Mia shuddered. Her eyes were still fixed on the spot where, seconds before, her father had been standing, talking to her in a calm, firm voice. Now, in the same place, there was a huge black wolf with golden eyes. On the floor, Owen's clothes were torn to shreds, as if they had been ripped from his body by the transformation. There was no blood. Nothing violent. And, strangely, she hadn't even blinked.Her mind was spinning frantically.“It's not possible,” she thought. ”I didn't blink. I didn't close my eyes. He... he just turned into a wolf.”The wolf let out a low moan, almost a sound of pain, but not of suffering - it was more like a plea for calm, for understanding. Then he lay down on the ground, his chest rising and falling slowly, his eyes fixed on her. There was so much emotion in that look that Mia found it hard to breathe.Her reason told her that she should scream, run out of there as fast as possible, go back into the house and lock all the doors. But instead, Mia stood t
Mia remained outside, standing on the wooden deck, as if she were rooted there. The night wind caressed her hair, bringing with it the earthy smell of the forest and the damp chill of the early morning. For a moment, she just lifted her face to the sky.The moon shone high and full, surrounded by thousands of stars that sparkled like diamonds scattered across the vast black carpet. It was so different from the city sky she knew... so immense, so alive, that for an instant she could almost forget the crushing weight of reality.But only for an instant.Silent tears began to slide down her face, falling hot onto her cold skin. Tears of fear, of frustration, of overwhelming confusion. She wiped the sleeve of her blouse across her face, trying to keep them away, but they continued to flow, as if her soul was overflowing.“I don't want this...” she whispered to herself, but the night took her words away like smoke.When she lowered her gaze back to the forest ahead, her body froze. Between
From Nolan's point of view...Earlier that same day, the sun had not yet reached the highest point in the sky when Nolan ran through the forest, the paws of his lupine form touching the soft earth with lethal precision. The wind nipped at his muzzle, carrying with it the scents of the dense, damp forest, but he wasn't running alone. His most loyal friends accompanied him closely: Tiago, his future beta, Fredi, who would take on the role of gamma, and Diana, Fredi's sister, the brown-haired she-wolf with rare white spots that caught everyone's eye.Diana was always with them. It was natural, almost expected. Ever since they were teenagers, she had run alongside Nolan, not just because she was strong - and indeed, she was one of the most powerful wolves the pack had ever seen - but because she dreamed of a future alongside him. She couldn't hide from anyone that she wanted to be mated to Nolan, the future alpha, the direct heir of royal blood.And Nolan? He didn't discourage her. On the
The smell was like a punch in the stomach. An explosion of sensations invaded Nolan's body the moment the aroma hit his nostrils. Strawberry, chocolate, mint and forest - sweet, fresh and wild at the same time. Thunder, his inner wolf, roared in his mind, driven mad by the scent trail. He tried to resist, tried to hold on to control, but it was like trying to contain a hurricane with his bare hands.“No!” shouted Nolan inside his own head, trying to contain the wolf. “Not now! This can't be happening.”But Thunder was beside himself, scratching the earth furiously, as if he could open a hole and materialize right at the source of that smell. Nolan knew where they were going. He knew that path, every tree, every branch. The trail led straight to Owen's house.A knot formed in his throat.The house of the man he called uncle. His father's best friend. Owen, the former alpha who had been destroyed by a human. And that morning, Nolan had heard the buzz going through the pack link - Owen's
The heavy silence that followed the girl's fall was like muted thunder, but Nolan used the mental link, forcing himself to hold back the wave of emotions that consumed him. His wolf was still on high alert, his paws firmly on the ground, his chest heaving with tension and the scent of her blood hanging in the air. Even so, his mental voice echoed firmly in the link between him and Owen:“She got scared, Owen. That's all. We were walking past the house, she saw us and ran. I just followed to see if she was all right.”Owen kept his gaze fixed on Nolan, still between his daughter and the wolf, but answered through the same channel, his voice resonating with a tone more cold than furious:“You almost touched her, Nolan. That's not just 'making sure she's okay'. But... I understand.”Mia, still scared, still silent beside her father, her curious gaze resting on Nolan, but there was no longer fear in her eyes, but something deeper. A subtle, inexplicable connection, as if she felt the bond
Night fell heavily on the small town in the Colorado countryside. The cold wind whispered between the deserted streets, where only a few streetlamps struggled against the darkness, casting wavering shadows on the facades of the old wooden houses. The clock on the church tower ticked over two in the morning, and the town seemed plunged into a deep, undisturbed sleep.On the edge of town, a remote house, almost swallowed up by the forest, stood in silence. The windows were dark, except for a single room where the pale light of the moon came in shyly through the ajar curtain. There, in the middle of a hand-carved wooden cradle, a little girl with snow-white hair slept peacefully. Her serene face contrasted with the restless night outside. She was only three years old and her name was Mia.Suddenly, the silence was shattered. The bedroom door burst open with a bang and a woman rushed in, her face filled with urgency. Elisa, Mia's mother, moved with desperation, her eyes scanning the room
