The soft glow of candlelight dances across the white tablecloth at Maison Laurent, casting deceptive warmth over James's familiar features. My fingers tremble around the stem of my wine glass as I try to ignore my buzzing phone. Another message from Callum – the fifth one in the past hour."You always did love their Bordeaux," James says, his voice carrying that same tender note that once made my heart skip. Now it just makes my stomach clench. "Remember our anniversary dinner here?"I take a larger sip than intended, letting the rich wine coat my tongue. "That was a long time ago, James." Too long to matter, I tell myself. Too long to still hurt this much.My phone vibrates again, more insistent this time. I glimpse the words "URGENT - rival pack" before turning the screen face-down. Whatever pack drama Callum's dealing with will have to wait. I need this – need to face my past before I can even think about a future."You look beautiful tonight, Liv." James reaches across the table,
Rain pelted against the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse office, mirroring the turmoil in my heart. The kiss with James haunted me, a constant reminder of my weakness. Every time my phone buzzed with another message from Callum, guilt twisted deeper into my chest like a knife.I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, watching London blur through the downpour. The city lights below wavered like dying stars, distorted by streams of water. Just like my judgment lately. The ghost of James's lips against mine felt like a brand of shame."You've been avoiding him, haven't you?"I whirled around to find Amelia Thornton perched on the edge of my desk, her perfect manicure gleaming as she examined her nails. I hadn't even heard her come in. My heart thundered in my chest – had she somehow learned about the kiss?"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, keeping my voice steady despite the panic rising in my throat.Amelia's lips curved into a predatory smile. "Oh, come now
My heart pounds against my ribs as I press myself against the cold brick wall beside Cartier. Through the pristine windows, diamonds sparkle like trapped stars under carefully arranged lighting, but my attention is fixed on something far more precious – and potentially more devastating. Callum's tall frame bends over a display case, his familiar gesture of running fingers through dark hair betraying his nervousness. The stunning blonde beside him points at various rings, her perfectly manicured nail tapping the glass as she speaks animatedly. Each tap feels like a hammer blow to my chest.The late afternoon sun casts long shadows across Bond Street, but the darkness growing in my heart feels far heavier. I'm intimately familiar with this scene – the secretive meetings, the nervous gestures, the guilty glances. James had worn the same expression when he was shopping for jewelry with his mistress two years ago.*Not again. Please, not again.*My enhanced werewolf hearing picks up fragm
The world exploded into chaos. One moment, I was facing Callum outside the jewelry store, my heart breaking at his perceived betrayal. The next, a mass of gray fur and gleaming fangs erupted from the shadows."Behind me!" Callum shoved me backward, his body already rippling with transformation. The velvet ring box tumbled forgotten to the pavement as his designer suit shredded, giving way to midnight-black fur.My heels caught on the uneven cobblestones as I stumbled away from the melee. The screams of fleeing pedestrians filled the air, but all I could hear was my own thundering heartbeat and the savage snarls of warring wolves.Callum's massive black form tore through two attackers, his jaws snapping with lethal precision. Even in my anger and hurt, I couldn't help but marvel at his raw power. This was the Alpha of London's most powerful pack, and he moved like living shadow, each strike calculated and devastating.But there were too many. Four more wolves slunk from the darkness, t
Rain pelts my broken body as consciousness fades in and out. Each breath is agony, my ribs screaming in protest. Through blurred vision, I see Callum's face above me, his features twisted in anguish. Blood—my blood—mingles with rainwater on the cobblestones beneath me."Stay with me, Olivia," he pleads, his voice breaking. "Please, just stay with me."I try to speak, but only manage a wet cough. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. Somewhere in the distance, sirens wail. The sounds seem to come from underwater, growing fainter with each passing second.Memories flash before my eyes like a broken film reel. The jewelry store window. The blonde woman beside Callum. My accusations thrown like daggers. The hurt in his amber eyes when I confessed to meeting James. Then chaos—fur and fangs and blood as rival wolves descended upon us."She has minutes at most, Alpha." Fiona's voice cuts through the haze. Her usual fierce demeanor cracks as she kneels beside us. "You know what needs to
Pain. Searing, all-consuming pain. It tears through every cell of my body like molten lava, reshaping me from the inside out. I try to scream, but my vocal cords are transforming, making my cries come out as half-human, half-wolf howls.The basement of Callum's penthouse spins around me, ancient runes carved into stone walls pulsing with an eerie blue light. Their magic contains my thrashing body, keeps me from hurting myself – or others – as the change takes hold. The metallic scent of my own blood mingles with sweat and fear, overwhelming my heightening senses.Through the haze of agony, I catch glimpses of Callum's face. His amber eyes never leave me, filled with a mixture of guilt and desperate love that makes me want to both cling to him and claw his eyes out. He did this to me. He took my choice away."I'm sorry," he whispers, the words falling uselessly between us. "I'm so sorry, love."Another wave of pain hits, and I arch off the bed, bones cracking and reforming. My fingers
The first breath burned like fire in my lungs. Every sensation crashed over me with brutal intensity—the scratch of Egyptian cotton sheets against my hypersensitive skin, the thunderous drumbeat of my own heart, the overwhelming cedar-and-rain scent that I knew belonged to Callum. My eyes snapped open, and the world exploded into painful clarity.Too bright. Too sharp. Too *everything*.I jolted upright, a primal sound ripping from my throat that I barely recognized as my own voice. The movement sent waves of dizzying information through my enhanced senses. Forty stories below, I could hear the rhythmic thrum of early morning traffic. The antiseptic tang in the air mixed with the metallic scent of blood—my blood—making my stomach roll."Easy." Callum's voice came from beside me, and I flinched at its intensity. He reached for me, but the moment his fingers brushed my arm, electricity shot through my transformed nervous system. The mate bond pulsed between us, stronger than ever, but i
My feet pound against cold pavement as I race through London's financial district, a cruel mockery of my usual confident stride in designer heels. Each step sends shockwaves of agony through my transforming body. The glass-walled skyscrapers that once represented my success now feel like prison walls, their reflective surfaces multiplying my distorted form as another wave of change ripples beneath my skin.God, the smells. The acrid stench of exhaust fumes burns my nostrils. The thunderous drumbeat of distant construction threatens to split my skull. Even the air tastes different – metallic, thick with the fear radiating from my own pores.A group of traders stumbles out of a nearby pub, their drunken laughter piercing my ears like shattered glass. I duck into a shadowy alley, pressing myself against rough brick as my bones begin to shift and crack."Turn right at the next intersection." Fiona's voice crackles through my earpiece, steady despite the urgency in her tone. "There's an ac