Semua Bab THE PROWL OF THE ICE: Bab 1 - Bab 10

"Jack, pick up the damn phone! Where are you?"Evan Mercer’s voice didn't just sound impatient through the speaker; it sounded entitled, vibrating against my eardrum with a jagged edge. I sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass of the Lunar Forensics Lab, watching the silver moonlight hit the London skyline. I didn't answer."Jack Quinn! You promised to meet me at the Medical Sanctuary after your shift. I've been waiting for twenty minutes. Why aren't you here?"The text messages started flooding in, one after another, lighting up the dark room. I took a slow sip of ice-cold water, watching the screen glow./?Jack, what the hell is this? Why are you playing games? Answer me!My patience is thin, Jack. You’d better have a damn good explanation for blowing me off!JACK!/I let out a dry, mirthless chuckle and finally swiped the screen."What do you want, Evan?""What do I want? Jack, what the hell is wrong with you?" Evan’s voice was thick with suppressed rage, but underneath the an

"Start the extraction. Now."I didn't bother looking up at the grieving man standing by the steel table. I just adjusted the focus on my headlamp, the sterile white light catching the sharp glint of the silver-edged scalpel in my hand."Wait, I have more to ask!" Silas Crowe started forward, his scent spiked with the sour tang of desperation. "The way she was marked—is it really him? The rogue?"A massive hand clamped down on Silas’s shoulder, stopping him mid-stride. I finally flicked my gaze up, meeting Alpha Ronan Blackridge’s stare. He didn't say a word, just gave a single, slow shake of his head at Silas.He stepped closer to the table then, his presence looming over me like a thundercloud. His eyes, dark as a winter moon, tracked my movements with an intensity that felt like a physical touch.I could smell him—not just the cedar and cold air, but something else. A deep, primal musk that made the fine hairs on my neck stand up.Ronan’s fingers twitched at his side. He was thinkin

"You don't talk much, do you?"Ronan let out a short, non-committal grunt, his eyes fixed on the rain-slicked streets of Grimford. The silence that followed was heavy, saturated with his cedar-and-ice musk. I focused on the road, my grip tightening on the wheel."Speaking of names," I said, trying to break the tension, "I have a strange connection to a man named Elder Magnus Blackridge. He’s a director at the Sanctuary Holdings.""Is that right?" Ronan’s voice was like grinding stone."Yeah. But he’s a high-level executive, and you’re a Pack Enforcer who just transferred from the Southern territories. If I didn't know better, I’d think you were his grandson."I caught myself and shook my head."What am I saying? That’s impossible. His grandson is probably running a multinational board or living in some penthouse in London. He wouldn't be knee-deep in rogue DNA and crime scenes.""Stranger things have happened," Ronan said, though he didn't elaborate.I realized then that we had been d

"Incredible! Dr. Quinn, seriously, huge congrats! This isn't just a transfer; it’s a full-on elevation to the Elite Task Pack. You’re practically an Enforcer now!"Maya Collins, the lab’s most energetic healer, was practically vibrating. Her scent—usually a calm, herbal aroma—was spiked with pure excitement."And can we talk about the new Alpha in charge?" Maya continued, her eyes wide as she leaned over my workbench. "I did clerical work for the Council this morning, and the buzz is insane. Alpha Ronan Blackridge is elite, Jack. A pure-blood commander? It’s every wolf’s dream to run in his pack!"I didn't look up from my microscope. "He’s just a superior officer, Maya. Let’s keep it professional.""Oh, come on!" Maya laughed, nudging my shoulder. "I know you’ve got Evan, but even you have to admit Ronan is on another level. Though, speaking of Evan... didn't he say he’d pick you up today?""Maya, leave it," Rosa Bennett, the senior healer, interrupted as she walked in. "Jack is basic

"I didn't call the enforcers to settle a domestic dispute, Victor," I said, my voice echoing like a low growl in the sterile hallway. "I called them because your daughter just tried to assassinate a member of this pack."Sienna Quinn let out a sharp, jagged laugh, her jasmine scent spiking with a cloying, poisonous sweetness. "Assassinate? Oh, Jack. You’ve always had such a flare for the dramatic. I was simply checking on Aunt Margaret’s 'condition'. It’s a tragedy, really, how weak her grip on life has become."I didn't break eye contact with her. I knew the game she was playing. For years, I had stayed away from the Quinn Pack—away from the Old Bloodline Home and the shadows of my father’s cruelty. But they had found me."You’ve been flicking that venomous tongue of yours for too long, Sienna," I countered, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. "You thought I was in the dark? You thought I didn't see you and Evan in the Moonfang District? You thought I didn't hear him laughing