NixxHer tone was urgent as she spoke, “We need to discuss Percival’s situation. The pack is abuzz with aggressive males talking about challenging him before his trial for Darius’s death. I know this is abrupt, but Alpha and Luna, we must address this immediately. I understand you are still grieving, but this matter is serious. We cannot predict when the challenges will arise, so I have stationed guards outside the clinic for now.” Her gaze flickered to William, who seemed to be grappling with her determined stance.“How did she manage that without an Alpha’s order?” I wondered, amazed at her authority.William and Annabel exchanged worried glances, their concern evident. William faced Mirabelle’s unwavering gaze, his frustration apparent. “Mirabelle, with all due respect, I’ve got this,” he said, his voice taut with strain. “I will handle it in my own time. We are going through an incredibly difficult period—mourning our son and dealing with our other child’s close call. We are griev
Nixx“You jerk!” Annabel shouted, her voice cracking as she slapped him hard across the face. “You knew about this all along? And you never bothered to tell me? Now you expect me to believe that my son might face trial and possibly the death penalty because of it?”William stood up, his face flushed from the sting of her slap. He gripped her wrists, his frustration boiling over. “And what do you think you would have done, huh, Penny? It would have been devastating for you, just like it was for me! Discovering that my own son was capable of such heinous acts? You wouldn’t have said a word, out of fear that he would face the death penalty!” His voice was raw with emotion as Annabel crumbled into his arms, her tears soaking into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, his wolf’s instinct to comfort her mirroring the way my father had held my mother.“Hey, Annabel,” Mirabelle said softly, her tone soothing despite the gravity of her words. “You unknowingly aided Darius in his escape, b
After a couple of weeks ConorThe sky looked incredibly blue today, that vivid shade of blue when there isn’t a single cloud in sight. The sun was shining brightly, and for a moment, I almost forgot it was autumn. The trees stood nearly bare, their roots covered in a blanket of dried, crisp leaves scattered by the wind.A gentle breeze swept by, ruffling my hair. The weather was perfect—cool but not chilly. I took a deep breath, enjoying the calm of the moment. "It’s a great day to train my warrior wolf," I thought, feeling a surge of anticipation rise in me.Well, calling her a warrior might still be a little premature. She was still in training, after all. But she had the spirit—strong and relentless, even if her body hadn’t quite caught up yet. I had promised to help her, to push her to her limits. Every day, I made sure her muscles burned, worked to the point where she couldn’t even think about giving in to her emotions.Not that she wasn’t tough. She was—more than most. Like tit
Conor"Conor," she groaned, wiping her forehead. "When do we actually get to the fighting part? I mean, this training every day is starting to wear me out."I glanced over at her, noticing how her chest heaved with each breath, the light catching the sweat on her face. For a split second, she reminded me of someone else—someone from the past. "You can’t fight effectively until your body’s built the strength and speed needed to deliver powerful blows and dodge attacks. You need endurance, agility… fluidity. You’ve improved a lot, but I want you to move like water." I gave her a pointed look, trying to keep my amusement in check. She always got so annoyed when I critiqued her form.She rolled her eyes, wiping away more sweat as her hair curled damply around her neck. There was a hint of defiance in her gaze. "Yeah, I get it. I should be able to fight just as well in my human form as I can in my wolf form."A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. "And why’s that?"She let out an exasp
ConorHer voice trailed off, and she stared into the distance, lost in thought. I could see how much this was eating at her—how torn she was between anger and sadness, between justice and regret. I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, offering what little comfort I could. She didn’t need to figure it all out right now. I was here. And we would take it one step at a time.I really didn’t want to say it, but I felt like I had to be honest with her—even if it meant possibly improving Percival's situation. Shifting my weight, I let out a sigh, the discomfort clear in my voice. "Look, as an Alpha, I know our wolves are stronger. It’s like the alpha bloodline gives us a supercharged wolf. But Percival? He just... doesn’t seem to have that same power in his human side. I’ve seen it firsthand—when an Alpha blood male has a pup on the way, it drives him crazy with paternal hormones. So when you told me your wolf had those urges to kill his pup, and Percival could see those images i
ConorWhen someone thinks they are good at something, seeing someone better makes them fight harder.I watched as the others made room for Edeline to step into the circle. My crew had already started treating her like one of their own, but there was still that unspoken rule: she had to earn her place, same as everyone else. Here, nothing was handed out for free.Our pack was different from her old one. We were not hung up on appearances or status. We followed the wolf’s instinct, kept it simple. That was how it should be. William’s pack? Always caught up in human drama. His males were softer, less aggressive than mine, and his females, well... they were not exactly warm either. But there was something they all seemed to notice about Edeline, even from the beginning. They recognized her strength. It was not just in her beta blood, it was in her whole presence.I was about to let her unleash that power.As I approached my general by the arena, the air shifted. Everyone paused, eyes on m
