JACKSONBefore me, glittering city lights stretched, a blinding testimony to human ambition. From floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse of my building, I watched the golden hues of the world I had designed for the sun setting well behind the blocks. Billionaire. Business Mogul. The Visionary-that was a title the press had given, but none meant anything. Not really.Because beneath all the pretensions, I remained just a wolf without a pack. A man without a home.And after eighteen years now, that was going to change.I let my gaze wander away from the window as I shrugged my shoulders and took up my jacket. The call had arrived that morning, abrupt, —no-nonsense and fewer words. Come home. An invitation wasn't even implied; the command had been issued.Mother had finally decided the time had come.I ran a hand through my hair, blowing out a sharp breath. Jaden was probably going nuts over this. Jermaine… I didn't know how he'd take it. But me? I had been waiting for this. For the o
JACKSON She was furious.The moment we stepped into the supernatural circle, she struggled in my embrace, her fists pummeling my back, her voice hoarse with anger. "Jackson, let go!" she growled, her breathing laboured. "You can't just haul me in here like some-some possession with laboured breathing I gritted my teeth and held tighter. "I can, and I did," I muttered, continuing pace without wavering toward the border of the pack. "You would have never come willingly, and you know it.""Because I don't belong here!" she hissed, "I'm not some pack wolf to be summoned at your command!"I pushed the sting of her words aside. I did understand her frustration, but facts were facts: Alexia wasn't just any wolf. She was our mate, mine and Jaden's and Jermaine's, whether she liked it or not. Her fate and ours had been joined by something bigger than us.The towering trees thinned as we neared the pack's border. I could already see the figures waiting for us in the distance: Hailey, our mothe
JADENThe room was too quiet.For the first time in my life, I was sharing the same space with my brothers—not just for passing, not just to satisfy an obligatory conversation—but really being in the same place, and this forced them to coexist.The suite in the wing was connected, grand, and almost choking. The very moment I stepped inside, I felt that there was little or no chance of getting out of this. Immediately Jackson took the opportunity as if that space belonged to him: lying around on that huge velvet couch and putting his feet on the table. Jermaine stood before the window, gazing at the sprawling treetops beyond the window, carrying a different tone outside. He was deep in thought.Me? I was standing against the door, crossing my arms, waiting for the awkwardness to finally settle in."You're sulking," Jackson said, not looking at me as a smirk pulled at his lips. "I thought you would have gotten it all out of your system by now.""Shut up."Jackson merely chuckled, undete
LOGANSitting atop the highest cliffs in the region, between gnarled, old trees which groaned on the wind, the Seer's house, my father's house ever was a location which caused one to shiver. Prophecy, magic, and other invisible powers permeated the atmosphere here. The one thing which concerned me more than anything else, though, was the question that resonated in my heart. Isaiah had the answers. And now I acutely needed them. The stairs rang out near a vow as they went up into his bedroom, a struggle in itself to fight me. She was struggling to breathe in order to power these internal tempests, where all her memories returned with a vengeance, and the visage of our genius, passionate daughter Alexia was there. My own fierce, fiery daughter Alexia had endured more than any child should have had to endure, from being a child under a society in which she should have reigned. Her wolf had been lost. She was bonded to three friends. Three. The Queen's three triplet sons, and she'd grown
RYANThe castle felt heavier than usual as if even the walls held the weight of what had occurred. Jaden's anger, Jermaine's return, Jackson dragging Alexia back against her will—everything was just happening so fast. Too fast.I stood in my office, staring out into the vast forest beyond the borders of our pack. The night sky was clear, yet even the stars shone dull, weighed down by the storm brewing within these walls.The words of Jaden still echoed within my mind."She is nothing to me but the Queen."My fists clenched, claws threatening to extend.The rage that surged through me then was nothing besides the pain that I felt on behalf of Hailey. My mate, who has suffered more than anybody, is still suffering, and all she received finally having gotten her sons back home were resentment and accusations.I should have been able to handle it better than that.I should have watched over her a little more, at least.A light, soft knock upon the door cut into my mood."Come in," I calle
RYANThe ground shook under my feet. The very foundations of the earth we stood on shook as a primordial force, something old and wild, reverberated through the trees. Throughout the night, a roar so deep it echoed in my bones caused my body to tighten automatically. Whatever was on the way wasn't pleasant. Isaiah remained still, staring into the darkness over the boundary with an unreadable face. However, Logan had partially moved, his claws longer, his breathing laboured with barely restrained rage. "What on earth is that?" Logan's gaze darted to the Seer as he snarled. Isaiah’s voice seemed unnaturally calm. "The result of cutting off fate's plan." The air changed before I could insist on an explanation. The wind increased, bringing with it a touch and chaff of unease.A whiff of strength, of the resurgence of the past. Between the woods, a flash of black and silver travelled more quickly than my eyes could track. Then there was quiet. A gigantic figure entered the area after a sin
