All Chapters of The Wolf's Call (Book 1): Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

“What?”The word breaks from me, sharp and ragged, more breath than sound. My throat feels like it’s caving in, sealed shut by terror and disbelief. I shove the empty glass away, the clink on the bar sounding offensively loud in the sudden, weighty silence.Roman’s eyes glisten, grief swimming in them as he forces himself to meet my disbelieving gaze. He pushes off the desk, taking a difficult, agonizing step toward me.“Your father’s name was Daniel,” he repeats, his voice heavy with emotion but steadying with the conviction of the truth. “He was a powerful Lycan—a prince and second to the throne after his older brother. Your mother, Jade… she was my daughter, my only child. They met here in Silver Lake during a political meeting between the high-ranking families. The instant their eyes met, fate bound them together as mates. The bond was immediate and profound and they had you soon after.”I shake my head, the study and everything in it tilting wildly, my stomach heaving with genui

“Fine,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand over my face. “But I’m not promising to hug him or talk about my feelings. And if he cries, I’m leaving.”Zeke beams like I’ve just declared my undying love and loyalty to the pack. “You're my hero.”I roll my eyes, but I feel my cheeks heat up.When we walk into his study, the air is heavy with the lingering scent of liquor, but the fireplace is blazing, casting a warm, deceptive glow. Roman looks up from the massive desk, where he’s now organizing files instead of staring blankly at a tome. And for the first time since I’ve met him… he smiles. Wide. Genuine. It’s a devastatingly gentle smile that reaches his tired, red-rimmed eyes. And it undoes me completely. My chest aches, my throat burns. I want to be indifferent towards him, but something inside me softens instead, a deep, genetic connection snapping into place.His eyes linger on me, searching. When he speaks, his voice is so soft, it completely destabilizes me. “Are you okay?”The questi

“Still mad at me?” Zeke’s voice carries that hopeful, slightly teasing lilt that makes me want to roll my eyes straight out of my skull and possibly throw something heavy at his head.I ignore him, crossing my arms tightly over my chest as we walk down the winding gravel path toward his black armored jeep. I can feel the tension radiating off him, the way his Alpha senses are hyper-aware of my silence.He sighs dramatically, the sound echoing his utter exasperation. “Right. So that’s a big, fat, silent yes. The silent treatment. That’s new.”“Congratulations on your observational skills,” I mutter, finally giving in to the urge to speak, but keeping my voice low and laced with dry sarcasm.He snorts under his breath, a sound of frustration. “Still angry because I joked about your completely justified jealousy over Erica’s aggressive boundary crossing, and because I destroyed your window in a dramatic show of my possessiveness to get to you,” he mumbles, mostly to himself, ticking of

“Water… more… over here—no, Naomi! Focus on the pressure points!”The voices float in and out, like echoes in a dream, muffled by a dense, cottony filter. I feel distant, heavy, yet strangely electrified.“I’m sorry!” another voice replies, shaky and worried. “I’m just—I’m really worried for our Luna. She’s so pale.”Luna? The word is alien, yet strangely familiar, ringing with a misplaced sense of identity.My consciousness drifts, suspended somewhere between two worlds: the freezing, suffocating reality of the lake, and the confusing warmth of my current location. I feel hands pressing against me, the rush of water—not cold, but warm, almost scalding—and my body jolts in a fresh panic. The memory of the lake crashes into me: the icy grip, the suffocating darkness, the terrifying shadow in the depths. That unseen hand dragging me down.My eyes fly open, and a ragged, raw scream tears from my throat. I thrash wildly, my heavy limbs splashing the water violently over the sides of wha

I slam my door so hard the frame rattles, the sound a cathartic echo of the rage bubbling in my chest. Isla’s voice instantly explodes in my head, full of fire and indignation.“I can’t believe him! I just cannot believe the arrogance! Days! He disappears for days, leading us to worry sick, and then waltzes back into his own house with Erica glued to his side like a damn leech, parading their teamwork in front of his entire pack!”I roll my eyes, tugging at the tie in my hair, trying to anchor myself in sanity. “You’re being melodramatic,” I mutter, pacing away from the door as if distance will lessen the sting of the sight.“I’m being realistic!” Isla snaps, her wolfish frustration cutting through me. “How else do you explain it? We almost died! He knows the rogue was connected to Malakai, yet he didn’t come to us first. He didn’t check on us. He chose the chase and brought back the rival. Maybe she’s finally convinced him we’re not worth the trouble, that the hybrid is too much of a