LIANA The smell of something rich and savory wafted through the cracks of my bedroom door, pulling me from my restless thoughts. My stomach growled in protest, but I ignored it, sitting cross-legged on the bed and staring at the slip of paper I’d found earlier.Aurora.The name didn’t feel like mine, yet it still stirred something deep inside me, like a melody I’d long forgotten. Who was she? Or, more terrifyingly, what if she was related to… me? But that was impossible right? This was my first time here.A muffled voice broke through my thoughts, followed by another—low and steady, but with an edge of irritation. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the walls of this mansion weren’t as thick as they appeared. Curious, I crept closer to the door, pressing my ear against the wood.“She’s obviously been through something,” Reed’s voice came first, calm but tinged with concern. “We can’t just ignore that.”“I’m not saying ignore it,” Callum shot back, his tone sharper. “But you can’t save s
LIANAThe air in the room was thick with a musty scent, a mix of aged paper and time-worn leather. I stepped further inside, my fingers trailing along the edges of the maps pinned to the walls. The symbols etched across them tugged at something buried deep in my memory. The jagged crescent moon, the same one scarred into my skin, stared back at me like a challenge.I pressed my palm against it, as if by touching it, I could make sense of the chaos in my head. The map wasn’t just a record; it was a tapestry of the clans. My clan. My family.A journal sat on a nearby desk, its cover worn and corners curling with age. It called to me, and before I could second-guess myself, I flipped it open. The handwriting was precise, each line a testament to the care of the writer had taken.Entry 112: The Outcast’s Mark“The crescent moon scarred with a single line—once a symbol of belonging, now the emblem of disgrace. Reserved for those who have committed the gravest of betrayals and for those wh
LIANAThe sounds outside the door were like nothing I’d ever heard before—low, guttural growls, snarls that raised every hair on my body. My fingers gripped the edge of the desk in the secret room, knuckles white as I tried to steady my breathing.It didn’t work.Each thud, each crash, echoed through the walls, rattling the shelves and the artifacts they held. Glass shattered somewhere, and the floor vibrated with the force of bodies slamming into each other. My chest tightened as panic surged. The Bennett brothers had shifted—I’d seen them change with my own eyes—but what were they fighting? A crash louder than the rest made me jump, and I heard a voice—a human voice, strained with effort.“Get out of my way, you mangy mutts!”Callum.Something primal in his tone sent a chill down my spine. I crept toward the door, heart pounding so hard I could barely hear myself think. Against every instinct screaming at me to stay hidden, I cracked the door open just enough to see.The sight fro
CALLUMI barely registered her body crumpling to the floor before instinct kicked in.“Liana!” I shouted, rushing toward her. My heart pounded, but I shoved the panic aside. Her small frame lay limp on the ground, pale and motionless.“Liana, wake up!” I knelt beside her, gently shaking her shoulders, but there was no response. Her breaths were shallow, her skin cold beneath my hands. A wave of something foreign—fear, maybe—tightened in my chest. “Callum, what—” Asher’s voice trailed off as he and Reed approached. “She fainted,” I snapped, cutting me off. “Help me move her.”I slipped my arms beneath her, lifting her easily into a bridal hold. She felt fragile, too light, like she might break in my grip. Her head lolled against my chest as I stood. Reed hovered nearby, his usual calm shaken. “She’s out cold?”“No thanks to the chaos we just dealt with,” I muttered. “Asher, call Meave. Now. Reed, get the workers here. The place is a mess, and we can’t leave anything behind.”Without
LIANAThe first thing I noticed was the warmth, soft and all-encompassing, spreading over my body like a thick blanket. My eyelids fluttered open, revealing the faint flicker of light peeking through heavy curtains. The room smelled faintly of cedarwood and rain, clean yet foreign.“Liana?”I turned my head toward the sound, my movements sluggish. Callum sat in a chair beside the bed, his sharp features softened by an unusual expression—concern. “You’re awake,” he murmured, his voice low, as if speaking too loudly might shatter me. My head throbbed as I tried to sit up, but his hand shot out, steadying me before I could fall back. “Take it slow,” he added. “What happened?” My voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.“You fainted,” Callum explained. “The fight must have taken more out of you than you realized.Faint images of chaos flared in my mind—blood, snarls, the cold dread that had gripped me just before everything went blank. But even more vivid was the strange pull I’d felt
CALLUMThe moment I saw the SUV roll up the driveway, I knew it wasn’t trouble. The engine hummed in that familiar way, a low, even pure that practically whispered Malcolm. Still, I followed Reed and Asher down the hall with purpose—just in case. Reed was the first to reach the door, as always. The “responsible” brother. He peeked through the side window, his shoulders visibly relaxing when he caught sight of the man climbing out of the vehicle. It wasn’t the first time Reed had gone all “big brother mode,” peeking out the window like some overprotective watchdog, I had found that act of his irritating. But this time, I wasn’t annoyed at him. No, I was irritated because Malcolm’s SUV pulling up to the house meant one thing: a complication in the mission we sent him out for. Malcolm was reliable. I’d give him that. The man had been with us longer than all of us had been alive, helping our father before his death and, somehow, sticking around after. He was loyal to a fault, wise beyon
RAIDENThe warmth of her skin was intoxicating, a distraction I welcomed. Her lips trailed down my neck as I let my head tilt back, savoring the fleeting moments of bliss. Lydia—one of the maids—was eager, pliant, and desperate to please, just how I liked them.“Get down there, Lydia,” I whispered in between gritted teeth, my hands working extra time to get the belt of my pants off. “Let me handle that, Alpha,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, her hands grabbing the head of the belt and within minutes my pants were off.I closed my eyes as she took my cock in her wet suckling mouth, her tongue wiggling on the tip of my cock. This was amazing—the feeling of being sexually pleased was amazed. As if she read my mind, Lydia went full on my cock taking everything inside her mouth. The sound of her mouth on my cock sent jolts of adrenaline through my brain. “Am I doing it right, Alpha Raiden?” she whispered breathlessly, her hands on my cock as she gave me a handjob. “Stop
RAIDENThe cold evening air clung to my skin as I made my way back to the castle. The trail of footprints leading to tire tracks at the border played over in my mind, along with the shredded guards left in their wake. The scene had been gruesome, a testament to an attack far more calculated than any rogue ambush. Still, I’d ordered the cleanup and reinforced the border, ensuring the guards’ deaths wouldn’t cause a stir. I didn’t need my father seeing this as another failure. The scent of power and judgment lingered in the halls even before I reached the castle gates, a reminder of the man who awaited me. Maddox Gray. The guards opened the heavy oak doors without a word, their eyes fixed on the ground. They must have sensed the storm brewing. I stepped into the grand hall, its polished marble floors gleaming under flickering chandeliers, but the air felt heavy. Too quiet. Too still. And then I saw him. My father stood at the far end of the room, his arms crossed, his piercing gray
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?”