I wouldn’t fall.I crawled. I growled. I bled into the moss.And then, out of nowhere, the air changed. A new sound cracked through the woods.Thwack.The rogue in front of me dropped, his body jerking sideways like something yanked the life out of him. An arrow jutted from his spine.Another turned
DEREKThe air was too still.I sat in the backseat of the SUV, my fingers drumming absently on the leather armrest, eyes fixed on the tree line rolling past the window. Too quiet. Too green. Too ordinary. The kind of quiet that gnawed at the back of your neck, whispering that something was wrong.Jo
ELENAWeddings were supposed to be joyful. Uplifting. Not nerve-wracking and vaguely horrifying.I adjusted Aiden’s little bow tie for the third time as he stood in the staging room just off the chapel’s main aisle, looking far too calm for someone about to be paraded in front of a hundred people. M
ELENAI couldn’t breathe.Dawn was grinning like she’d just won the lottery. Aiden was bouncing beside her, clapping like it was the best day of his life.And the bouquet?Firmly in my hands.The damn thing had sailed through the air like it had a tracker locked onto my scent and landed squarely aga
DEREKI could still feel her.It was maddening—how her scent clung to my skin like a phantom, how the weight of her hand in mine lingered long after the music stopped. Even now, in the still quiet of my bedroom, I could feel the way her fingers had curled instinctively around mine during that slow,
DEREKI straightened my tie in the mirrored window, adjusting the knot for the third time even though it hadn’t moved. The glass reflected a version of myself I recognized—groomed, composed, steady. But on the inside? I was coiled wire.Elena stood nearby, quiet, trying to keep her breathing steady.
CASSANDRAI sat curled up in one of the velvet chairs in my father’s study, legs tucked beneath me, the rim of my wine glass resting lightly against my bottom lip. The press conference played across the flat screen mounted above the fireplace, illuminating the room in hues of blue and gold.I twirle
“You leaked it,” he said.Not a question. A fact.I set the wine glass on the table beside me, forced a shrug, and leaned back in the chair, feigning nonchalance. “Honestly, it’s not like that secret was going to stay buried forever. So to speak.”“You could’ve gotten her killed,” he growled. “You c
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
Still nothing.“A good friend of mine was hurt. She saved my life a long time ago, and I thought she needed me.”I paused.“But even if that’s true… I didn’t handle it right. And I want you to know—I get it. I let you down.”Aiden was quiet for a long time.Then, softly: “I think the meatballs weren
DEREKI’d never felt more nervous about knocking on a door in my life.And that included negotiating with rival Alphas and walking into rogue territory with a barely-functioning truce.This was worse.Because this was Aiden.Because I’d let him down.Elena opened the front door of the Moonstone esta
“Mason is blinded by love,” he muttered. “He’s not going to see sense or reason. Even if I backed it up with evidence.”I blinked. “Evidence?”He hesitated. Sighed. “Alpha Derek found documents while investigating Pierce. Moonstone correspondence. Reports. Internal logistics. It was part of what led