KADE’S POV The evening was thick with rot and silence. I moved through the forest, my breath even, my steps soundless on the damp earth. The trees stood like skeletal sentinels, their twisted limbs clawing at the sky, as if reaching for something unseen. The sun was going to sleep, its golden hue barely illuminating the path before me. It didn’t need to. I knew the way. They were waiting. I could feel them—my loyalists. Not wolves. Not men. Not alive. Well, technically they were alive—alive by dark magic.They had been waiting for nineteen years, bound to me, resting in the darkness until I called for them once more. And tonight, I had called. Shadows rippled through the trees, moving unnaturally, flowing like liquid darkness. Their presence slithered through my bones, chilling and familiar. They did not speak. They did not breathe. They only followed.The shaman’s dwelling lay ahead, hidden deep in the folds of the forest, where the air was thick with the scent of decay and fo
RAIDEN’S POV The air was thick with tension. Even in the dark, as the last light of the day left the sky, I could feel it pressing against my skin, heavy and suffocating. The war was here. I sat in the passenger seat of my father’s black SUV, staring ahead, my thoughts tangled in a mess I couldn’t escape. Outside, the convoy moved like a river of steel and fur, stretching down the dirt road as we neared the Crescent Moon Pack’s territory. The hum of engines, the occasional growl of a restless wolf shifting in his seat, the murmurs of men preparing for bloodshed—it all felt distant. Muted. I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want this. I should have fought harder. My father sat beside me, gripping the wheel, his expression unreadable. His eyes, sharp and calculating, flickered between the road and whatever war plans were running through his head. I studied his face in the dim glow of the dashboard, searching for something—anything—that would tell me what he was thinking. Was it El
MADDOX’S POVThe map stretched before me, a precise rendering of Crescent Moon’s territory, its borders marked in red. The ink was sharp, clean—unlike what was to come. War was never clean. It was an art, a delicate balance of power, precision, and brutality. I had mastered it long ago. Thorne stood beside me, his arms folded, waiting for my command. His impatience was evident, but he knew better than to question me. Raiden leaned against the far wall, rolling a dagger between his fingers, his face impassive. The others stood at attention, warriors bred for this very moment. I had given them their orders. Thorne would lead the first infiltration unit through the eastern ridge, where the defenses were weakest. Raiden would take the western flank, a more direct approach, drawing out any opposition. The third unit, the clean-up crew, would seal the southern escape routes. There would be no survivors. But I would not be among them. The thought alone made my lips curl. I do not fight f
REED’S POVI walked away from Seraphine, my heart a tangled mess of regret and resignation. The words I had spoken to her lingered in the air like a curse, suffocating, inescapable. “I’m going to die.”I had said it as a statement, as a truth. But I hadn’t meant for Eliana to hear it. The moment I stepped out from Seraphine’s side, I felt it—a sudden shift in the air, the faintest rustle of wind that shouldn’t have been there. Then, a blur of movement, too fast, too sharp, slicing through the night like a phantom.I knew her scent before I even saw her.Eliana.She moved like lighting, her form barely visible as she streamed away from the house, disappearing into the dense treeline beyond. A rush of panic slammed into my chest. She had heard me. She knew. Damn it. I took off after her, my legs burning with the effort to close the distance. But she was fast—faster than any wolf I had ever seen. Her blood, her lineage… she wasn’t meant to be ordinary. She was the first of her kind,
The night was thick with the scent of war. Ronan moved with purpose, his steps silent against the forest floor as his warriors surged forward. Orion ran beside him, his expression grim but determined. They had left the Bennett home behind, their path set toward the Crescent Moon’s borders. And now, as they neared their destination, the air grew heavy with metallic tang of blood and acrid burn of fire. The battle had already begun.Orion, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s, turned toward Ronan. “If the war isn’t happening at the Bennetts’, then it’s happening here,” he said. “Kade won’t stop. And neither will Maddox.”Ronan knew it. This war wasn’t about territory. It wasn’t about power in the traditional sense. It was about her. Eliana Blackwood—Eliana Moonblood. Kade wanted her for destruction. Maddox wanted her for dominance. And Ronan… Ronan wanted to save her. To guide her to the light before the darkness swallowed her whole. The Crescent Moon Pack was already under siege. Fires b
KADE’S POVChaos welcomed me. The Crescent Moon border was a battlefield of snarling wolves, thrashing bodies, and the stench of blood thick in the air. The ground beneath me trembled as claws tore through flesh, as teeth snapped against bone. The night pulsed with the violent symphony of war, yet none of it mattered to me. I was not here for their petty squabbles. I was here for them.Eliana, Aurora, Reed, Asher and Callum. I knew all their names. The brothers aren’t actually treasures to keep, they are meant to die here tonight, but Eliana and her sneaky serpent of a mother, Aurora would be my treasures to keep. They were mine to take. But this? This was not how I planned it. I stood at the edge of the madness, my fingers tightening around the Silver Blade. Its presence thrummed in my grip, a silent reminder of the power it held. My blood had bonded with it. I could feel it singing to me, begging to be used, to be fed. But not yet.The blade was not for these insects. It wa
