All Chapters of After the Storm: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

StormI looked into Archie’s furious eyes, and every instinct inside me screamed that we were in danger.This wasn’t the reaction of a man whose heart had simply been broken. This was the reaction of someone who had never been denied anything in his life and had no intention of accepting that his wishes could be challenged.Julie stood beside me, pale and trembling, but beneath her fear, I could see something else.Determination.She had made her choice, and I would be damned if I allowed Archie to frighten her into surrendering it.Keeping my gaze fixed on him, I reached for Doyle through the mind link.Doyle, I need you. Now.His response came almost instantly.Where are you?With Julie. Archie heard us talking.A brief silence followed.Then his voice came through, low and urgent.I’m coming.Archie took another step toward Julie, his expression hardening.“You’re coming home with me.”Julie swallowed, her fingers curling nervously at her sides.“No.”His jaw clenched.“You don’t u

ArchieThe moment I stepped outside Doyle’s house, I wanted to turn around.I wanted to storm back inside, grab Julie, and make her understand that she belonged with me. That she was my mate. That the bond between us was sacred, something no one—not even her—had the right to throw away.But I didn't.Not yet.I clenched my fists as I stalked towards my car, the agony of her rejection still ripping through my chest. I had never experienced anything like it. It was as though someone had reached inside me, torn my heart from my body, and left me bleeding from the inside out.And Julie had done it.My mate.The woman destined to stand beside me. The woman who was supposed to become Luna of Snow Falcon. The woman I had barely begun to know, yet somehow already felt I couldn't live without.She had looked me straight in the eyes and rejected me.Me.Archie Carter.A guttural growl tore from my throat as I slammed my fist against the side of the car.“Fuck!”Pain exploded through my knuckles

Alpha DoyleThe moment Archie walked out of the room, I knew we were dealing with something far more dangerous than a rejected mate bond.I had witnessed anger before. I had seen wolves lose control, watched tempers flare and instincts take over. But what I had just seen in Archie wasn’t simply heartbreak or wounded pride.It was entitlement. He genuinely believed Julie owed him her obedience simply because the Moon Goddess had declared them mates. He believed fate had given him ownership over her, and that her refusal was an offence he had every right to punish.That frightened me more than I cared to admit. And anyone who knew me knew I wasn't a man who frightened easily. But right now... I was frightened. Because a future Alpha who believed his mate had no right to say no was a danger—not only to Julie, but potentially to every wolf under his command.I turned toward Storm. Her face was pale, but her eyes were hard with determination. She was thinking the same thing I was.“Get a

Beta SeanI found Archie at the bottom of the staircase in the Alpha’s house.And the moment I saw where he was standing, every instinct in my body went on high alert.The staircase led directly to Storm and Doyle’s suite.To their bedroom.To the rooms where their children slept.My entire body went rigid.For a moment, I simply stared at him, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.Then the words ripped from my throat.“What the hell are you doing?”Archie slowly turned.His expression was still twisted with anger, his eyes burning with the kind of resentment that made my wolf stir beneath my skin.“I need to speak to Julie.”“Julie isn’t up there.”His gaze flicked toward the stairs.“I know.”A low growl rumbled in my chest.Something was wrong.Terribly wrong.“You were told to leave.”Archie gave me a cold, humourless smile.“I don’t take orders from you.”I stepped closer.“You might be Alpha Carter’s son, but you’re standing in Alpha Doyle’s home. You were told to leave. Th

I shook my head, but the words wouldn’t come.Storm hurried down the stairs, tears filling her eyes.“Sean…”I looked up at her.And something inside me finally broke.All the anger I had been carrying for weeks seemed to drain away, leaving nothing but the grief I had spent so long trying to contain.Siobhan.Liam.The empty spaces they had left behind.The unbearable silence where their laughter should have been.I had thought I was beginning to find my way through the darkness, but standing there beside another lifeless body, I felt as though I had been dragged straight back into it.Storm reached me and wrapped her arms around me.I held her tightly, my hands gripping her as if she were the only thing keeping me upright.“I couldn’t let him get to you.”She pulled back just enough to look into my eyes.“You saved us.”I shook my head.“I just did what I had to do.”Doyle placed a hand on my shoulder.“You did exactly what I would have done.”I wanted to believe him.I wanted to be