EdelineHis teachings are sharp, like the pain, but I still feel like I’m falling short. Almost there, but not quite. There is still such a long road ahead of me before I can call myself a warrior.Alexa was quite the fighter, even though she was still new to this. For about fifteen minutes, we went back and forth. At first, we were just circling each other, sizing each other up. I sat back, patiently waiting for her to make the first move. And she did—throwing a punch my way. I dodged it, countering with a jab aimed at her stomach. But before I knew it, she had me pinned to the ground.It turned into a full-on power struggle. She was on top, but I managed to toss her over my head. Quickly, I straddled her and started landing a series of punches to her face. She was fast, though, picking up speed and turning the tables. We were back on our feet, and I could feel my wolf starting to emerge, pushing me to fight harder. Shoving her away was no easy feat, but I managed it.They rely heavi
Edeline“Huh? I’ll be good as new tomorrow. I mean, I’m a wolf after all. Just need to sleep it off, and I’ll be back in action,” I tried to reassure him while he started preparing to tape up my ribs.Conor remained silent as he worked. I did my best to stay composed, but I couldn’t help throwing my head back in discomfort. “Oh no! Conor!”I could almost feel him laughing softly. With my eyes tightly shut, I waited patiently as he finished taping me up, nervously biting my lip. His touch lingered a little longer than necessary, a warm contrast against the coolness of my skin.“Alright, I’m finished,” Conor said, clearing his throat and pulling his hands away. I casually put the tape away and rolled my shirt back down.“You’re not going to make me do it again, are you?” I asked, catching the look in his eyes.“Whenever you’re ready. It was only for today…” His eyes held a look of understanding. He could tell it had been a tough day, and his approach had kept me so occupied that I hadn’
Percival Edeline’s eyes were locked on me as she marched over, grabbing my forearm and pulling me along with her. The contact felt like fire igniting on my skin. She was fired up—angry, for sure.She dragged me into the equipment shed, out of sight, and then—wham!—she whacked me right in the eye.I let out a low growl and slowly turned my face back to hers. Anger radiated off her as she raised her other hand, ready to swing at me again. I managed to grab her wrist before she could land another hit, squeezing gently around her slim wrist. “What the heck, Edeline?!” I exclaimed, my lip curling to reveal my fang. Low warning growls rumbled from my chest. The wolf inside me was not thrilled, but at least she appreciated that this wasn’t happening in front of the pack. Don’t mess with my authority.“Hey! Did you give that girl false hope or what? I know you have not hooked up with her because I would have sensed it!” Her nose wrinkled, eyes blazing with fury. Then, I caught a scent from
Percival Promoting her to lead female warrior might not have been the best decision after all. She was my top fighter, having trained hard before I stepped in, but now I was left questioning my judgment. We didn’t have an expert on board yet, and Jazz’s ambition made me wary.She tucked a loose, curly strand behind her ear, looking up at me with her big green eyes, her skin a lovely shade of creamed coffee. She was undeniably pretty, but just not my type. “Hey, Percival... what if we tried something different with the ladies?” She edged closer, taking a deep breath as if to check out my scent.It might sound wild, but the night before last, after showering and snuggling up in bed with Edeline, I had rubbed against her, soaking in her scent. Waking up without her made me skip a shower yesterday—or maybe even today. I just wanted to hold onto that connection a little longer. Jazz caught a whiff of Edeline’s scent, and her eyebrows shot up.“Hey, is Edeline back?” she asked, her voice
Edeline“I totally get it, Nixx. It is something else. Really special. I see what you mean.” My gaze drifted to his cuffs, curiosity piquing as I furrowed my brow. “Have you been a bit risky? What does your world do to people?” I tilted my head, observing the way he passed the bracelet back to me, unable to take his eyes off it.“My wolf is stronger, you know? Sometimes I just cannot control him and end up lashing out at people who get on my nerves. Percival dealt with the same stuff. He wants to help me train like Gaspar did for him, but all I can think about is Tatiana and the pup I lost. It is tough.” A wave of sadness washed over him, dimming the light in his eyes.“Nixx,” I sighed, “why are you still hung up on losing the pup? Mirabelle was only a few months along, right? You never even met him, and you can have pups with your real mate. You could not have had both. Tatiana would have been jealous of you and him. Trust me, I get it. Tatiana is a beta, and her wolf would have want