The ground trembled beneath their feet. The night air was thick with the scent of blood, with the chorus of growls, snarls, and agonized screams. The Crescent Moon borders were under siege, the once-stronghold of safety now a battlefield of chaos and destruction. Eliana and Reed arrived at the reinforced area, where Crescent Moon warriors–what was left of them–were attempting to hold the line. Their numbers were dwindling, their strength faltering under the unrelenting assault. Wolves clashed, bodies were torn apart, and the ground was littered with the fallen. Asher, Callum, and Malcolm stood at Reed’s side, their expressions grim, their bodies tense with the weight of the battle ahead. “The formation won’t hold,” Callum said, his voice sharp, laced with urgency. “They took us by surprise. We need new orders.” Reed clenched his fists, his sharp eyes scanning the battlefield. They had planned for an attack, but not like this—not with this level of brutality. Eliana stood beside
Roars, growls, screams, tore through the battlefield. Every wolf was fighting for one sole purpose; Eliana. The scent of blood thickened the air, mixing with the putrid stench of burning flesh and decayed corpses. Screams of agony and battle cries wove together in a brutal symphony. The ground was slick with blood, bodies piled atop one another, some still twitching as their last breaths rattled from their throats. Reed was in the thick of it. He moved like a storm, a whirlwind of steel and firepower. His twin daggers gleamed under the moonlight, slick with blood as they plunged into enemy bodies. When the blades couldn’t reach, he drew his shotgun—BOOM! A head snapped back, silver bullets shredding through the werewolf’s skull. He was precise. Efficient. Deadly. Yet, he still hadn’t shifted. Because he had made a promise. His wolf snarled within him, begging to be released, but Reed held firm. He had promised Eliana he would be there when she shifted. He wouldn’t break that vo
FOUR MONTHS LATERThe morning sun streamed through the sheer white curtains, casting a golden glow over the grand dining hall. The long wooden table was set with an elaborate spread—pancakes drizzled with honey, fresh berries, and a steaming pot of coffee. The scent of roasted bacon and buttered toast wafted through the air, making my stomach grumble in anticipation. I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my swollen belly as I listened to the chatter around me. It had been four months since everything changed—four months since I had finally found my place, my home, my family. Reed sat to my right, his hand lazily tracing circles on my wrist as he spoke with Callum and Asher. My husband. The words still felt surreal, as if saying them would wake me from a dream. The mate bond between us had only grown stronger since our wedding, the kind of connection I once thought I would never have. “Callum can you please hand her another plate, it’s been five minutes since she asked for it,” Reed bl
ELIANA’S POVThe first thing I felt was warmth.Not the suffocating heat of fear or the numbing cold of rejection—just a steady, comforting warmth. It wrapped around my hand, grounding me before my mind could even piece together where I was.Slowly, I forced my eyes open.Blurry. Unfocused. The light overhead was too bright, making me wince. I blinked rapidly, willing my vision to adjust.Where am I? The ceiling above me was a bit familiar. The room smelled different, too—clean, with a faint hint of something I couldn’t quite place. Not the musky, indifferent scent of the packhouse I had come to despise. Then where…?And then it hit me. The pain. The sharp, unbearable pain that had gripped my body before I collapsed. My breath hitched as the memories flooded back—the searing agony, my vision darkening at the edges, the sound of my name being called in panic. Reed. Asher. My hand shot to my stomach. Still round. Still full. A shuddering breath escaped me. My baby. My baby was s
MALCOLM’S POVThe air in the room was suffocating.Not because of the space—we had more than enough of that in this damn house—but because of the weight of everything pressing down on us. The truth. The guilt. The realization that we had shattered something that could never fully be put back together.Callum and I talked on the way back home, but nothing could’ve prepared us for what we were walking into. Eliana was upstairs, unconscious. Reed had carried her in like she was the most precious thing in the world, like losing her would rip his soul apart. And it would.Because of us.Because we had believed what we wanted to believe. Because we had ignored the truth. Because we had taken the pieces of a story that suited our anger and ran with it—dragging Reed down with us. And now? Now, all we could do was sit in this damn living room, suffocating in our own regret while Asher paced like a man on the verge of shattering. His hands ran through his hair, gripping at the strands. His