ALEXIAThe pain was unbearable.It wasn't the kind of pain I could push through, wasn't something I could grit my teeth and ignore. It was inside me, tearing at my very existence, splitting me apart in ways I didn't understand.I couldn't breathe.I clutched at my chest, digging my fingers into the skin as something inside me unravelled. My vision blurred, shifting between reality and something else, a realm of dark and silver light. Whispers in my ears-full of voices all calling my name.Alexia…You must wake up…You must remember…The words made no sense, yet they felt like a command written into the fabric of my soul.A pair of hands shook my shoulders."Alexia! Look at me!"The haze parted, and I knew the voice. Turtela.I gasped, making myself turn to face her. She knelt beside me, alarm written all over her face. The room swung behind her, shadows stretching out fantastic shapes on the walls."What's… happening?" I croaked.She swallowed hard. "I don't know. One second you were
ADRIAN I was hit with the smell of the wolves overpowering, lingering on the trees, to the very air that I breathed. It felt like their presence weighted down and choked, like this land belonged only to them, spewing out everything else in its wake. But I had not come here for them. I had come for her. Turtela. The name itself was a whisper upon my lips, a yearning buried deep within the recesses of my immortal heart. The bond that tied us together was ancient, strong, and unbreakable-whether she accepted it or not. It was time for her to return to my side, to accept what had been written between us by the hand of fate. My boots barely made any sound as I stepped past the thick tree line, crossing into the wolves' domain. The shadows danced at my will, bending in the moonlight to move with me, like loyal subjects waiting on my command. I knew they had already scented me. Let them come. I wanted them to. Because no force, no army, no king-not even the mighty Alpha Wolf Ki
AARONThe past had a way of creeping back in, no matter how much I tried to hide it.I'd had a craving for power. No, that was too weak—I'd been obsessed with it. Power was my aim, my constant thought. And Hailey… Hailey had been my fixation, the crown treasure that I believed I ought to have claimed.I had spent years believing I deserved the throne, deserving of her love. If I had been Alpha King and not Ryan, I would be the one standing beside her, ruling alongside her. I had wanted it at any cost, so much so that I had lost myself in its longing.Time had taken away the illusions from me, forcing me to face reality. Then, meeting my mate and having my beautiful Aurora finally subdued my person, and all my unnecessary cravings disappeared. Hailey wasn't ever going to be my own. And power? Power was a momentary flash, a burden that could destroy the very person that held it. I had seen what it did to others, seen how the burden of it had nearly shattered Hailey.And now I was watch
TURTELAThe second I entered my chambers, the weight of it all came crashing upon me.I had held on in that room, standing before my family, as I watched the breaking of a man I had known my entire life. Logan—the hard-as-nails warrior, the father figure who had always stridden so fearlessly—became something raw and broken.And David…That smug, condescending grin. The ring of his laughter echoing, taunting us after his devastation.I clung to the doorframe, shaking hand. I was gasping for breath, constricted chest, scorched throat. I had fought so hard to have some kind of strength in that room, not to break down. But now, here in the privacy of my own chambers, I could finally release it all.A sob of shuddering tore from my throat as I dropped to knees.It was too much.The lying and the betrayal and the war roiling outside our walls. Feeling powerless gnawed at me like a sickness. I was always the bright one, the warm one, the one with the smile that could find humor even in dire
ISAIAHThe air was thick with heaviness. Magic clung like a heavy fog, the stench of incense and old shadows poisoning every breath I took. My flesh itched as the remnant of David's black magic clung to the packhouse walls, a harbinger of what was to come.All of that was nothing compared to the devastation in Logan's eyes before he shifted and vanished into the shadows.I had seen so much sorrow, could foresee so many losses to come. And yet even my gift—the visions the divine had given me—the visions could not prepare me for the bare, suffocating despair that consumed Logan.Flora had been his everything. His salvation for a lifetime of pain. And to discover that she was never his to begin with? That their bond was an illusion of magic?It shattered something inside him that might never heal.Hailey was where Logan had just left, her jaw set, her fists clenched. Her words echoed in my mind."We have to kill him."And she was right.David had grown beyond what I had foreseen. He had
