LOGINJuneA normal person, when they find out something like this, would react differently.I know that.If someone told them their family existed… that they had people out there who belonged to them… and then in the same breath told them those people were gone, taken in something violent, something final… they would feel something. Grief. Anger. Pain. Something sharp enough to shake them.But I don’t.It settles in my head like a fact. Something I now know. Something I can place somewhere and move past. It does not pull at me. It does not twist anything inside me. It just exists, quiet and unmoving.Maybe that makes me strange.Maybe it doesn’t.This is how I have always been.You don’t miss what you never had. You don’t mourn something that was never part of your life. There is no memory to hold onto, no face to picture, no voice to remember. Just an idea of people who were supposed to matter. But I don't even had an idea about them.And yet… I understand what Caleb was trying to tell me
Caleb Once I am sure I will not run into any trainees still wandering around, I make my way toward June’s dorm. The campus is quiet now, the kind of quiet that only comes after curfew, when everyone knows better than to be out unless they have a reason. I stop in front of her door and knock lightly. For a second, there is nothing. Then I hear movement inside. A soft shuffle, like she is getting up from bed. A moment later, the door opens. She stands there, leaning against the frame, her hair messy in that way that makes it obvious she was lying down not long ago. It falls around her face without care, and for a second, I forget why I am here. “What?” she asks, like she did not just open the door looking like that. “Ain’t you happy to see your boyfriend?” I tease, watching her closely. That gets a reaction. It is small, but I catch it. The slight curl of her lips, the lift of her eyebrow. “Boyfriend, huh?” she says, crossing her arms. “Now we are boyfriend and girlfriend?” My
Caleb Jake’s place is quiet in a way that feels weird now because the twins are always creating havoc around here. But tonight they are at Anastasia’s parents’ place for a sleepover. I lean back against the couch, one arm resting along the back, as Jake tries to resolve a fight between the twins about whom he loves the most. Astrid and Kane called him because somehow they started fighting over him, and each of them is convinced that Jake loves them more. Lucas and I exchange a look, a smile forming on both our faces as we watch our brother struggle through this. Jake has the phone pressed to his ear, his expression caught somewhere between serious Alpha and completely helpless father. “No, I don’t love Astrid more,” he says, his tone firm but patient. Then he pauses, listening, and his brows pull together. “And I don’t love Kane more either.” From the other side, their tiny voices come through loud enough that even I can hear the chaos. It is a mix of half words, half baby sounds
Caleb The instinct hits hard the moment she kisses me back, my wolf surging forward with a force that nearly snaps whatever control I have left. It is not gentle. It is not patient. It is possessive in a way that runs deeper than thought, deeper than reason. Mine. The word echoes through me, sharp and unrelenting, and for a second, it is all I can hear. My hands tighten on her before I force them to loosen, my body pulling back just enough to create space, even though every part of me wants the opposite. I take a breath, slow and controlled, trying to push my wolf back, trying to remind myself where we are. Not here. Not like this. I look at her, at the way she stands there, unaware of the storm she just set off inside me, and something twists in my chest. Because she doesn’t know. That is the hardest part. Seeing her out there, earlier, laughing with Misha, standing among the others like she is just another recruit, unclaimed, untouched by what she actually is to me… it dri
JuneThe next morning, I am back in my dorm like nothing ever happened.Caleb made sure of it.He got me back inside without anyone noticing, moving through the Academy like he owns every shadow and every quiet corner. I did not ask how he does it. I just followed, trusting him without thinking twice.Before leaving, he made one thing clear.We keep this a secret.Until the training program ends.He explained it in a way that made sense, even if I did not care about most of it. If anyone finds out about us now, they will question Jake’s leadership. They will question the fairness of the Academy. They will assume I am getting special treatment.And that is something he will not allow.Once the program ends, once I prove myself through my own strength and ability, then it will not matter. Then no one will have a reason to question anything.I do not care about proving myself.I never have.I know what I am capable of. That has always been enough for me.But it matters to him.And for so
JuneMy eyes find Caleb’s again, and the way they darken sends something sharp through me. It is not fear. It is not hesitation. It is something else entirely, something that stirs low and deep, something that makes my chest tighten in a way I am not used to, making me shift slightly, making me want to step back and put some space between us.But I don’t get the chance.His grip tightens.Not enough to hurt, but enough to stop me completely. Enough to keep me right where I am as he pulls me even closer, like there is no distance left to close but he is still trying.“What did you just say?”His voice is low, carrying an intensity that makes my pulse pick up.“You heard me,” I reply, lifting my chin slightly, refusing to back down even as my heartbeat betrays me.“I just heard you claiming me,” he says, his lips curling into a slow, dangerous smirk that sends a thrill down my spine. “Is that so, June?”Something in me responds instantly.“Uh-huh.”I tilt my head up and close the small
AnastasiaI glance around the hall, taking in the way everyone has already settled in their seats. Every chair is taken. Not a single spot left open. A silent message, clear as day.I don’t belong.The low murmur of voices reaches my ears. Edwin and a few others whisper among themselves, their word
AnastasiaI walk back, trying to push the sting of Jake’s words out of my chest. The sun hangs low, casting long shadows across the clearing.Suddenly, every hair on the back of my neck rises. My heart kicks up, instincts snapping into place before I even realize it. The weight in my chest fades, r
AnastasiaI push open the heavy wooden door and step into the meeting room adjacent to Pete’s office. The air inside is tainted with the scent of old leather and faint traces of cigarette smoke, probably from whatever hunter was here before me. A few men are already seated around the table, their e
AnastasiaPeople might say Dad was the leader, that he could have stopped this. But I know better. Things don’t work that way. You can only guide those who want to be led, and you can’t stop anyone when their heart is already lost to corruption.I get it now.I know what Dad did and why he did it,







