DEREKI’d been through a lot of things in my life—rogue ambushes, pack betrayals, the death of my father—but nothing compared to standing there in a fluorescent-lit hallway, watching the woman I loved come undone in front of a stranger in a lab coat.Elena’s voice was low at first. Quiet. Her postur
DEREK"You are?" the doctor asked, his voice tight with disbelief.I nodded. "Yes. I’m ABX."Everything after that happened fast—too fast to make sense of.The doctor turned, snapping orders like gunfire. A nurse materialized from around the corner. Another tech arrived with a rolling cart and waved
My blood might be rare, but it wasn’t special. It couldn’t turn back time. It couldn’t stop what had already happened.But maybe—just maybe—it could give him one more shot.She placed the items beside me on a tray and looked at me carefully. "It’s wonderful of you to do this for that boy."My voice
ELENAWhen Derek finally emerged back into the waiting room, my breath caught in my throat.He looked pale. Worn. His shirt was wrinkled, his sleeve rolled halfway up, and there was a small bandage on the inside of his arm. But it wasn’t just his appearance that stopped me—it was his silence.I stoo
“I’ve never felt this helpless before,” I said.“I know,” she replied. Her voice was soft. “But even when he’s healthy, it’s not easy.”I turned to look at her.“They say that to have a child is to take your heart from your body and watch it walk away.”Her words hung in the air, quiet and full of a
ELENAI paced outside the hospital, one hand pressed to my forehead as the other gripped my phone so tightly I thought it might crack.The air outside was thick with humidity, the kind that clung to your skin and refused to let go. Somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed.The night should have bee
DEREKSix and a Half Years AgoThe safehouse was barely more than a converted hunting cabin tucked into the edge of the preserve—far enough from Silverclaw territory to avoid suspicion, but close enough that I could keep watch without losing sleep.I hadn’t planned on bringing her here. Hell, I hadn
Her hands were doing the same thing to me. Her fingers, long and efficient, were burning their way over my body. I imagined them leaving afterimages, like traces of light.I bent down to kiss a scar that ran through her eyebrow and then slid my teeth to the seashell curve of her ear. She moaned soft
DEREKThe sun was hovering just above the trees, and the cocktail hour had rounded out with a glass of celebratory champagne. Paper lanterns swayed overhead like little glowing moons, casting halos of light over the crowd.Music filtered in from the edges of the lawn—strings and flutes now giving wa
What the hell?A rustle of silk signaled my mother’s approach. She held a flute of sparkling wine and wore an amused expression.“He’s taken to Aiden, hasn’t he?” my mother asked, her tone deceptively casual as she sipped from her glass. She nodded discreetly toward Derek.We stood slightly apart fr
DEREKThe phone buzzed on the desk beside me, cutting through the quiet of my office. I reached for it absently, expecting Joe or maybe Brock with an update. But the name on the screen made me sit up straighter.Aiden.I answered immediately. “Hey, bud.”“Hi!” His voice was bright, bubbling with ene
My parents had pulled out all the stops. White-gloved servers, silver candelabras, a string quartet in the corner playing soft music. It was the kind of dinner that only happened when my mother was trying to impress—or intimidate.I spotted the way Erin's eyes flicked over the crystal glasses, the w
ELENAThe soft hum of Dr. Voss’s voice was like a current running under my skin—steady, focused, grounding. I let myself sink into it, the earthy scent of burning herbs drifting from the brass bowl on the table beside me. My hands were clenched in my lap, but my breathing had evened out, and my mind
For the first time, I didn’t follow her.Didn’t chase.Didn’t apologize.But I didn’t forget, either.And some part of me always carried that moment—like a shard of glass pressed into the soft part of my palm.***I found Cassandra in the solarium, stretched out on the chaise in a pale silk robe tha
DEREKI remember the exact moment my father died.Not when I found out—when it happened. I didn’t know then, of course, but looking back, there was a sudden weight that settled in the air that day, like the wind itself knew something had shifted.Something in the bond between us snapped.We were out
Still, watching Aiden throw his head back in joy as he sped around the rose bushes, hair flying behind him and helmet finally strapped tight—I couldn’t deny the truth of what I’d said.Derek had done something for him today that I never could have.And it mattered.Derek stayed quiet, the gravity of
ELENAI hadn’t expected it to hit me like that.Watching Derek teach Aiden to ride his bike… I don’t know. It gutted me in a way I wasn’t prepared for. Not because it hurt, but because it was right. The way Aiden beamed up at him.The way Derek knelt beside him, patient and calm, catching him every