MARISSAThe packhouse was eerily silent, as if the walls themselves grappled with making sense of what had happened. Smoke and the bitter taste of burned magic clung in the air, mingling with the raw emotion that radiated from all assembled. My own heart pounded in every beat as I took in the scene before me.Logan—our Logan—kneeling on the ground, broken.I had never witnessed him so broken. Never. This resilient man had never been so broken. Yet even I had no idea how to process all of these new information. Flora had been so devoted and loving to her mate and child so this revelation is simply too astounding. The man who had been a rock of fortitude, who had battled and fought and led wars and defended his daughter with a ferocity that shook the world—cried.Hailey sat next to him, her presence in itself a soothing balm of reassurance, but even she could not repair this. Some wounds cut too deep. Some truths dismantled everything. Flora was her best friend yet she seemed so lost r
LOGANThe grounds groaned beneath me, the motor growled, but I hardly heard it. I was not unconscious of the cold, stinging night air whipping by. I was still unable to understand their words. "Flora was his mother." "His father was Azure." In my imagination, these phrases sounded like battle drums. Flora. My friend, my mate, the mother of my daughter and the angelic human I had loved with every fibre of my being is presently being linked to the one who almost destroyed us all? How is this even possible?. I tried to calm my beating heart, which had suddenly become unsteady, perspirations across my forehead as my knuckles repeatedly shook and the words I had heard settled and dawned on me. Years had passed since she died—gone from me, leaving only memories and an empty spot that I had never occupied. And now, suddenly, the truth was revealed. She had another living child. The son of Azure. I grind my teeth. It was an unpleasant betrayal. This information had dealt me a sudden blow, and
JACKSONI felt like the wind had been punched out of my lungs.David was Alexia's half-brother?That wasn't some irrelevant piece of information we had overlooked—that changed everything.I turned to Jermaine, my fists tightening. "Are you sure?"Jermaine's expression was serious. He tapped the parchment again. "This record is old, Jackson. There's no mistake. Azure and Alexia's mother had a child before ever meeting Alexia's father. That child was David."I ran a hand through my hair, trying to get my head around it. "So that means." My jaw clenched. "That means he's been lying to Jaden the entire time."Jermaine nodded. "Not just Jaden. All of us."I sucked in a sharp breath. "We have to tell Hailey."Jermaine hesitated. "We have to be careful how we do that. Jaden is already wound up. If we push him too hard, he'll think we're trying to manipulate him."I growled. "I don't care if he gets mad at me. This doesn't involve Jaden anymore. Alexia's involved. And if David is anything lik
DAVIDI could feel the change in the air.Jaden was stepping back.Not sudden—not a drastic move. But I knew him too well. He lingered a little longer. His eyes lingered a little longer, searching for something he wasn't sure that he wanted to see.I had seen it before. Doubt. It was a powerful thing. A weapon.And I was a master at wielding it.I had to act quickly.I came across him near the training grounds, looking up into the branches of the trees as if in deep thought. Perfect."Deep in thought about something serious?" I joked, my tone light and cheerful.Jaden shifted restlessly, then shook his head once more. "A lot on my mind."I rested against the stone wall beside him. "Jackson and Jermaine, then?"His head whirled around. "How did you—I smiled. "Come on, Jaden. We've been friends for years. You think I don't know when something's wrong with you?"His shoulders relaxed a bit. He wanted to believe me.Good."Let me guess," I continued, looking at him. "They think I'm a thr
JADENI ran through the castle halls, my brothers' words ringing in my ears."David is not safe. You have to wake up, Jaden.""There's something not right with him. I don't trust him.""And you shouldn't either."It wasn't what they told me that unsettled me—it was the certainty in their voices. Jermaine was usually reserved, the sort who would weigh everything before he spoke, and Jackson, despite his arrogance at times, possessed a keen eye for spotting lies. But they were both wrong this time.David was okay.He had always been okay.Hadn't he?I suppressed the idea.Blending around the cutting corner, I bumped my shoulder into the chilly stone wall but barely registered.I needed air.Sliding the doors of the courtyard wide open, I entered the biting night. The sky stretched out endlessly overhead, and stars shone like lanterns in the distance. The stillness was a welcome change.Until I saw him.Waiting beside the far archway, David stood in the shadows. He wasn't pacing. He wasn
JACKSONThe minute I stepped into the castle, I knew something was off. The atmosphere here wasn't just charged—it was polluted. You could smell the hidden odour around here of great trouble brewing. It was silent, a tick below normal, but I'd been a part of the human world long enough not to miss the scent of deceptions when they hung thick in the air.Jermaine was already in the grand hall, arms folded, his face as sharp as ever."Do you feel it too?" he asked as I walked in.I nodded. "David?"Something was not right with him.It's not a suspicion, just intuition. A powerful, nagging feeling that twisted in my gut whenever I looked at him. He was too smooth, too controlled. Men like him couldn't be trusted.I'd run across my fair share of lying people in the human world—corporate vipers who grinned as they orchestrated your downfall, politicians who had spun deception into poetry. And David? The same vibe. The kind of person who took the long way around, who got you to believe him