EdelineHe really needed his not-so-little sister. I would hit him up first, and then maybe I would finally have the guts to talk to Percival about everything. After some tough training, of course. It had been a few days since I had a solid training session. Muscle disappears faster than it builds up, and I really hoped that did not happen. If I wanted to keep being the warrior I had turned into, I had to stay on top of my stamina. But I was not sure my buddy would let me train, especially since my heat was just around the corner, and my scent was driving everyone wild. I had to remember to grab my tea after I hopped out of the shower. As I walked in the front door of my parents’ place, the cozy scent of clove hit me, pulling me back into sweet memories. I could not help but think about what might happen during this heat. The last one just did not do it for me. Did I even want him to help me out this time? Or would I just prefer to be out of it for that? I figured the latter was
EdelineI stared down at our hands, chewing on his words. He might have a point. When I left and went to Conrad’s place, I told myself I was moving on. I threw myself into letting it all go—this life, these people, everything. But once I got some space, the wolves around me nudged me toward the truth. They made me confront my feelings about Percival, especially after I caught myself feeling jealous over him. He was just my friend, nothing more, but still... I had to deal with that. But Darius? I buried that pain deep and left it to rot. Never talked about him, never thought about him for too long. I got stronger, yeah. But I didn’t heal. Not really. And that’s why I’m still stuck. I turned my head toward William, blinking back the sting in my eyes. “How am I supposed to feel about him?” My voice cracked, and I felt my throat tighten again. “Look at what he did.” I swallowed hard, trying to keep it together, but the words dragged me down, making my chest feel heavy. “How am I s
EdelineI never really hated Percival before that. He had done some stuff, sure—but it never made me hate him. Not until that night. That night, I hated him more than anything. My wolf hated him too. My skin side—yeah, she wanted revenge just as bad. But then the truth hit me. Darius was the monster. Not Percival. I spent all of yesterday lying around, trying to make sense of everything. Today, I thought maybe a walk would help me clear my head, so I came here. To the waterfall—the spot I loved the most. And now, here I am. Staring at his grave. Why here? Why did they bury him here of all places? Not in the pack’s graveyard, where the rest of them are. No—right here, beneath the tree that used to be ours. Our spot. My throat tightened, and the tears started before I could stop them. My heart felt like someone had tied a rope around it and was pulling it tighter and tighter. I reached out, tracing his name on the headstone with shaky fingers, as if touching the letters wo
PercivalI hoped I didn’t annoy her. I understood she was strong, but my Alpha side just wanted to look out for my mate. I was trying to communicate my feelings through the mate bond, to reassure her I was here for her.The corner of her mouth lifted in a quick smile. "It's all good."Shaking my head, I did what I felt compelled to do. I walked over, scooping her up in my arms. She gasped in surprise as I carried her across the room to the salvaged bed. Her eyes widened, taking in the effort I had made to clean up for her."I’ll grab you something to wear. Your clothes are wrecked." I stifled a laugh as I laid her down on the bed. I missed the feel of her skin against mine, even from that brief moment before I had to let her go to find her a t-shirt and some clean boxers.I had both boxers and boxer briefs, but lately, I definitely preferred the briefs. Guess it was just part of growing up!As I returned to her, Edeline’s gaze was fixed on my bare torso. She looked up at me with that
EdelineI would not run anymore.“Hey, let me wash your back, my little warrior.” His breath brushed against my warm skin, and a rush of desire coursed through me as his deep voice stirred something inside. My breath caught in my throat as I locked eyes with him.“I got this.” I really could not let him get close. It would only make the cramps worse, and the desire was already doing a number on me.He nodded, totally understanding what I was thinking through our connection.As he stood up, I could not help but let my eyes wander over him, pausing at his chiseled abs and then down to his pelvis. Right there in the middle was a thick, four-inch tattoo of an infinity symbol.Mated wolves have this thing where they let anyone who catches a glimpse of their skin below the waist know they have a mate. This tattoo meant a lot. A lump formed in my throat as my eyes began to water. How long had he been dealing with this?It was like he could read my mind—probably because he could. He looked
EdelineHis eyes were no longer filled with wonder; they carried pain and knowledge. Yet, despite it all, those piercing blue eyes had remained the same, shining even brighter against his sun-kissed skin. His hair was longer on top and shorter on the sides, giving him a more polished look.He looked even more handsome now, completely in charge of himself. The way he moved, the way he held himself—it all made me wonder about the changes in him and what had shaped him during our time apart.“You hungry?” His deep voice pulled me back to reality, his eyes locking onto mine.I was still feeling shy, and I wondered why that was.“I’m fine,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady.He nodded and made his way to the door. “I’ll give you some space. I can tell you’re not really feeling it with me around. Just hit me up when you’re ready, and I’ll help you get to bed since you’re not feeling great.” He flashed a sad smile and reached for the doorknob.My heart raced a bit. I really did not