DEREKCassandra’s father, Alpha Bruce Laurent of the Eastern Ridge Pack, was the kind of man who didn’t believe in personal space or indoor voices. He had a laugh like an avalanche and a handshake that could fracture bone. We were only two courses into dinner and already I was counting the minutes u
ELENAThe hallway roared around me—screams and the thunder of boots echoing off polished stone as Logan yanked me after him, his grip vice-tight around my wrist. My high heels slid and stuttered over the rubble that had spilled out of the restaurant, and the air around us smelled like smoke.And bl
I stood there, panting, chest heaving.“Elena!”I turned.A copper-furred wolf with slitted eyes was snarling in my direction. For one insane moment, I thought it was Nox.Then I saw him.A monstrous black wolf tore through the wreckage like a storm given flesh, his coat so dark it drank in the ligh
DEREKThe world narrowed to teeth and fury.Erebus was in control now—no hesitation, no strategy, just raw instinct. He tore through the rogues with savage efficiency, blood and fur flying, jaws snapping, claws ripping. This wasn’t the ballroom. This wasn’t ceremony or restraint.This was war.And E
ELENAShifting was always strange. Like being peeled apart and stitched back together, breathless and brimming with something ancient.And then I was Nox.The world changed. Light fractured sharper. Sounds layered in ways the human ear could never catch. I could hear Derek’s heartbeat hammering in h
DEREKThe moment the emergency response teams cleared the worst of the wreckage, the adrenaline began to fade—and reality set in.The Alliance Summit had been attacked. Not just disrupted. Not just interrupted. Attacked.Bombs, blood, death. Alphas injured. Lunas crying. Warriors dead. I had bruise
A few words, murmurs from the crowd. I let them settle.“This was guerrilla warfare,” I said. “A tactic used for centuries by smaller, less-equipped enemies to strike fear into more powerful ones. They use the shadows. They bait and bleed. They think fear is our weakness.”I looked at the Alphas bes
ELENAThe scent of smoke still lingered in the hallways, clinging to the stone like a memory that wouldn’t wash clean. No matter how many air purifiers buzzed or how many cleaning crews had been rotated in and out overnight, the Summit venue still felt scorched. Haunted.My boots echoed softly again
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