I drove home in silence, the weight of last night pressing down on me like a boulder. The streets were empty, washed in the dull glow of streetlights, but my mind was anything but. It was a mess of fragmented memories, guilt gnawing at me with every turn of the wheel.After leaving the room—leaving them—I hadn’t even stopped to think. I just needed to get out, needed to be anywhere but there. The feel of Sarah’s skin still clung to mine like filth, and no matter how many times I wiped my palms against my jeans, I still felt unclean.My head throbbed, a dull pounding at the base of my skull, and my stomach churned with a mixture of exhaustion, nausea, and shame. I barely remembered the drive itself—just the sharp focus on the road, on getting home. On getting away.By the time I pulled up to my apartment, my hands were shaking against the steering wheel. I exhaled sharply, resting my forehead against it for a brief second before forcing myself to move. Just get inside. Shower. Figure o
On Saturday evening, Izaak reached out to me to inform me that Victor had requested my presence on Sunday morning at 10 a.m.—no earlier, no later. When I tried asking him if that meant they’d successfully managed to get Jessie out of Marcus’s clutches, he just hung up on me. I guess I had to go to find out. The events of Friday evening had almost completely distracted me from everything relating to Jessie, and that made me feel both guilty and determined—determined to finally push aside all unnecessary thoughts and concern I had towards Elijah North. After all, see where all my misplaced concern had gotten me. I still couldn’t get the steely look in his eyes and the cold malice in his voice out of my head. Elijah and I weren’t friends per se—I had always tried to keep a sizeable distance between us—but we weren’t strangers either, and he always made it seem like there might be something more between us… or did he say that solely to fuck with me? Either way, as much as I didn’
After that, I found Victor’s office quite quickly.I paused outside the door for a moment to gather myself, biting down on my lower lip as I attempted to tamp down the regret rising in my gut.I hadn’t planned on saying all that to Elijah. I hadn’t wanted him to know that his actions on Friday had affected me that way… but what’s done is done. Now I was a few minutes away from being reunited with my best friend—it was time to put Elijah North and his behaviour behind me.I knocked twice, and a beat of silence passed before I heard Victor’s voice call out.“Come in.”I pushed open the door and strode in. I met Izaak’s eyes briefly before turning my attention to Victor, who was perched at the edge of his desk, documents in hand, watching me with that unsettling twinkle in his blue eyes.“Alpha,” I said, dipping into a bow.He didn’t say a word as I straightened, but his eyes were fixed on me as usual, picking apart every expression on my face—everything my body language could reveal.I
When my mother was pregnant with me, my parents visited the goddess’s temple, as was customary for every child born in the werewolf community.They had tried and failed for six long years to conceive—two miscarriages, countless priestly consultations, endless late-night prayers whispered into the dark. After multiple visits to both the temple and the pack gynaecologist, they finally managed to have me—a child who lasted longer than four months in the womb. Unlike the others.It wasn’t normal for werewolves to miscarry. And since my parents were mates, conception should never have been an issue. Their case was a mystery, one that made my survival even more precious. Even more terrifying.By the time they approached the temple, their hearts were raw with grief but beating with desperate hope.My mother knelt at the altar, eyes squeezed shut. The priestess beside her offered a soft, reassuring smile. Her hands were folded in solemn prayer, her lips moving with practiced speed as she murm
Victor North was dying.And I was the only person who could save him.I wondered who else knew.Izaak, obviously. The imposing, bald man had stood stock-still the entire time, his expression unreadable, as if Victor hadn’t just revealed that he was rotting from the inside out. But then again, even if he had felt anything, I would never know. Izaak was a wall. A loyal weapon. And Victor’s secrets were clearly buried deep within his chest.But what about Elijah?Did he know his father was dying?Did he suspect?Would he care?I thought about Elijah’s cool stares—that night at dinner—the way he sat, subdued and oppressed in his father’s presence, the way he receded inward whenever anything regarding his father was even breathed near him. I thought about the way he pulled away from conversations involving the scars hidden beneath his clothes, guarded like he was protecting something fragile inside himself.Maybe he already knew.Or maybe, like the rest of the pack, he still believed Victo
By the time the last student left my class, I was ready to fall apart.I didn’t let myself. I smiled, stacked the graded assignments with aching precision, and turned off my laptop and projector as properly as I could. I took my time. I stayed long after the lecture had ended, alone in the classroom with the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead like bees inside my skull. The silence should have helped. It didn’t.The day had started badly and snowballed into something worse. I’d barely made it to class on time, and the moment I stepped into the lecture hall, I knew the rumors hadn’t died.They’d grown teeth.Someone near the back had whistled under their breath when I walked in. Another muttered something about parties and princes, loud enough for half the room to hear. A third leaned toward me and interrupted during an explanation, just to ask with a smirk if I’d be willing to pick him up from the next party too—or was that service reserved for royalty only?The entire room had snicke
