SophiaThe soft glow of evening filters through my window as I finish tying a delicate bow on the basket I’ve been working on. The woven basket is filled to the brim with goodies, a homemade vegetable and chicken stew to nourish the new mother, some soft blankets for the pup, and a few herbal teas to help with her recovery, along with some other baby essentials like diapers, warm clothes, and beanies. I’ve tucked in a small stuffed duck for the pup too, because I remember how much Rose loved grasping her soft toy with her tiny fingers.It feels right to do this, to bring something personal, something thoughtful. Being Luna means more than holding a title. It means being there for the pack, celebrating their joys, and comforting their sorrows. Mikhail told me that it is a tradition in their pack that Luna welcomes the newest members of the pack and is one of the first guests to visit the new mom and the pup. So, here I am prepared to welcome our new member.As I step outside, the cr
MikhailFrom the beginning, there's been nothing to hide.I've never felt shame or regret for the things I've done to claim my revenge. They were choices I made with clarity, knowing the full weight of the consequences of my actions. But telling Sophia, peeling back the layers of who I am, admitting to the blood I've spilled and the darkness I've carried... feels different. It doesn't feel like a confession. It feels like freedom.It's as if I've ripped open a part of myself I've kept locked away. And instead of flinching, she listened... and in her gaze steady, there was understanding.My kindhearted mate didn't judge me for my actions but understood me.It feels as though a veil has been lifted between us, one I hadn't realized was there until this moment. Now, we are both truly bare in front of each other.Her acceptance isn't blind; it's deliberate. She knows my flaws and my sins, and still, she chose me.I am definitely Moon Goddess's favorite; that is why she gave me Sophia.I
MikhailI burst into a sprint, the bond's silence tearing through me like a jagged blade.Each step pounds against the earth, my wolf's restlessness and my desperation driving me faster.The world blurs around me, trees and buildings nothing more than streaks of color as I push myself harder."Sophia!" I mindlink again, hoping to get a response from her.But the void answers me. Hollow. Dead.The absence feels like a gaping wound, a suffocating emptiness that claws at my chest.My lungs burn, not from exertion but from the sheer panic constricting my breath.The mate bond is supposed to be the unbreakable connection between us, an eternal thread that binds us, no matter the distance.So why can't I feel her?I push harder, my claws digging into the earth as I leap over a low wall."Sophia! Answer me!"Nothing.I snarl, the sound ripping from my throat as I surge forward again.My wolf's fury roars in my ears, a wild, unrelenting force demanding to find her. Demanding to protect her.T
MikhailPressing my nose against Rose's hair, I take a deep breath. After Sophia, her scent is the only one that can help calm me down. My wolf's fury dulls to a low, simmering growl, the primal need to protect finally sated with my mate and pup in my arms."Shh, Rose. I've got you," I whisper hoarsely, my voice raw with emotion. My hand gently strokes her back, my touch trembling as I try to comfort her. "Dada's here. It's okay now."Her little arms tighten around my neck, her sobs hitching as she nestles closer. For a moment, the world narrows again, but this time, it’s not from rage or panic. It’s from the overwhelming need to hold on to them, to keep them safe.I glance down at Sophia, still lifeless against me. My chest aches, a dull throb that matches the fear coursing through my veins. "Sophia..." her name escapes me like a prayer, desperate and pleading."Mikhail, we need to take Sophia inside." That same man speaks, and through the haze of fury, I can finally recognize him.