REED’S POVI didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t wait for permission. The moment I saw her—Eliana, crumpled in the doorway, her body trembling, her skin pale and damp with sweat—everything else ceased to exist.I was at her side before my mind could even catch up, scooping her into my arms. She was so light. Too light.Her breath was uneven, shallow, her body barely responding.“Asher,” I barked, my voice tight with urgency. “We’re taking her out here.”He was already ahead of me, moving fast, clearing the way as I carried her through the castle halls. I didn’t care about the whispers, the wide eyes of pack members watching us go. I didn’t give a damn about their judgment or their curiosity. They had failed her. They had stood by while she was beaten, humiliated, starved. And now, she was barely clinging to life because of them. I would not fail her too. We reached the car, and I slid into the backseat with her cradled against me. Her head lolled against my chest, her face
ELIANA’S POVPain.It started as a dull ache, twisting deep in my stomach. I barely noticed it at first. My body had endured so much these past months—hunger, exhaustion, bruises, the sharp sting of words meant to break me. What was one more pain added to the pile?I thought maybe it was the weight of my dress, the heavy fabric pressing against my skin. That had to be it.I forced myself to stand, my fingers trembling as I reached for the laces of the gown. Each breath I took felt shallow, strained, but I ignored it. I just needed to change. Get comfortable. Then the pain would go away. I peeled off the dress, my breath catching as the cool air kissed my overheated skin. My body ached everywhere, my muscles screaming in protest. Slowly, I slipped into a loose gown, something softer, something that didn’t suffocate me. But the pain didn’t stop. I pressed a hand to my stomach. My heart pounded against my ribs. This was different. A sharp, searing pain shot through me, knocking the
REED’S POVI didn’t know what to do.My body felt too heavy, my mind too loud. I wanted to scream, to rip at my skin until I felt something other than this suffocating regret. But nothing would change. No matter how much I hurt, no matter how much I wanted to turn back time, I couldn’t undo what I’d done.She hated me.I’d called her a whore.I’d let my rage speak louder than reason, and now I had lost her in a way that I wasn’t sure I could ever fix. Eliana had always been strong, but the woman I had just seen—this new version of her—she was unshakable. And I had pushed her there. I had driven her to the point where she didn’t just refuse to listen to me; she didn’t even care to. I pressed my hands against my face, dragging them down slowly. My chest burned, and the weight in my throat grew unbearable. I tried to swallow it down, but it rose like bile, hot and acidic. I sucked in a sharp breath, but it didn’t help. Then, before I could stop it, my vision blurred. A warm line of w
ELIANA’S POVThe dress felt heavier than it should have.Silk, soft against my skin, clean, free of blood—yet I still felt stained.I adjusted the cuffs of my sleeves as I walked down the corridor leading to the Grand Hall, my heels clicking against the polished floor. The path felt longer than usual, the air thick with tension, but I kept my head high. There would be no sign of weakness tonight.The investors were waiting. So was Ronan. My godforsaken Beta.The doors to the Grand Hall were already open when I arrived. The room was grand, high ceilings adorned with golden chandeliers, the long table in the center lined with crisp documents, and men and women dressed in sharp suits. Humans. Our potential business partners. My people were gathered too. The elders, the council, warriors standing at the edges like silent shadows. Asher was seated at one end, his expression unreadable. Raiden was on the opposite side, his arms crossed, eyes trained on me the second I entered. And then
ASHER’S POVI was losing my mind.Hours had passed since she walked out, and no one knew where the hell she was.I should have stopped her. I should have gone after her the second she stepped out with that bloodied gown clinging to her like a second skin. But I hadn’t. I’d been too stunned, too fucking caught up in my own emotions to move. Now, she was out there—alone, hurt, and wearing the same damn nightgown she almost died in. My hands curled into fists as I stormed across the main hall. Every available pack member was searching for her. Even Ronan, despite his silence, was out there looking. The elders were restless. Not because they cared about her, but because of the investors meeting. “Find her, now,” one of them growled at the warriors. “We cannot afford to miss this deal over one reckless woman.” I clenched my jaw. She wasn’t just a woman. She was their Alpha. My wife. Or at least, she had been. And they still spoke about her like she was nothing. I exhaled sharply, s
CALLUM POV The sheets were soft. The woman beneath me, softer. She moaned against my mouth, her fingers tangled in my hair as her bare thighs tightened around my waist. I smirked, trailing kisses down the curve of her throat, my hands gliding over smooth, warm skin. “You’re insatiable,” she purred, her nails dragging lightly over my shoulders. I chuckled. “And you love it.” She didn’t argue. My lips traced down her collarbone, my fingers dipping lower when— Knock. Knock. Knock. I froze. The woman beneath me let out an irritated groan. “Ignore it.” I wanted to. Fuck, I really wanted to. But whoever was at the door was persistent. Knock. Knock. Knock.I clenched my jaw, pressing my forehead against hers with an exhausted sigh.“This better be good,” I muttered. Then, raising my voice, I barked, “Who the fuck is that?” There was a pause before a familiar voice answered. “It’s me, sir.” I sighed again. Benson. My butler. The man had impeccable timing. “What do you want?”