LOGINI stare down at Winter's naked body, my hands trembling with the need to touch. She's laid out beneath me on a bed of soft moss, her creamy skin glistening with sweat and desire. The primal urge to claim her, to make her mine, burns hot in my veins.But I can't. Not yet. There are secrets I keep, truths I haven't told her - that she's my fated mate, bound to me for eternity. That the beast within demands I mark her, sinking my teeth into her delicate flesh and sealing our bond forever.So I hold back, even as every fiber of my being screams at me to take her, to fill her with my seed and watch it take root in her belly. My cock throbs, hard and aching, the tip already slick with pre-cum."Please, Tyron," Winter whimpers, arching her back to press her breasts against my chest. "I need you inside me. I need to feel you filling me up."Her words nearly break me. I can smell her arousal, sweet and musky, calling to me like a siren's song. With a growl, I claim her mouth in a searing kiss,
I find her where I knew she’d go.The old balcony on the east side of the pack house, half-hidden by ivy and shadow, overlooking the forest line. It’s quiet here. The kind of quiet that presses in on you if you let it. Winter is leaning against the stone railing, arms folded tight around herself like she’s holding something together that wants to come apart.She doesn’t turn when I step out.Of course she knows I’m here.She always does.“You left fast,” I say.My voice sounds steadier than I feel.She exhales slowly. “I needed air.”I move closer, resting my forearms on the railing beside her, close enough to feel her warmth but not touching. Not yet. I follow her gaze into the trees, the moonlight spilling silver through the leaves.“They’re settling in,” I say quietly. “My mother. My sister.”“And Isla,” she adds.There it is.The name lands between us like a blade laid carefully on the table.“Yes,” I say. “And Isla.”She turns then, finally, eyes sharp but tired. “You didn’t tell
“Guards, escort the strangers to the investigation room,” Alpha Zander commands, his voice sharp and absolute.“Wait, Dad!” Winter steps forward quickly. “Why are they being taken to the investigation room? These people are clearly Tyron’s relatives,and there’s a little girl among them.” She lowers her voice at the last part, glaring at him.Fuck.I love that girl.WaitWhat?Did I just say I loved her?Nope.That had to be a slip of the mind.Except my heart doesn’t disagree.And my wolf agrees a little too eagerly.“Winter,” Alpha Zander says calmly, “they may be his relatives, but we can’t trust anyone right now. Especially not at a time like this. Safety comes first.”“I know, Dad,” Winter insists. “Mom, reason with him, please. Look at them,they’re exhausted. And there’s a baby.”“Winter, the safety of the pack is my priority,” Zander replies firmly. “I can’t allow them into my territory without a thorough investigation.”“Zander,” Luna Serene says gently, “I think Winter is righ
Winter's POV The air shifts.I feel it before anyone else notices.It’s the same way I feel storms coming before the first cloud appears. The same way the earth hums differently before a quake. Something is wrong in the atmosphere. Something is bending.Tyron is holding his mother now.His body is stiff at first , like muscle memory has to kick in, like he doesn’t remember how to be the boy she’s crying for , then his arms come around her and everything in his chest caves in.I see it in the way his jaw tightens.The way his eyes squeeze shut.That isn’t just relief.That’s pain that’s been buried so deep it doesn’t know the way out.My hand slowly lowers from his arm as she hugs him, but my body doesn’t move. I stay right there, close enough to feel his heat, close enough to feel the tremor running through him.Then I look at her.At his sister, Lynn.And thenMy eyes drop to the bundle in the other woman’s arms.The baby.The world narrows to that small shape wrapped in cloth.The
I rushed toward my mother, my heart slamming so hard against my ribs it actually hurt.What are they doing here?How the hell are they here?Is my father with them?Is this part of his plan? Is he stupid enough to bring them into enemy territory where they could be slaughtered on sight?“Oh, my baby boy,” Mama wailed as soon as she saw me, stumbling forward with tears on her face.The guards snapped into action, stepping in front of her instantly, blocking her path with their spears.My wolf exploded inside me, furious, protective, a storm trying to rip outward.“Hey!” I snarled, stepping in front of them, my voice vibrating with threat. “Don’t be harsh with her. She’s my mother!”A ripple of gasps sounded behind me.Damn it. I forgot Winter and her family were all standing there. I forgot where I was. I forgot whose land this was.“What…?” Winter whispered, her voice barely audible behind me.I closed my eyes for half a second, dragging in a breath through clenched teeth.I didn’t ev
Tyron POVThe dawn was cold and sharp, the way it always was before a storm. I had been awake for hours, sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the floor, listening to the house breathe around me. My wolf prowled at my feet, restless, sensing the tension in the air, sensing my heartbeat thrumming like a war drum.I couldn’t tell Winter,not yet. I couldn’t say the words out loud. She would have protested, begged me to stay, tried to stop me, and I wouldn’t allow it. Not when the risk was this high. Not when I finally understood the full weight of what my father was planning. Augustus,my father, the Beta, the man who had built this chain of fire I was chained to,was moving his pieces. He had already set the attack in motion. And I couldn’t let Winter pay the price for a war I had unknowingly unlocked.I had spent the night mapping my escape, calculating every variable, every possible reaction. The spell she had bound me with,intended to anchor me to the pack,was clever, but it had a