MikhailI sit at the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, fingers tangled in my hair.The clock ticks steadily in the background, each second dragging on like an eternity.It’s been over an hour since I felt that faint flicker through the bond.Now? Nothing.The silence in the mate bond is no longer empty; it feels blocked, like a wall has been built between us. My wolf paces restlessly, claws scraping against the edges of my mind, snarling at the barrier we can’t break. It wasn’t like this before. Earlier, the bond was cold and lifeless, as if she had slipped away. But now... now it’s different.Now, it feels like she’s there but out of reach, just beyond the edge of my grasp.I clench my fists, fighting the frustration surging through me. The urge to smash something, anything, grows with each passing second, but I can’t risk waking Rose. She’s still curled up beside Sophia, her little face peaceful for the first time since this nightmare began.Sophia.I shift closer to her, my hand
MikhailMerope bursts into the room, her movements quick and purposeful, with Alexei close on her heels. Instead of coming inside the room, he stands at the door and watches Sophia with a pained expression.Beneath the pain, I can sense his anger. His wolf flashes in his eyes, and he is angry that someone is hurting his Luna.Then his eyes connect with mine, and I see his gaze burning with the promise that he will be by my side when I fulfill my hunger for revenge.But right now, I can't think about that because right now I am nothing but a helpless mate who is unable to do anything for his mate.Merope eyes land on Sophia, and for a moment, her lips part in a soft gasp, pain flashing across her face. But it’s gone as quickly as it comes, replaced by a hard, calculating look.She takes a step closer, her gaze locked on Sophia as though she’s deciphering some invisible code, piecing together fragments of a puzzle only she can see."Tell me, what is happening with her? And how can I hel
MikhailSophia is still unconscious in the room we left her in. It kills me to leave her, but I had no choice. If I stay in the same room as her, I will not be able to think straight. All my attention will be on her instead of trying to find a way. I need to think like an Alpha, not just as a mate. And for that, I need to think with a rational mind.My wolf snarls inside me, restless and enraged, but I force him back. Jake is seated on the arm of a couch, his arms crossed and his jaw tight, looking like he’s two seconds away from punching a hole through the wall. Caleb, on the other hand, is practically vibrating with energy. His hand grips the wooden armrest so tightly that I’m surprised it hasn’t splintered.While Lucas is staring out into the dark as though he’s expecting answers to appear there. He doesn’t speak, but the tension in his shoulders tells me he’s just as agitated as the rest of us.They arrived an hour ago, and unlike me, they could feel Sophia trapped somewhere. T
Mikhail"When?" I ask through gritted teeth, barely managing to control my temper.My wolf growls inside me, echoing through my chest. It’s like a low rumble, a warning. He wants to tear something apart, and that something is Gregor.He is the one behind all this.And I don't know how long I can stop myself from killing him because every breath he takes reminds me of not being able to protect Sophia from him.Alexei's hands ball into fists while annoyance radiates off him in waves."Tomorrow."My hands clench into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms as I fight the urge to shift right then and there. My wolf surges forward, a deep growl rising in my chest. The rage is like wildfire, threatening to consume me, but I force it down. Caleb doesn’t bother with restraint. “Son of a—” he starts, his voice tight and full of venom, his words dissolving into a muttered string of curses that would make anyone flinch. His fists are balled so tightly his knuckles are white, and the shee
AnastasiaJake’s hands come up to my face and I lean into them before I even realize I’m moving. His thumbs brush against my cheeks, and then his lips are on mine.It’s soft at first, like a question, but when I kiss him back, something cracks wide open. All of it pours through that kiss... his pain, his love, his need to hold me close enough that nothing can take me from him again. And for a moment, I don’t feel hollow. I don’t feel like something missing is tearing me apart from the inside. For a moment, there’s just his kiss and the way it cradles everything I’ve been too afraid to let myself feel.I know how significant this moment is for him... for us. But even with all that warmth, guilt creeps in. I don’t deserve this. I’m the reason for all of it. His pain. His hurt.The cold emptiness where my babies used to be, is all because of me. I failed them. I failed him. And yet here he is, giving me his love anyway, like I’m still worth it.But I need him more than I’ve ever let mys
JakeI’m already outside the infirmary, pacing. My feet won’t stop moving, like if I stand still too long I’ll lose it. I couldn’t stay away. I need to be near her. I need to see her, feel her, make sure she’s still here with me.The second she left my side, the noise in my head started roaring. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it’s full of rage. My thoughts are all fire and blood, dragging me toward the edge where the beast in me waits. It whispers about revenge. About tearing through every single one of them. About making them pay for hurting my mate, for killing our pups.And God, I want that. I want it so bad I feel like I’m shaking with the force of holding it in.But I can’t let go. Not yet. Not when she needs me. Even if she won’t say it, even if she’s shutting me out, I know. I know she’s holding it together with nothing but willpower, and if I break now, it’ll pull her down with me. So I hold the monster back. For her.The door creaks open and I turn so fast it’s like my body knew
