Chapter 21 — The Hunt Begins

Dual POV (Aldric & Regina) Aldric The ballroom doors closed behind them with a quiet click, muffling the distant noise of the convention. For a moment the three of them stood in the empty hallway — Aldric, Regina, and Rebecca — the weight of what they had just realized settling heavily between them. Rafael. Not a rumor. Not a suspicion. The truth. Aldric had imagined confronting enemies before. Rogue wolves, territorial disputes, even rival Alphas. Those threats were simple compared to this. This was betrayal. And betrayal had a way of cutting deeper than claws ever could. Rebecca leaned against the wall beside them, her arms folded loosely across her chest. Despite her calm posture, Aldric could feel the tension radiating from her. “You’ve suspected him before,” she said quietly. It wasn’t a question. Aldric exhaled slowly. “Not really,” he admitted. “Pieces didn’t fit sometimes, but I never pushed them further.” Because he had trusted Rafael. The

Chapter 22 — Blood Moon

Chapter 22 — Blood MoonDual POV (Regina & Aldric)ReginaThe night air felt cool against Regina’s skin as she stepped outside onto the hotel’s small rear balcony.The convention continued inside — the faint murmur of voices and distant laughter filtering through the walls — but out here the world felt quieter. The forest stretched beyond the property, dark and endless beneath the rising moon.She wrapped her arms loosely around herself, breathing in the scent of pine and damp earth.Her mind refused to slow.Rafael.The moment their eyes met in the ballroom replayed over and over again in her thoughts. The way he had looked at her — not surprised.Expectant.As if he had been waiting for this moment.The bond pulsed gently behind her ribs, steady and reassuring.Aldric.Even when he wasn’t beside her, she could feel the quiet strength of his presence somewhere in the building.The connection was still new — unfamiliar in some ways — but already it felt natural.Like something that ha

Chapter 23 — Awakening

Dual POV (Regina & Aldric)ReginaThe forest felt different.Regina noticed it the moment they stepped outside her father’s lodge.The night air was cool and alive, carrying scents she had never fully noticed before — damp soil, pine resin, the faint musk of deer somewhere deeper in the woods, and the delicate sweetness of night-blooming flowers hidden among the undergrowth.Everything was sharper.Brighter.The moon hung low and luminous above the treetops, casting silver light across the forest floor. Regina tilted her head slightly, listening.Leaves rustled hundreds of feet away.A small animal darted through brush.An owl shifted on a branch overhead.Her heart beat faster as the realization settled.“I can hear everything,” she murmured.Beside her, Aldric watched carefully.The bond pulsed gently between them, carrying her excitement and unease directly into his chest.“Your senses are expanding,” he said.Regina exhaled slowly.“It feels like the forest is… speaking.”That was

Chapter 24- Rising Power

Dual POV (Regina & Aldric)ReginaSleep didn’t come easily.Even after returning to the lodge, even after the warmth of Aldric’s presence and the quiet comfort of the bond had steadied her nerves, Regina found herself staring at the ceiling long after the house had gone silent.Too much had changed.Too quickly.Rafael was hunting again.Her bloodline was something ancient and powerful she had never known about.And now, beneath it all, something inside her was waking.The awareness that had begun under the moon earlier hadn’t faded. If anything, it had grown stronger. Her senses felt stretched wider than ever before — the faint creak of wood as the house settled, the distant howl of wolves miles away, the rustling of wind through trees.And beneath it all…A pull.Soft.Persistent.The moon.Regina sat up slowly in bed, the silvery light spilling through the window like an invitation.Her wolf stirred immediately.She didn’t fight the instinct this time.She slipped quietly from the

Chapter 25 - The Return of Selene

Dual POV (Regina & Aldric)⸻ReginaThe convention hall was louder tonight.Regina noticed it the moment she stepped inside.More wolves had arrived throughout the day—leaders from distant territories, their Betas and enforcers following behind them like shadows. The scent of power filled the room: cedar, leather, pine, and something sharper beneath it all.Dominance.But beneath the familiar energy of a gathering pack was something else.Unease.News of the newest attack had spread faster than anyone expected. Conversations were quieter now, carried in clusters near tables and along the edges of the hall.Everyone knew something was wrong.Everyone knew something—or someone—was hunting wolves again.Regina stood near one of the tall windows overlooking the forest, a glass of water in her hand she hadn’t touched.Through the mate bond she could feel Aldric moving somewhere across the room. His emotions brushed against her awareness like distant warmth—focused, controlled, but restless

Chapter 26- Quiet before the Storm

Dual POV (Regina & Aldric)⸻ReginaThe convention hall slowly returned to its earlier rhythm after Selene’s departure.Conversations resumed. Glasses clinked. Wolves gathered into their small groups again, discussing territory disputes and patrol rotations as if the moment of tension hadn’t just rippled through the entire room.But Regina could feel the difference.The atmosphere hadn’t truly relaxed.It had sharpened.Now the wolves were watching.Watching her.Watching Aldric.Watching Selene.And somewhere in the back of Regina’s mind lingered the quiet echo of Selene’s warning.Someone in this room is lying.The thought made her uneasy.Aldric must have felt the shift in her emotions through the bond because his hand brushed lightly against the small of her back as he leaned closer.“Let’s get some air,” he murmured.Regin