108. The helper boss

Layla POV"Is your fiancé okay with your ex coming and going as he please? I told you to keep that guy away from here, didn't I?"I stared at Travis, wanting to ask him how he knew about my engagement, and exactly how much he knew about what was happening between George and me. But I decided those questions could wait. There were more important things I needed answers to first."How long have you been in contact with my brother?" The question came out sharper than I'd intended. "Alpha Darion."His expression barely changed."That is not what you call me. It's Chief Martin. And I've been in contact with him long enough."The calmness of his answer enraged me more than a denial would have.Before I could move on to the accusation I'd been preparing, he continued, almost as though he already knew exactly where my thoughts were going. "You and I never met when we were children. You're about to assume I knew all along that you were Beta Collin's little girl, aren't you?""You saw photogra

Last Updated : 2026-10-22

109. Last night's reveal

Draven POVMy phone began ringing again after Layla disappeared into Travis's office. I ignored it. It continued ringing almost nonstop as she walked away, but I couldn't bring myself to answer until I reached my car. The thoughts of the past day crowded my mind as I sat behind the wheel. Too many things had happened too quickly, and yet one thing kept pulling at me more than everything else.The way Layla had looked at me this morning. The way she'd avoided my eyes as though looking at me had suddenly become unbearable. There had been something different in her, something unnerving. She'd been distant before, but this had felt deeper. Colder. As though she'd discovered something that had changed the way she saw me.Then Travis's words from the night before came back to me.'The Bronze Crescent is not yours. Take your hands off those fucking lands and let those people know peace.'I'd dismissed the words at the time because there had been too much happening around me. Layla was missi

Last Updated : 2026-10-23

110. Illicit profits

Draven POV"Draven?" Dad demanded. "Tell me what's going on.""Nineteen years ago," I began slowly, "you launched an attack against a pack of wolves occupying lands rich in platinum and bronze. Do you remember?""Of course I remember. That's where we got the platinum for our refinery. And they weren't an ordinary pack of wolves. They were rogues.""Did you confirm that yourself?"There was a pause on the other end. "My Beta did."Gordon Voss. The evil baśtãrd.He had taken the report to my father, and my father had acted on it. Maybe too quickly. Especially when there had been something valuable beneath those lands—something he coveted badly enough to justify taking them.How many other reports had Gordon brought him over the years? How many accusations had my father accepted because his Beta had vouched for them?I stopped myself before my thoughts could run too far. No. I couldn't do this based on suspicion alone. Not even now. I needed facts."Draven, tell me what is going on." Da

Last Updated : 2026-10-25

111. The father's sin

Draven POVSometime later, after I had returned to the pack, showered, changed, and dealt with the few matters that could not wait, I found myself preparing to leave again. I had to go back to Layla. This time, I wasn't going to use Aiden as an excuse to justify seeing her. I needed to see her because I needed to know how she was holding up. More importantly, I needed to place everything I had uncovered into her hands—the reports, the evidence, the names, everything she would need to take before the Realm's High Council. Whatever happened between us after this, she deserved that much.But before I returned to her, there was one place I needed to visit.The Archives.I had spent years walking past those records without ever questioning what they contained. The Bronze Crescent had always been presented to me as one of the Arctic Moon's greatest acquisitions, a territory rich in platinum and bronze that had strengthened our pack. Resources from the land had helped build the refinery tha

Last Updated : 2026-10-26

112. The Beta's other debt

Draven POV"I did what I thought was best for Arctic Moon at the time," Dad argued. "The report I received was clear. It stated that they were criminals and troublemakers who had settled there to illegally mine the rich deposits beneath the land. That was the information I had. That was the information I acted on."I turned away. I didn't want to hear another explanation.Not because I had decided everything was Raymond Darkwood's fault. I hadn't. Not yet. But because every word he spoke made it harder to remember the man I had once believed him to be."Draven."I kept walking. When he called me again, his voice came through the mindlink. 'Draven.' I stopped.'Is that the root of all the attacks?I turned to face him, and he was still standing beside the computer, his expression harder now.'Over the years, that territory became increasingly troublesome.' His expression grew more solemn and thoughtful. 'At a point I thought the land was cursed. There was a time I regretted taking i

Last Updated : 2026-10-27

113. Alpha's witness

Draven POVI marched toward the building with my mind reeling, hardly able to process what I had just heard.Seven years ago, Gordon Voss had deliberately drugged Layla and George, put them in the same room, and then somehow arranged for their clothes to be removed so that when I found them the next morning, there would be only one conclusion left for me to draw.They had slept together.He had planned every detail. And it had worked.He had destroyed my relationship with Layla. Shattered my friendship with George. It had driven a wedge between two packs that had once been allies and friends. One carefully constructed lie had taken something precious from all of us, and I'd spent seven years living with the consequences of it.My claws were already out before I realized it. Elder Charles Reagan noticed and stopped abruptly. He took a cautious step away from me, his eyes dropping briefly to my hands before returning to my face."Alpha," he said hesitantly. "She's not referring to the s