ELIANA’S POVThe house was quiet. Too quiet.I stood at the foot of the staircase, staring up toward the second floor. The hallway beyond it led to the room we had laid Reed in, the same I hadn’t stepped foot in since the night everything fell apart.I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating.Maybe because going in there meant facing the reality of what had happened. That Reed wasn’t awake. That he wasn’t waiting for me with that lazy smirk, ready to pull me into his arms and kiss the breath out of me.But I was tired.Tired of waiting. Tired of pretending I wasn’t breaking a little more each day. Tired of holding on to a thread that felt like it was unraveling in my hands. So, I climbed the stairs. The hallway was dimly lit, shadows stretching across the walls. Every step I took felt heavier than the last. By the time I reached his door, my pulse was hammering in my ears. I turned the handle. The room smelled like him. Sandalwood and pine, something deep and familiar. It hit me the mom
ASHER’S POVThen bottle felt cool in my hand, the amber liquid swirling as I tilted it back, letting the burn settle deep in my stomach. Three bottles down, and still, nothing. Not even a damn buzz.I stared at the TV, not really watching. The sound was just background noise, a distraction from the thoughts clawing at my skull.Then, she walked in. Eliana.I knew she’d come down the moment I heard her footsteps, light and hesitant against the wooden stairs. I didn’t look at her right away, but I could feel her presence, the way the air shifted, the way the space between us felt too damn small. She called my name but I didn’t respond. I didn’t want to respond, I wanted to be distracted from her—but it felt impossible.She grabbed the bottle from me with fast reflex. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked.“Drinking.”“No shit,” she thundered. “Why?”“Because if I don’t? I’ll go crazy,” I replied. I expected her to just give up now and leave me alone but she didn’t. She seemed to h
ASHER’S POVI shouldn’t be here.The thought circled in my mind like a vulture, swooping down to rip apart what was left of my self-control.Eliana was in my arms, her lips pressed against mine, her body warm and pliant. She tasted like the whiskey she should’ve have been drinking, the fire of it still lingering on her tongue. And I should have stopped this. I know I should have. But my hands betrayed me, threading through her hair, holding her closer, giving in to something I’d spent months pretending didn’t exist.This wasn’t right.But it felt too damn good to be wrong.Her hands were on my chest now, sliding over my skin, desperate, impatient. She was drunk. Wasted. She didn’t know what she was doing. And yet, she did—her body was seeking what it craves, what it needed.It was mating season. Her urges were heightened, uncontrollable. But I couldn’t allow myself to be the man she turned to for this.I pulled back, breathing hard, my forehead pressed against hers. “Eliana,” I raspe
CALLUM’S POVSomething felt wrong. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but the moment I stepped out of my room, a strange weight settled in my chest. Maybe it was exhaustion. I couldn’t sleep last night. Not even for a second. The silence was too loud, the loneliness too suffocating. I spent hours pacing, staring at Reed’s pictures, hoping he’d miraculously appear behind me calling me a weirdo for staring at his picture for too long. But there was nothing. Just that unbearable stillness that reminded me of what we lost.I ran a hand down my face and exhaled. It was barely 6 AM, and I was already feeling drained.Maybe checking on Reed would help. Maybe seeing him would ease this restless feeling gnawing at my insides. But first, I’d checked on Asher.I made my way to his room, knocking lightly on the door. “Asher?” My voice was hoarse from the lack of sleep.No answer.I knocked again, harder this time.Still nothing.A frown tugged at my lips as I pressed my palm against the wood, h
ASHER’S POVChaos.It erupted the moment Callum’s scream splitted the air. The kind of scream that didn’t just carry anger—it carried betrayal, disbelief, devastation. It was the kind of scream that made the air thick with tension, heavy with something I couldn’t quite name.I barely had time to react before he stormed into the room, his furious eyes locked on Eliana.She was trembling behind me, her fingers clutching the duvet against her chest like it was the only thing anchoring her to this reality. I could hear her sharp, uneven breaths, the way her body stiffened behind me. She was scared.She should be.Callum was unhinged. I stepped forward, instinctively shielding her as he advanced. “Callum—” “Don’t you fucking Callum me!” he roared, voice cracking with rage. His chest was heaving, fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “You—” His furious gaze swung back toEliana. “Was this the fucking plan all along?” His voice was sharp enough to cut glass. “Reed barel
ELIANA’S POVMy body felt like it was sinking. I sat there, trembling, trying to drown out the accusations, the sharp words cutting into me like glass. My fingers curled around the duvet, gripping it so tightly my knuckles ached. My ears rang with Callum’s voice, with Malcolm’s disgust, with the unbearable weight of their judgment.I wanted to scream that they were wrong. That they had it all wrong.But my throat was too tight, and my chest burned from trying to hold back the sobs that kept clawing their way up.Mrs. Astrid stood a few feet away, her eyes pleading, her hands twitching at her sides like she wanted to come to me but knew she couldn’t. Malcolm had warned her to stay away, and she obeyed.I felt like I was suffocating.I needed to get out. I needed—A sudden wave of nausea hit me so hard that it knocked the breath from my lungs. The room tilted. My stomach twisted, clenched, and then a violent gag ripped through me.I barely had time to register it before I was bolting
CALLUM’S POVI had been holding back.I had been biting my tongue, clenching my fists, grinding my teeth so hard I thought my jaw might snap. I had been keeping it all in, trying to be the level-headed one for once.But standing in Eliana’s room, watching Asher defend her like she was some innocent little thing who needed protection, like she hadn’t just thrown herself at him, watching her run into the bathroom like she was about to puke, I fucking snapped. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” My voice was cold, sharp, cutting through the tension in the room like a blade.Asher didn’t even flinch. He just stood there, blocking the doorway like he was guarding some sacred temple. Like we were intruders. Like I was the one in the wrong here. “You need to leave,” Asher said, his voice calm but firm. “Both of you. Now.”I scoffed. “You don’t get to tell us what the fuck to do, not after what we just saw.” Malcolm crossed his arms beside me, his expression unreadable but tense. “You r
ASHER’S POVI was drowning. Drowning in the weight of my own choices, in the fire burning through my veins, in the suffocating silence of the room as Malcolm and Callum sat there, too stunned to argue, too exhausted to fight me anymore.Good.They needed to understand that this wasn’t a fucking joke.I didn’t make empty threats. I didn’t say shit unless I meant it.And right now? I meant every damn word.Eliana wasn’t some prize to be thrown around, to be discarded when it was convenient. She wasn’t some criminal who needed to be judged by them, by anyone. She was a woman, and I wasn’t going to stand by while they treated her like she was anything less than human. I had to let the Blackwood and the Moonblood know that their daughter will be getting married. I pulled out my phone. The air in the room grew tighter, heavier, like they knew whatever was coming next was going to change everything. Ronan picked up on the second ring. “Asher Bennett.” His voice alone made my blood heat
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?”