SERAPHINE’S POVShe was standing right there.So close.My daughter. My child.For nineteen years, I had carried nothing but the memory of her—the weight of her absence pressed into my chest like an iron brand. I had pictured this moment a thousand times, dreamed of it on the rare nights when I allowed myself to believe she was still out there, still breathing, still alive. But now that she was standing right in front of me, I couldn’t move. My throat locked, a choked sound rising and dying before it could leave my lips. She was so much more than I had imagined. Her eyes—my Goddess, her eyes—were mine. That same deep shade of stormy gray, filled with unspoken questions and quiet strength. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders in dark waves, the way mine used to before time and grief had dulled its luster. She looked so much like me, yet there was something about her stance, something about the way she held herself, that belonged entirely to him. Eliana. I wanted to say her name,
REED’S POVThe air in the room turned to ice. My breath hitched. My muscles locked. Did I hear her right? Callum did. His chair scraped against the wooden floor as he shot to his feet, eyes blown wide. “What?” His voice was a razor’s edge, sharp enough to cut through bone. “You’re Maddox’s wife?” Seraphine’s jaw tensed, but she didn’t look away. Callum let out a sharp, humorless laugh, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe it. “You’re Maddox Gray’s wife. The same Maddox who murdered our father. The same bastard who burned our home down and left us for dead. And we let you in.” His hands curled into fists. His voice cracked. “We opened our doors to Maddox Gray’s wife!” His words rang through the room like a gunshot.Malcolm went pale. Asher shoulders stiffened. I could hear his breathing, slow and controlled—too controlled. I knew he was trying to keep himself from snapping. My own stomach twisted with something between fury and betrayal. I kept my hands clenched at my side
LIANA’S POVThe cold air burned my lungs as I ran. Barefoot. Blind. Desperate. I didn’t know where I was going, and I didn’t care. My legs moved on their own, driven by the storm raging inside me. The forest swallowed me whole, its towering trees stretching into the night sky, their gnarled branches clawing at the moonlight. Shadows flickered between the trunks, but I kept running, crashing through the underbrush, my breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.I needed to get away.Away from the house. Away from Seraphine. Away from everything. My mother. My mother was alive. The words echoed in my head, looping over and over until they lost meaning, became just sounds rattling inside my skull. My mother, the woman I had never known, had just appeared—like a ghost stepping out of the past. A ghost who had left me. A ghost who had abandoned me.Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t stop. I ran faster, deeper into the night, until the distant glow of the house disappeared behind the trees.
REED’S POVThe wind howled through the trees, a relentless, eerie whisper that did nothing to ease the frustration burning inside me. I held Liana close, her small, trembling body pressed against mine as her ragged breaths hit my chest. She was shaking, whether from fear or exhaustion, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I almost lost her tonight.I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to take a deep breath as I pulled back just enough to look at her face. Her skin was cold, her lips slightly parted, her dark eyes hollow with shock. But she refused to look at me.That only made my frustration grow. “Why?” My voice came out sharp, cutting through the silence. “Why the hell did you run off like that?” She flinched slightly but said nothing. I was trying to be patient—I really was. I knew she had been through too much already. Finding out that the mother she thought had abandoned her was still alive, learning that everything she believed about her past wasn’t the full truth—it was a lot to
RAIDEN’S POVThe house was too quiet. Too empty. Too wrong.I sat curled up in the corner of my bed, my hands gripping my phone so tightly my knuckles had gone white. The screen glowed in the dim room, the call screen mocking me with the same words over and over again.Voicemail. My heart pounded against my ribs as I hit redial. The line rang twice before the robotic voice cut in again.“The number you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the—”I didn’t wait for the beep.“Mom,” my voice cracked, raw and trembling, “please pick up. Please come back. Where are you? I—I don’t know what to do. He’s going to find out, and I—” My breath hitched as I wiped my wet cheeks with the back of my sleeve. “Please, just call me back. Please…”I ended the call and immediately redialed.Voicemail. Again.A strangled sob tore from my throat as I slumped forward, my forehead pressing against my knees.She was gone.And I was alone.The realization settled like a boulder in m
MADDOX’S POVI knew. From the moment I stepped into the dinning hall, from the way the air felt too still, from the faint, lingering scent of her that was already beginning to fade—I knew.Seraphine was gone.I watched Raiden closely as he sat across from me, barely touching his food, his fingers clenching the fabric of his pants beneath the table. He was trying to hide his fear, but it was bleeding through every crack. Weak.I took my time eating, savouring each bite, watching as his breath hitched every time I so much as looked at him. Letting the silence stretch, letting it suffocate him.Then I asked the question.“Where’s Seraphine?”He flinched. It was quick—barely noticeable—but I caught it. “She’s in her chambers,” he said, too stiffly. “She’s feeling unwell. The flu.”I chuckled. The flu?Lie. A pathetic, obvious lie. Raiden had never been good at lying. It was almost pitiful how easily I could tear him apart. I set my utensils down, wiping my mouth slowly before resti
KADE’S POVI ended the call with Maddox and let the phone drop onto the desk.My fingers twitched, curling into a slow, tight fist. My other hand reached for the glass beside me, but I didn’t drink. I only stared, my reflection distorted in the dark amber liquid.Then, I looked up. Across the room, in the corner where the firelight barely reached, my beast watched me.Star.She was my baby. Her massive body was coiled, muscles tense beneath dark, jagged fur, those unnerving eyes locked onto me with their usual quiet intensity. She knew something was different. She could feel it.I exhaled, slow and measured. She had always been like this. Watching. Waiting. As if she knew every dark thought crawling through my skull. And tonight, those thoughts were particularly dark.After nineteen whole years. Nineteen. A bitter chuckle left my lips, low and humourless, but there was no amusement in it. Only disbelief.Aurora Blackwood. All these years, I had searched. I had sent men, I had sp
LIANA’S POVI didn’t let go of her. Not for a second.Even as we walked up the stairs, my hand stayed tightly wrapped around hers, as if I was afraid she would disappear if I loosened my grip. It still felt unreal—having her here, standing beside me, existing in my world. For nineteen years, she had only been a whisper in my mind. A ghost of a dream—a ghost I didn’t know existed. But now, she was real. My mother. My biological mother. Aurora Blackwood. I swallowed against the lump rising in my throat as I led her down the hall. “Reed, Asher, and Callum put this room together for you,” I told her, stopping in front of the door at the end of the corridor. “It’s not much, but… it’s yours.”She turned to me, her violet eyes shining with something unreadable. “It’s perfect, Eliana.”The way she said my name made my chest tighten. Eliana Blackwood, right? Or should I ask her about my father? Hell, no! She just got here.I pushed the door open, stepping aside so she could enter firs
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?”