All Chapters of Once Lost, Twice Found: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Ann's POVThe match flickered out, plunging the small room back into absolute darkness but Alpha Reginald did not move from the edge of my bed.I remained on the floor with my back pressed so hard against the door that the iron lock dug into it. I was paralyzed with my lungs refusing to take in enough air.“You move quietly for a maid,” Reginald’s voice came through the blackness calm and chillingly conversational. “But you breathe too loud when you’re terrified and you smell... sweet. Your wolf woke up tonight, didn’t she?”“Please,” I whispered with my voice cracking. “I won't say a word. I swear on the Moon Goddess, Alpha. Let me leave. I’ll run into the rogue lands. You’ll never see me again.”The bed creaked as he stood. He crouched down and his large hand reached out in the dark with his rough fingers wrapping around my jaw.“Leave?” he murmured with his thumb brushing away a tear on my cheek. “Why would I let you leave, Ann? You’ve just become the most valuable asset in this en

Ann's POVI lay perfectly still with my eyes fixed on the molding of the ceiling. The curtains were drawn tight against the morning sun but the darkness of the room perfectly matched the hollow and shattered void inside my chest. My body did not feel like my own anymore. It felt like a bruised and discarded vessel.I turned my head slowly. The massive four-poster bed was empty. Alpha Reginald and Beta Logan were gone, having slipped out before dawn to maintain their public facade and they left behind only the violently tangled sheets, the faint, metallic scent of my own blood and the overwhelming, pheromones of their combined dominance.My newly awakened wolf who had flared to life with such desperate and terrifying intensity just hours before was completely silent.I pulled the duvet up to my chin with a single silent tear slipping down my cheek and soaking into the pillow.I had survived the poverty of my childhood and I had survived two years of grueling invisible labor as a maid b

Ann's POVDoctor Mercer left only after repeating my dietary instructions three separate times, his voice tight with worry each time he glanced at the door. Reginald barely listened. His attention remained fixed on me, or rather, on my stomach.Every few moments, a satisfied smile curved his lips. A cold wave moved through me every time his eyes dropped there. He looked at me as though I had finally become useful after years of existing beneath his notice.“I’ll have the kitchen prepare double portions,” Reginald said as he buttoned the cuff of his bloodstained shirt. “No more cleaning duties. No carrying heavy loads. If she falls, every servant responsible will answer to me. I don’t care what excuse they are going to try and throw, her life is more important than anything else.”Doctor Mercer inclined his head. “As you wish, Alpha.”Reginald finally turned toward the door.“Logan.” The Beta straightened immediately. “We’re done here.”For one brief moment, Logan didn’t move. His ambe

Ann’s POVThe box waiting on the bed was beautiful.That was the first thing I noticed when Reginald led me into the bedroom after dinner. It was small, covered in black velvet, with a silver ribbon tied perfectly around it. Someone had placed it directly in the center of the enormous mattress, angled toward the warm glow of the lamps as though its presentation mattered.My stomach tightened anyway.Beautiful things had stopped meaning beautiful things inside this house.Reginald closed the door behind us.“What is that?” I asked quietly.“A gift.”I turned toward him. “For me?”His mouth curved slightly. “Who else would it be for? You are my Luna and you deserve the best for carrying my heir.”I looked back at the box. My wolf stirred uneasily inside me, pressing against my ribs with a warning I didn’t fully understand. Reginald walked past me, picked up the box and held it out.“Open it.” I hesitated, and his expression hardened. “Ann.”My fingers immediately reached for it. The vel

Logan’s POVI was twelve minutes late to the meeting.Reginald noticed before I even finished closing the door behind me. His gray eyes lifted from the territory map spread across the enormous table, narrowing slightly as I stepped into the council chamber.Six senior warriors stood around him, along with the head of border security and two men from the neighboring western territory who had arrived earlier that evening.“You’re late,” Reginald said. There was no accusation in his tone. It was simply curiosity. He knew that I was never late for meetings.And I hated that my first thought was whether he could smell Ann on me. I hadn’t touched her beyond removing that damned necklace from her throat, but her scent had lingered on my fingers anyway.