And deal with it, I did. Football practice was over, and after a short speech, Coach Burke dismissed us… or, well—everyone except me. I stayed behind, dragging my feet across the dew-damp grass as the others dispersed with laughter and shoulder bumps. I could hear Hunter’s voice somewhere in the distance, too loud and too smug. I ignored it. Coach Burke’s office was the only place on campus that felt remotely like a safe space. Cluttered with the smell of sweat, old wood, and varnished leather, it was messy in a way that didn’t ask anything of me. I stepped inside and took a long breath. The shelves were still lined with trophies from generations before me, with faded photographs of former players pinned up like aging ghosts. Medals, ribbons, a cracked hockey puck with someone’s initials carved into it—everything was packed in there. The couch was more of a suggestion than an actual seat. I opted for the chair in front of his desk, nudging aside a stray basketball with the toe
Burke didn’t keep me in his office for much longer. Since I’d skipped previous practices and team meetings, he gave me a basic rundown for the next month—information I should’ve already known as captain. Information he’d already shared with the others.The faculty gala was coming up and, as usual, on the final day there would be a football game between our school and another college from our pack. Burke handed me the papers detailing the plays, then gave me the kind of scolding that didn’t raise his voice but somehow still made me feel ten inches tall.I took it. Quietly.After everything, I deserved worse. Any other coach would have had me kicked off the team given how often I missed practice. Before letting me go, he handed me a bottle of iced coffee—cold enough that condensation slid over my fingers—and muttered, “Fix things with Luka. Whatever the hell’s going on, it’s not helping either of you to be at odds.”I didn’t say anything in response, mostly because I didn’t know if I c
The scent hit first—mildew, rot, blood. Copper and fear.I hesitated at the first stone step, blinking into the heavy dark, then slowly descended, one hand pressed to the wall to steady myself.With every step, the temperature dropped. The kind of cold that didn’t just settle on your skin—it slithered into your bones. Into your marrow. It was unnatural. Stale. Wrong.And then I saw it.Not a catacomb.A lab.No—a prison.Rows of metallic beds bolted to the floor. Chains looped through iron rings, blood crusted into their links. Bodies—some conscious, others still—lay draped across the beds. Wounded. Bandaged. Bent in positions no body should bend. A woman sat in a corner, her throat stitched into silence. Her eyes met mine, wide and broken, as a child beside her whimpered through a metal muzzle.Buzzing fluorescent lights cast pale yellow shadows on the grey stone walls, flickering occasionally like the space itself couldn’t bear to see what lived in it. IV bags swayed gently, their t
The dress clung to me like a second skin—dark green, satin, soft beneath my fingers as I smoothed it down for what had to be the fiftieth time. It matched my eyes a little too well.My hair was swept up into an elaborate twist that had taken me thirty minutes and a pair of aching biceps to perfect. My makeup was done exactly how I liked it—how Jessie had taught me to do it. The dress covered the crook of my neck, at the same time, covering the mark there, and the back was high enough to keep my scars covered.I looked… pretty. Really pretty, actually. The kind of pretty that once might’ve made me feel powerful.But all I felt was dread.It had draped itself over my shoulders all day, this slow, smothering dread. I’d spent the hours pacing my apartment, waiting for something—anything—to shatter the quiet. For a hand to twist the doorknob, for a shadow to pass across the window, for someone to finally come and slit my throat.Maybe I should’ve taken Morgan up on her offer and stayed at
The library was quiet, dim with late-afternoon light filtering through the stained glass windows. I made my way to the back shelves, searching for a specific book I’d used earlier in the semester. My fingers skimmed across spines until I found it—too high on the shelf to reach. I stood on my toes, stretched as far as I could, fingertips just brushing the edge of the spine— A body moved behind me. Close. Too close. Before I could react, an arm reached over my head and plucked the book from the shelf like it weighed nothing. “Here you go.” I froze. My breath hitched, heart leaping into my throat. My body tensed, instinct screaming danger. For a split second, I imagined a hand clamping over my mouth, dragging me away—no sound, no struggle, just vanishing. But then I caught the scent. Apples. Spice. Earthy undertones. Elijah. A tremor ran through me, and I let out a slow, shuddering breath, slumping slightly against the shelf. “Lenora?” His voice was soft, concerned. “Are you ok