AnastasiaIf what I felt before was numb, then I don’t even know what to call this now.Not just a piece of me, but pieces of my souls. Some thing that was made with love... unintentional but still made with nothing but love.Two of mine... ours.And now there are gone.I want to feel something. Anything. Anger. Sadness. Rage. Just this emptiness that keeps stretching wider every time I try to hold on to myself.This emptness that presses into my skin and settles in my bones. I don’t even know if I’m alive... because if only breathing means that you are alive... then maybe I am. But I don't feel like one.I want to cry, but the tears don’t come. I want to scream, but my throat won’t move.I wish my heart explodes. I wish someone tears me open and leave me bleeding because even that kind of pain will be better than this silence inside me.And when I look at Jake… I don’t understand it.He’s here. Still. His eyes soft when they look at me, full of a love I don’t think I deserve. How? H
Jake"I don't know how to mourn losing something I didn't even know I had."Her voice is soft, but it hits like a punch straight to my chest. I can still hear it, playing on a loop in my head, like her words got stitched into my bones. And no matter what I do, I can’t escape them.I thought I was hurting. I thought the ache I’ve been carrying since the moment I shifted, since I felt that thread snap inside me, was the worst thing I'd ever feel. But hearing her say that, hearing the hollow emptiness in her voice… I realize my pain doesn’t even come close to what she’s feeling.When I shifted, I knew something was wrong. It wasn't like anything I’d felt before. It was like something inside me had broken and just... vanished. The moment they started growing inside her, my wolf unintentionally felt them, not clearly, not in full. Way before even I could have sensed them.Those little sparks of life connecting with mine, with my wolf.And then they were just… gone.My wolf wasn’t just tryin
AnastasiaThe world keeps spinning, people moving, voices rising, wind brushing through the trees… but I feel like I’m stuck in this weird kind of stillness. Like I’ve been dropped in the middle of a moment that doesn’t want to pass.Sophia’s lips are moving, and I know she’s talking to me, trying to reach me, but I don’t hear a single word. Nothing. Not her, not the others, not even Jake’s wolf… and I know he’s howling. I can see it in the way his body shakes, the way his mouth stretches open, raw and wild. But it’s all on mute. Like someone hit pause on the sound while everything else keeps playing.There’s this weird, heavy quietness inside me. One that screams louder than anything ever has. It drowns everything out. It presses down on my chest and wraps around my ribs and coils in my throat.I don’t see anything.I don’t hear anything.And the scariest part?I don’t feel anything.No anger.No grief.No heartbreak or rage or sadness.Just this empty, flat nothing.Like I’ve disapp
AnastasiaThe second I hear that howl, I don't even stop to think. My feet are already moving, carrying me outside like I’ve got no control over them. The pull in my chest only gets stronger with every step I take. It’s not pain exactly, but it’s this deep ache, like a part of me is missing and screaming to be whole again.I follow the sound around the side of the house, past the trees, until I reach the outskirts of the pack… and then I freeze.Jake's wolf.He’s massive, all muscle and wild fury, snarling and thrashing like a storm no one can contain. His fur bristles with rage, and his eyes... they’re completely taken over by something feral. And what the hell... chains? Actual metal chains are wrapped around him, digging into his fur as a bunch of people try to hold him down. They’re failing miserably. He yanks and shakes, sending two guys flying like rag dolls. He’s wild. Uncontrolled.I spot Mikhail standing there, tense, and beside him is Alexei, barking orders. “Get more men! H
AnastasiaI blink up at the ceiling, confused as hell for a second. My brain feels like it’s swimming through thick fog, trying to latch onto something that makes sense. The sheets under me are soft, smell faintly like lavender and old memories, and the light slipping through the curtains is warm, too warm for how cold I remember feeling.Where…?I turn my head and it all clicks into place.This room.Same pale blue curtains swaying a little from the breeze sneaking through the window. Same wooden dresser with the chipped paint. Same soft hum of nothingness outside, the kind of quiet you only get out here. It’s like I’ve time-traveled. Like someone hit rewind and dropped me right back into the past.I sit up slowly, my muscles sore but not screaming anymore. That alone messes with my head. I lift my arm, the one where I’d dug for the tracker, and stare at the skin. It’s healed. Like really healed. Smooth, with just the faintest pink mark. No blood. No torn flesh. No proof of how bad th
JakeBefore I can even blink, Anastasia throws the knife across the room and, to my horror, she digs her hand right into the wound she just made. Blood gushes out, running down her arm and dripping onto the floor. She bites her lip so hard trying not to scream that her teeth tear through the skin, blood mixing with the sweat on her face."What the hell are you doing, Anastasia?" I rasp out, my heart slamming against my ribs. I grab her wrists, trying to stop her from tearing herself apart, but she fights me like she doesn’t even hear me.Nothing I say is getting through that crazy haze she’s trapped in. It’s like she’s somewhere else, lost in her own mind, and I have no clue how to pull her out of it. Watching her hurt herself like this is ripping me apart. I’m scared outta my damn mind."I have to find it," she grits out between her teeth, her voice rough and broken. She keeps digging into her own flesh surprisingly it looks like she doesn’t even feel the pain. "He fucking can’t cont
JakeI carry Anastasia toward the cells, not loosening my hold even a little. I can hear Sophia and Mikhail following close behind, their footsteps quick but not rushed. They know something’s up even if they don’t have all the pieces yet.When we get to the old brick building, Mikhail steps around me and tells the guard to open the door. The guy fumbles with the keys for a second before the lock clicks and swings open.The place smells like metal and damp stone, but I hardly notice. All I see is her. All I feel is her heartbeat against my chest.Anastasia stirs a little and tugs at my shirt weakly.She shifts a little in my arms. "Put me down," she whispers, her voice soft but firm.My wolf snarling in protest. Every part of me wants to keep her close, safe, where nothing can get to her. Letting her go feels wrong, like I’m cutting off a piece of myself. But I can't let my own fears and emotions get in her way, undermining the strength and power she carries.So, even though it goes ag