Ethan’s POVI opened my eyes slowly and yawned, feeling the bright light that shined through the blinds entering the room. My phone buzzed from the bedside table, and I stretched out an arm and, with blinking eyes, tried to focus my gaze on the screen. A message from Aiden. Odd. We didn’t usually chat outside of pack business, but the following cryptic message caught my attention. It was a GPS location tracker linked to his phone.“What the hell...?” I muttered, sitting up. Why would Aiden send me his location? He will never run to me for personal help despite us being allies. My internal voice said something was not okay, and I sensed that my time to move on had not yet come. We were not close friends by any means, but because we began training partners, I had learned to think of him almost as more than a friend. Plus, I noticed that he and Shenaya had marked each other but were keeping it secret. Wolves like us could sense things like that.I didn’t waste any more time thinking. I g
When Lilah said she would take us to Andrew’s house after I explained the situation to her, my little spark of hope lit up. I didn’t feel right the moment we entered the house, and I had this strange intuition that something was wrong.The house was quiet as death, and now the door stood half-opened as if mocking us. We gingerly moved into the room, looking under tables and chairs and all around, hoping we could find something that would lead us to them. Unfortunately, nothing was found. The furniture was still the same, untouched, with the smell of Andrew’s cologne still pervading the room. He had been here recently.Ethan picked up a note that was lying on the kitchen counter. He unfolded it, his eyes scanning the words before handing it to me.I read it aloud, my voice hard as stone.*"I already got my woman and my daughter. Next is your pack, Aiden. Watch out for me. And as for Skylar, the only way you can get rid of her is if her body is burnt. Unless you do that, she is still co
Aiden's POVI stood at the edge of the training ground with every sense on high alert, my wolf, Smoke was pacing just beneath the surface. The air felt different, It was the kind of tension that reminded me of the ambush that had shattered my world seven years ago. Back then, I had been caught off guard, but not this time. This time, I was ready. I had prepared for this moment, for this war.I reached out with my senses, the familiar hum of Aunt Belle’s protective magic wrapping around my territory like an impenetrable shield. Her enchantments were powerful and ancient, and no magic could breach this place now. If Andrew thought he could sneak in with his usual tricks, appearing as his faceless shadow to strike from the darkness, he was in for a surprise. There would be no more ambushes. No more tricks.This time, it was blood for blood—life for life.As I turned to walk back toward my pack house, I felt the air shift again. A chill ran down my spine, but this time, it wasn’t fear; it
Andrew's POVThe cave was cold, damp, and barely lit, just like my mood. The rest of my wolves stumbled into the dark, hidden space, each of them tired and battered from the battle we barely survived. I could feel the weight of their gazes on me—some confused, some disappointed, others downright angry. Even I felt disoriented. This wasn’t the outcome I had anticipated. Aiden’s strength, I expected. But the complete magical lockdown of his territory? That was unexpected, and it caught me completely off guard. I should’ve known better. His aunt Belle was known for her abilities, but I had underestimated her influence.As my wolves settled in, licking their wounds both physical and mental, I retreated further into the cave toward the section I had claimed as my own—a hollowed-out room deep within, where I had kept Shenaya and Zoey. My heartbeat quickened as I neared the door, with adrenaline still coursing through my veins from the fight.Shenaya and Zoey were mine now, whether they like
Shenaya’s POVIt was clear that Andrew was afraid for his little life because of the way his round eyes seemed glued to Zoey as if she were some monster that had enticed him into a cage instead of a shy seven-year-old girl. The look on his face was too stunned for a man like Andrew, who was the worst of the worst, and I sat there absolutely stunned by the sheer aura Zoey had just released. Somewhere deep within me, I knew that Zoey has powers – or, at least, that there was something inside her that made me think so – but I did not expect her to be able to consciously use them so clearly and, perhaps, so dangerously.I moved closer to her as discreetly as I could. I felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest. I lay on the floor, softly taking her tiny hand in mine as she trembled gently.“Zo, honey, how.. how did you do that?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.Zoey was just an innocent pup, but her eyes showed something far older than the rest of the pups around her.
Shenaya’s POVI landed in Aiden's boardroom with a loud thud. The looks on the warrior's face were of utter shock and fear because they weren't expecting me obviously, even I wasn't expecting myself to land here. The large oak table was scattered with papers, and the silence that filled the air was suffocating. The council members, warriors, and Aiden himself were stunned into silence. Ethan and Aiden were the first to rush toward me, questions flooding from their mouths,"Shenaya?""What happened?""Where is Zoey?""Where did you come from?""Did Andrew take Zoey?""Zoey is trapped... with Andrew." was all I could manage to say.The shock in Aiden’s eyes was immediate. He asked more questions, but my mind was racing, and the only thing I could focus on was the fact that Zoey hadn’t come through the portal with me. A few seconds passed, and when she still didn’t appear, my panic grew.“We have to go. Now,” I urged my voice almost breaking. “The cave—Zoey once said she could feel Aiden
LUCY’S POVI never thought that the man I called my mate would be the one to destroy me. I still remember the moment it all started, that moment my life shifted from something that looked normal to a waking nightmare. Alenjro and I had been distant for years. His coldness and his cruelty keep growing worse every day. But I was still his mate. I was bound to him, despite the emptiness in our bond.That day, I was heading back to the house after staying with Shenaya for weeks, Shenaya didn't want me to go so I lied to her that I was going to fly back to Rome that day but I had gone back to the house hoping to fix things with Alenjro. That was the day my life changed into a piece of trash.As soon as I entered the room the men whose faces I was unable to see grabbed me round the wrists. Initially, I thought it was one of Alenjro’s cruel pranks designed to leave me feeling helpless and weak, but it wasn’t a joke. The grip around my neck increased and I felt a blade piercing my skin. My ey
Andrew's POVThe dense mist clung to the trees like a ghostly veil as I dragged Zoey’s limp body through the forest, her small frame heavy from the sedative I’d given her. The cave we had battled in felt like a distant memory, though my body still ached from the duel. Zoey had surprised me. I underestimated her power, and I couldn’t stop replaying the moment when she, just a pup, had outmaneuvered me with magic.How had she won? She was nothing but an inexperienced witch, a baby compared to the centuries-old magic I had learned from my godmother, Elara. I was certain something or someone else was fueling her power. Perhaps Skylar—Aiden's mate and a skilled witch—had secretly connected her power to Zoey. Whatever it was, I needed answers, and I needed to control Zoey before she could become an even greater threat. I looked down at her peaceful face as we made our way through the thick brush. Her hair was matted with dirt, and she looked harmless now, but the battle played again in my