The cold Chicago wind howled outside, rattling the fragile windows of the ramshackle house on the outskirts of the city. The neighborhood was made up of narrow streets full of cracks, decrepit houses that always seemed on the verge of falling apart. The asphalt was dotted with puddles of dirty water, and the streetlights flickered as if they were going to go out at any moment. Inside one of the rooms of the house forgotten by time, a young woman stared at her reflection in the cracked mirror, her silver eyes filled with uncertainty.Mia sighed. Her platinum white hair fell loosely down her back, contrasting with her pale, smooth skin. Her curvaceous body, full breasts and slim waist were evidence of her transition into adulthood, but even so, something about her always seemed out of place. Her plump, inviting mouth curved into an expression of discontent. Why did she feel so out of place? Why did she always feel like she didn't belong anywhere? She wanted to see herself as a normal gi
Friday morning dawned cold and gray in Chicago. The sky seemed to be covered in a thick blanket of heavy clouds, and a fine mist drifted through the streets, making the atmosphere even more melancholy. Mia woke up feeling a heaviness in her chest, a strange sensation that something was about to happen. She couldn't explain it, but a shiver ran down her spine when she opened her eyes. Perhaps it was just nerves, after all, this was a special day.Trying to ignore the bad feeling, Mia got out of bed and walked to the closet. Her best outfit had been sorted since the night before: black jeans and a wool sweater in the same color. It was cold and she didn't want to risk spending the afternoon shivering. She tied her long white hair into a high ponytail, leaving a few strands loose around her face. Mia didn't usually bother with make-up, but that day she decided to apply a little mascara and a discreet gloss to her lips. She didn't want to look overdressed, but she didn't want to look comp
The heavy silence that followed the girl's fall was like muted thunder, but Nolan used the mental link, forcing himself to hold back the wave of emotions that consumed him. His wolf was still on high alert, his paws firmly on the ground, his chest heaving with tension and the scent of her blood hanging in the air. Even so, his mental voice echoed firmly in the link between him and Owen:“She got scared, Owen. That's all. We were walking past the house, she saw us and ran. I just followed to see if she was all right.”Owen kept his gaze fixed on Nolan, still between his daughter and the wolf, but answered through the same channel, his voice resonating with a tone more cold than furious:“You almost touched her, Nolan. That's not just 'making sure she's okay'. But... I understand.”Mia, still scared, still silent beside her father, her curious gaze resting on Nolan, but there was no longer fear in her eyes, but something deeper. A subtle, inexplicable connection, as if she felt the bond
The smell was like a punch in the stomach. An explosion of sensations invaded Nolan's body the moment the aroma hit his nostrils. Strawberry, chocolate, mint and forest - sweet, fresh and wild at the same time. Thunder, his inner wolf, roared in his mind, driven mad by the scent trail. He tried to resist, tried to hold on to control, but it was like trying to contain a hurricane with his bare hands.“No!” shouted Nolan inside his own head, trying to contain the wolf. “Not now! This can't be happening.”But Thunder was beside himself, scratching the earth furiously, as if he could open a hole and materialize right at the source of that smell. Nolan knew where they were going. He knew that path, every tree, every branch. The trail led straight to Owen's house.A knot formed in his throat.The house of the man he called uncle. His father's best friend. Owen, the former alpha who had been destroyed by a human. And that morning, Nolan had heard the buzz going through the pack link - Owen's
From Nolan's point of view...Earlier that same day, the sun had not yet reached the highest point in the sky when Nolan ran through the forest, the paws of his lupine form touching the soft earth with lethal precision. The wind nipped at his muzzle, carrying with it the scents of the dense, damp forest, but he wasn't running alone. His most loyal friends accompanied him closely: Tiago, his future beta, Fredi, who would take on the role of gamma, and Diana, Fredi's sister, the brown-haired she-wolf with rare white spots that caught everyone's eye.Diana was always with them. It was natural, almost expected. Ever since they were teenagers, she had run alongside Nolan, not just because she was strong - and indeed, she was one of the most powerful wolves the pack had ever seen - but because she dreamed of a future alongside him. She couldn't hide from anyone that she wanted to be mated to Nolan, the future alpha, the direct heir of royal blood.And Nolan? He didn't discourage her. On the
