ROGUE

RAYNE"I know you're scared, baby, but I need you to hold on. I'll find you." Reid's voice echoed through the darkest corners of my mind. "Reid?" I called out his name, trying to grab hold of our mate bond.But instead of finding him, my eyes flickered open, and the memory instantly dissolved. The reality felt like a bucket of ice water being dumped over my head.I choked back a sob as my vision adjusted to the darkness inside the room. The air was suffocating. And I tried to move my arms, but my wrists and ankles were pinned against a damp concrete wall behind me. Heavy, rusted chains bit into my skin, locking me in place. My hands were quite literally tied.Rogan sat across from me, slumped in an old wooden chair. His back was turned to me, his broad shoulders rising and falling in a slow rhythm. He had to be sleeping, I decided. My heart hammered hard against my ribs as I tried to keep my breathing shallow.I rested my head back against the wall, closing my eyes for just a secon

OVER NOW

RAYNEThe air inside the bunker had become suffocating. I gasped, my throat swelling shut as I gasped for air. I was having a panic attack at the worst possible moment. My vision turned blurry, and my baby's gentle heartbeat was the only thing anchoring me to reality.Rogan didn't move his hand. His eyes shifted down to my belly. He slowly lowered the silver dagger, pressing it against the white silk covering my belly."The baby first," he uttered, his voice cracking as tears finally spilled over his eyelids. "This is the only way to make him feel the pain I felt, Rayne.""Rogan, please," I sobbed, the words tearing from my throat as I desperately tried to pull away from the wall, but the silver chains around my wrists and ankles kept me rooted to the spot. Every maternal instinct I didn't even know I possessed screamed at me to protect the tiny Reid growing inside me. "Please don't do this to me, Rogan, please. I'll do anything. Just please.""I have to do this, Rayne," he sobbed.

WAKE UP

RAYNEWhen my eyes finally flickered open, the bunker was gone, and I was back in our bedroom at the Alpha Mansion.I blinked against the bright light filtering through the large windows. The window that had been blown to pieces was completely repaired now. Everything looked exactly like it did before the attack.It almost felt like it never happened. The room no longer reeked of the rotten rogue blood. There was no more decay. No more death. No more Rogan.Instead, the room smelled clean like rain and calming cedar. The scent of Reid.I turned my head slightly and found him sitting on a wooden chair pulled up to the edge of the mattress. His large frame was hunched over, his head resting in his calloused hands. He looked exhausted. His eyes were shut tight as if he were trying to block out the world.My gaze slid down his body, and my breath hitched. Across his bare chest lay a deep gash. It was barely closing; if anything, it looked infected."His wound isn't healing," my wolf whi

THE FALL

REID The doors slamming shut behind Rayne echoed through our bedroom. I sat frozen in the wooden chair, my face buried in my hands. Ace, my wolf, was completely quiet. Ace was never quiet. The silence in my head was the only indicator I needed to know the truth. My time was running out. The Blue Blight was shutting my wolf down. I pushed myself up from the chair and walked over to the newly repaired window. I had spent the last five days personally restoring this room to its previous state. I replaced the shattered glass, scrubbed the blood from the floors, and erased every trace of Rogan's invasion. I had been so utterly consumed by the fear that she would never wake up again. And if she died in her sleep, it would have been my fault. I stared out at my newly conquered territory, covered in snow. There was so much left to do. So many loose ends to tie up before the virus finally claimed my life and buried me in the dirt. I let out a light scoff, my breath fogging the glass

OTHER HALF

RAYNE A light frown creased my forehead as I stepped into the hospital. I had never seen a hospital this quiet. Back home, hospitals were a chaotic mixture of sirens, shouting, and running staff. But here, there was nothing but silence. I offered a polite greeting to the staff on duty as I walked through the main reception. Since Harlyn's medical staff had made it clear that they had no intention of treating our people, the Blood Moon pack was forced to officially appoint their own nurses to run the facility. To avoid a malpractice incident or outright sabotage, we cleared Harlyn's medical staff from the hospital entirely. It was safer this way. I bypassed the general wards, my heart rate picking up as I navigated the quiet corridors until I reached the maternity wing. I slipped into an empty exam room at the very end of the hall, immediately locking the door behind me. My eyes instantly landed on the examination bed and an older-model ultrasound machine. My hands shoo

BITTERSWEET

RAYNE I stepped out of Reid's study, hoping to escape the war politics. But I didn't even make it three steps down the hallway before a large hand clamped around my upper arm. In a swift movement, Reid dragged me out of the main corridor and into an empty room. Before I could protest, he stepped into my space, caging me against the wall with his tall frame. His hands rested against the wall on either side of my head, locking me in place. I looked up into his warm brown eyes, my chest rising and falling against the restriction of my nightgown. "What?" I asked, crossing my arms and doing my absolute best to act annoyed. Reid didn't push past my attitude. Instead, his eyes softened as he traced the contours of my face. His eyes shamelessly dropped and lingered on my lips. His chest was heaving slightly, the delicious scent of him rolling off him in waves. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice a low vibration. "Are you in any kind of pain?" "I'm fine," I said, my voice clipping as