past the clinic doctors near the main door, and the heat from the wolf-bane poison was burning in my lungs, but I could hear the screaming and the gunfire coming from the western nursery lawn, so I forced my feet to keep moving down the stone hallway until I stumbled out into the cold rain near the back steps. I saw Fantine standing near the edge of the brick archway with her daggers out, and Jayden was ducked down on the stone stairs right beside her while two northern guards were trying to drag Elder Thomas toward the open grass."Riley, you need to get back inside the house right now because your wolf is too weak to take a hit and the fever hasn't left your chest yet," Fantine shouted, turning her head toward me for a second while she blocked a swing from one of the strikers with her left blade."I am not sitting in a clinic room while Thomas hands our home over to your father's men, so just keep those two guards busy and I will handle t
FantineThe cold rain was hammering against the stone entrance of the underground nursery wing, and my fingers were tightly wrapped around the handles of my twin daggers while I kept my back pressed against the freezing concrete wall, my eyes staring straight through the dark downpour toward the western treeline where the high security fence had just been snipped apart with heavy wire cutters.Jayden was crouching right next to me on the narrow landing of the stairs, his tactical rifle aimed directly at the gap in the bushes while his breathing came in short, nervous bursts, and the heavy weight of the mate bond in my mind was pulsing with a dull, distant ache that told me Riley was still upstairs in the clinic room with the doctors, his wolf core still struggling to shake off the final effects of the toxic wolf-bane fever."We don't have enough ammunition to hold this open stairwell if they bring more than five shooters down this narrow stone hallway, Fantine, so you need to tell me
RileyI had never felt this exposed in my life.Not on the ice in front of thousands of people. Not in the locker room surrounded by teammates. Not even in front of my father when he tore me apart with words sharper than any blade.But with Fantine… it was different.Last night replayed in my head
Fantine I jumped into my car and slammed the door behind me, my heart still pounding against my ribs while Riley’s laugh rang in my ears and the image of that towel hitting the floor was still making my cheeks flush with a warmth that wouldn’t pass. I fumbled for my phone and called the secure lin
FantineThe quiet after everything today felt like I could finally breathe. Ava was still buzzing from the run with Riley, tail flicking, ears perked, paws padding softly as she circled me. She owned this space. In a way, she owned me too."You're happy," I murmured, kneeling to scratch behind her
FantineThe first rule of investigation was simple.Never get emotionally involved with the target.Unfortunately, that was a rule I had been breaking more and more each day.I stared at the files spread across my desk, the faint glow of my laptop illuminating the room as night deepened outside my