Mia remained outside, standing on the wooden deck, as if she were rooted there. The night wind caressed her hair, bringing with it the earthy smell of the forest and the damp chill of the early morning. For a moment, she just lifted her face to the sky.The moon shone high and full, surrounded by thousands of stars that sparkled like diamonds scattered across the vast black carpet. It was so different from the city sky she knew... so immense, so alive, that for an instant she could almost forget the crushing weight of reality.But only for an instant.Silent tears began to slide down her face, falling hot onto her cold skin. Tears of fear, of frustration, of overwhelming confusion. She wiped the sleeve of her blouse across her face, trying to keep them away, but they continued to flow, as if her soul was overflowing.“I don't want this...” she whispered to herself, but the night took her words away like smoke.When she lowered her gaze back to the forest ahead, her body froze. Between
Mia shuddered. Her eyes were still fixed on the spot where, seconds before, her father had been standing, talking to her in a calm, firm voice. Now, in the same place, there was a huge black wolf with golden eyes. On the floor, Owen's clothes were torn to shreds, as if they had been ripped from his body by the transformation. There was no blood. Nothing violent. And, strangely, she hadn't even blinked.Her mind was spinning frantically.“It's not possible,” she thought. ”I didn't blink. I didn't close my eyes. He... he just turned into a wolf.”The wolf let out a low moan, almost a sound of pain, but not of suffering - it was more like a plea for calm, for understanding. Then he lay down on the ground, his chest rising and falling slowly, his eyes fixed on her. There was so much emotion in that look that Mia found it hard to breathe.Her reason told her that she should scream, run out of there as fast as possible, go back into the house and lock all the doors. But instead, Mia stood t
When Mia opened her eyes, it took her a few seconds to understand where she was. The high, white ceiling was unlike anything she had ever known. The bed was gigantic, soft, and the Egyptian cotton sheets caressed her skin like a gentle breeze. As he tried to move, he noticed that his right leg was bandaged, but curiously, it no longer hurt.Carefully, he sat down on the king-size bed, allowing himself to look around more carefully. The room was a spectacle of elegance and serenity: neutral tones dominated the room, including whites, beiges and subtle touches of gold. The translucent curtains swayed gently in the morning wind, and the light wood furniture was impeccably finished. Everything there looked like it had come out of a decorating magazine.Curious, Mia stood up and began to explore the room. When she opened one of the doors discreetly built into the wall, she stumbled upon a huge closet - so big that it could easily fit all the furniture in her old bedroom. She laughed to he
The silence between father and daughter still hung thick in the air, even after the hug. It was as if they were both digesting something sacred, almost unreal. Owen kept his arms around Mia, as if the simple act of releasing her could make her disappear. Mia, for her part, leaned her cheek against his chest, listening to the sound of her father's heart - a sound that somehow now seemed familiar.It was at that moment that Elisa took a step forward.Her throat tightened. Her eyes shone with contained emotion, and her hand rested gently on her chest as if to stop her heart from exploding.“Owen, I...”She stopped. The name had come out hesitantly, broken by the weight of the past. By everything that had yet to be said. Her eyes then slid from Owen to Mia. Mia was now watching her with a mixture of curiosity and alertness. Elisa took a deep breath and decided to speak directly to her daughter.“Mia, I wanted you to know that I'm sorry. Really sorry. I know you matter. That you always hav
Owen was standing on the threshold of the back door, his eyes fixed on Elisa. There was a storm of emotion in that gaze, an intensity that couldn't be disguised even by the firm expression he tried to maintain. Mia realized it immediately. It wasn't just anger or surprise. It was something much deeper and more complicated.She saw pain.She saw anger.She saw longing.And, above all, she saw love.“Wow... he still loves Mom,” thought Mia, surprised by the clarity of that realization.She turned her face slowly to look at Elisa and realized, with a squeezed heart, that her mother was completely caught in Owen's gaze. As if the years had evaporated and she was once again a passionate, vulnerable young woman. That expression on Elisa's face was of someone who still carried a deep, hidden love, perhaps denied for too long.Mia snorted internally.“So much for my hopes of him kicking us back home,” she thought bitterly. She knew she was being sarcastic, but she couldn't be any different in
Mia stared out of the car window, her hands sweating and her stomach churning. An insistent little voice whispered in her mind, almost inaudible, but persistent: What if it's all true? That place lost on the map, that hostile woman who seemed to sniff out secrets, the way everyone silently obeyed - it all seemed like something out of a nightmare, or worse, a fantastic tale that had decided to take on a life of its own.Startled, she turned around and pulled her backpack from the back seat. She unzipped it with trembling hands and rummaged around inside until she found a small silver tube. It was the pepper spray her grandfather had given her before a school trip. At the time, Mia had thought it was overkill, but now... now she swore she would empty the entire contents into the eyes of the first person who came too close to her neck. None of it made sense, and the less sense it made, the more dangerous it seemed.Elisa drove in silence along the little road surrounded by tall pine tree