REED’S POVShe wasn’t waking up. Eliana lay motionless on the bed, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths, but she was gone. Somewhere I couldn’t reach her. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.Seraphine’s words wouldn’t leave my head.“If her gate is opened, they will come for her.”Maddox. Kade. Others I didn’t even know about, like the shadowed one from last night. Enemies who had been waiting for her powers to awaken, waiting for the chance to hunt her down. If we brought her back, if we unsealed whatever power had been locked away inside her—she wouldn’t be safe. And what if I couldn’t protect her? The thought sent ice through my veins. I wasn’t afraid of a fight, but this wasn’t a battle I could win with claws and fangs alone. This was something bigger. Something I barely understood.And if I failed? If she came back and I couldn’t keep her safe? I forced a breath through my nose, staring down at her pale face. She looked fragile like this. Vulnerable. It f
KADE’S POVLila stood before me, fidgeting under my stare. She was trying to lie to me. Again.I leaned back in my chair, fingers steepled beneath my chin, watching her carefully. The office was quiet except for the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the far wall. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, painting sharp streaks of gold across the dark wood floors. And yet, despite the warmth of the morning light, Lila shivered. She wasn’t cold. She was afraid, a habit that our child picked from her. “Tell me again,” I said smoothly, tilting my head. “How far have you gotten with the mission of getting me the Silver Blade?” She shifted on her feet, pressing her hands together like a nervous child caught stealing. “I—I haven’t gotten it yet,” she stammered. “The security at the vault was increased after my last attempt. It’s been difficult.” A lie. An obvious lie. She was trembling. The lie lived in the flicker of her lashes, in the slight hitch of her breath. I knew her too we
MADDOX’S POVThe night had been long. Agonizing. Sleep had refused to claim me, leaving me trapped in the suffocating weight of revelation. Seraphine Gray is not Seraphine Gray. Kade’s words had rung in my head like a cursed mantra, each repetition hammering deeper into my skull. Aurora Blackwood. The name alone was a storm. I had heard the stories. Everyone had. In fact I had witnessed the disaster that befell then Blackwoods. The Blackwoods were more than legends—they were myths made flesh. An extinct bloodline, wiped from the face of the earth, their wolves unlike anything the world had ever seen. And yet, for nineteen years, the supposed last of their kind had been under my roof. In my pack. In my bed. I had been sleeping next to a phantom, a relic of a forgotten power. And I had never known. I sat behind my desk, fingers pressed together in a tight steeple, the wood groaning beneath my grip. The office was dark, the blinds drawn shut to keep out the rising sun. A single c
RONAN’S POVThe hall reeked of desperation. The huge curtains were drawn to cover the entire room in darkness. Thick candle smoke curled toward the rafters, mixing with the sweat and fear clinging to the walls. Shadows flickered along the rough stone, stretching over the gathered Elders like grasping hands. Their voices clashed—some loud, some hushed, but all of them whispering the same name. Eliana. The girl. The key. The one they feared, yet needed.I stepped into the hall, and the room fell into silence. Eyes turned to me, wary, expectant. I was no Alpha. But I was the closest thing they had. I walked forward, slow and deliberate, until I reached the long table at the center of the room. The Elders sat rigid in their chairs, their robes pooling around them like shadows. They had aged poorly—wrinkled faces lined with worry, eyes sunken from years of exile. This was not the Moonblood Pack I had grown up in. This was a broken assembly of ghosts, clinging to the past, fearing the
ELIANA’S POVSilver light. That was the first thing I saw. It pulsed behind my eyelids, soft at first, then blinding. It filled my veins, humming beneath my skin, crawling up my spine like liquid fire. My body felt weightless, floating between words, between existence and something… more.I sucked in a sharp breath and sat up. The air around me was thick—too thick—pressing down on my chest like an invisible force. The room was dim, shadows stretching long and distorted against stone walls. The bed beneath me was unfamiliar, the scent of aged wood and herbs clinging to the air. I blinked once. Twice. The world flickered. For a moment, I was nowhere. Everywhere. The walls shimmered, rippling like water. The bed, the room—all of it felt distant, unreal. Something wasn’t right.I lifted a hand, my fingers trembling. My skin glowed. A faint, silver luminescence bled from my veins, wrapping around my arms like smoke. My breath hitched. I turned my hands over, palms up, watching as t
REED’S POV The world tilted. I barely had time to steady myself before the ground swayed beneath me, the weight of exhaustion dragging me down like lead in my bones. My knees buckled.Shit.A firm grip caught my arm before I could hit the door. Then another.“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” Asher muttered, his voice sharp with concern. His grip tightened around my shoulder, anchoring me. Callum was at my other side, his hand clamped around my forearm, keeping me upright. “You good?” Callum asked, but his tone already told me he knew the answer. I wasn’t. Not even close. Cold seeped into my skin, a slow, creeping chill that coiled in my chest and wrapped around my spine. My body felt wrong, like it wasn’t mine anymore—like something had shifted deep within me when I stepped into that other realm.I clenched my jaw and forced my weight onto my feet, willing my legs to stay steady. Asher murmured something under his breath to Callum. I caught fragments—“too pale,” “he’s freezing,” “somethin
CALLUM’S POV “Reed!” The moment he hit the floor, I knew something was wrong. Not wrong in the way a person stumbles or faints. Not wrong in the way that exhaustion finally takes over. Wrong in a way that sent ice straight through my chest. Because the moment Reed collapsed, the temperature in the room plummeted. Asher lunged first, dropping to his knees beside him, his hands already reaching, already grabbing—but the second his fingers brushed Reed’s skin, he flinched. I saw it. I saw the way he jerked, the way his breath hitched, the way his hands started to shake as he held Reed’s unmoving body. And then—he pulled back. “Cold,” Asher choked out, staring at his hands. “He’s—he’s so cold.” Something sharp and unnatural twisted in my gut. I took a step forward, my body moving on instinct, but the second I got close—I felt it. The air wasn’t just cold. It was wrong.It was the kind of cold that didn’t belong in the living world. The kind of cold that seeped beneath the sk
KADE’S POVThe air still crackled with the aftermath of power, an almost tangible force that made the fine hairs on my arms stand on end. The scent of burnt ozone lingered, sharp and electric, mixing with the ever-present musk of my own dominance. My claws, still partially extended from my earlier rage, twitched at my sides. My pulse was steady, controlled—but inside, I was alight. My eyes flicked to the sigil that still pulsed faintly in the air. Eliana’s gate was open. Open. Without my interference. Without the excruciating effort it would have taken to pry it apart with dark magic. A rare thing. A perfect twist of fate. A slow, pleased smirk stretched across my lips, sharp as my claws I had nearly driven into Lila’s throat mere minutes ago. If I had killed her before this moment, I would have been furious. If she had died before Eliana’s gate had opened, I would have lost a valuable piece on my board. But now? Now, everything was aligning. A soft, choked whimper pulled my atte
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?”