“We didn’t notice anyone unfamiliar coming into the apartment building at all,” Gerald said. He lifted his shoulders a little higher and addressed the Pack enforcer before him. “I always make sure to confirm every unfamiliar person’s identity before they even come in.” “I see,” the enforcer replied, scribbling something into the tiny notepad he’d been carrying around all day. Gerald shot me a pitying look. “I’m so sorry, dear. This kind of thing has never happened around here before.” I gave him a tight smile. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.” No, it was mine—for waving away the past few instances where I’d felt like someone had been in my home as nothing more than paranoia. The enforcer stepped aside to take what seemed like a phone call, leaving me to assure Gerald that I didn’t blame him or the building’s management for the break-in. When the enforcer returned, the other one—who’d been questioning my neighbors—came with him. One look at his face told me everything. They’d fou
Connor was asleep when Sophie came barrelling into the shack.“Connor! Connor!” she yelled, Luka coming in behind her.I turned to tell her to lower her voice, but Connor’s eyes were already fluttering open. They immediately locked on Sophie and, almost automatically, he sat up and reached for her.Sophie threw herself on him, burying her face in his neck, sobbing and shakily muttering a string of apologies and questions about his well-being. Connor kept his arms tightly wrapped around her, his face calmer than I’d ever seen it. He responded softly, stroking her back and rocking her from side to side until her shaking and sputtering subsided into careful, intimate quiet.Her hands cradled his face, touching him like she couldn’t quite believe he was real. Connor was no different—his slender fingers stroked her cheek and gently tucked her hair away as he peppered kisses wherever his lips could reach.I looked away, feeling like I was intruding on something private. Mates were always li
Luka was right. What existed between Elijah and I wasn’t safe, and I’d almost forgotten that—with the hand holding, him carrying me, the touches that were purely reflexive. Hell, half of our physical contact was reflexive. I had no idea I was doing it until I already was. It was like I’d completely abandoned my resolve to steel myself against Elijah, letting everything I was feeling—trying not to feel—shine through once more. I needed to put a stop to that. I uncorked the vial of potion and downed it in one hasty gulp. The burn and bitterness made my tongue feel heavy, but I was used to it by now. I relaxed into the feeling of my mind emptying once more. My wolf had been persistent against the borders of my mind the entirety of yesterday morning—it only retreated after I’d used my ability, forcing it to shrivel back from exhaustion. I’d almost lost my mind this morning when I woke up to the damn thing yapping and snapping in my head. Today marked the first day of the weeklong ev
“Elijah…” the scrawny blond man spoke, his voice soft and raspy like it hadn’t been used in a long time.By the time I was done rolling my pants down and slipping on my boots, I turned to look at Elijah, a question at the tip of my tongue—but he was already watching me, reaching for me, dragging me away.“Elijah!” I yelped, stumbling after him.He paused, then turned back to the man I’d pegged as ‘Connor.’ “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”“Elijah…” Connor wheezed again, shoulders slumping like they couldn’t hold his weight anymore.That’s when I saw it—the tortured look on Elijah’s face—and it hit me hard, right across the chest.“Wait! Isn’t he Sophie’s—” I hissed, but Elijah cut me off, tugging me closer and staring down at me with wide eyes.“You… know?” His grip tightened slightly, and I saw it then—the flicker of fear in his gaze.A small part of me ached at how fast suspicion had come, but a bigger part of me understood. So I softened my voice and held his eyes. “I know because
I liked holding Lenora’s hand.Her palm was warm and a little smaller than mine, but it was firm, smooth, and it fit perfectly into the curve of my own. Like we were meant to always be that way.“Where are you taking me?” she asked as we stepped out through the mansion’s back door.I turned to face her. Already, she looked less suffocated than she had indoors. The morning sun fell softly across her face, and I couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her—surrounded by trees and bathed in golden light.She was wearing a green turtleneck sweater that matched the exact hue of her eyes, and black tights that clung to her smooth, shapely thighs. Her boots came up to her knees, sleek and practical. Her hair was pulled back in one of her usual, smooth, controlled buns—but nothing about her today looked particularly controlled.I kept thinking about the look in her eyes back inside—raw frustration and despair flashing across her face as she argued with Izaak. I’d only caught the end of it, jus
I sat on the cold marble floor, arms wrapped tightly around my knees, eyes fixed on nothing. I wasn’t crying, but somehow, it felt worse. At least tears would have brought some relief. Instead, there was just this… hollowness. A gaping space inside me where hope should have been.Part of me wanted to get up. March back into that room and demand that Victor take me to Jessie. Shake the smugness out of his bones, claw at the door if I had to. But I couldn’t. I’d probably just end up gagged and chained in some dungeon until he decided I was useful again. My only hope now was helping him more so he could keep up his end of the deal. A feeling of despair pressed against my chest. But at that there was a high likelihood that even if I did heal him—fully, completely—he could just keep Jessie locked away forever anyway. I squeezed my eyes shut. What would I even do then?Victor was good—no, a master—at planting seeds of helplessness. And now, I was choking on them. I duh my fingers into my