The ancient stone archway loomed before me, snowflakes swirling through its weathered frame like lost spirits seeking sanctuary. My boots echoed against worn granite steps as I descended into the massive chamber, heart thundering against my ribs. Centuries of pack histories spiraled up the walls, countless stories carved in stone by those who'd sought refuge here before me."This way," Fiona whispered, her red hair a flame in the darkness. "The others are gathering."I followed her deeper into the sanctuary, trying to ignore how the torchlight made the refugees' amber eyes glow like burning stars. We'd been running for so long, across borders and through cities, always one step ahead of those who wanted us dead. Now, finally, we'd found the sanctuary hidden deep in the Swiss Alps.That's when I caught his scent.Pine needles and winter frost, threaded through with something distinctly *him*. My fingers trembled as the mate bond hummed to life, a bittersweet ache I hadn't felt this str
I sat in a cramped, circular meditation chamber deep in that ancient sanctuary, several hundreds of candles floating-illuminating with their firelights all across weathered stone walls. My fingers touched inscriptions on cold rock which made its match in files back with James and chilled."Every attempt to harvest werewolf DNA has ended in catastrophe." Elder София's withered hands quivered as she unrolled a fragile scroll before us. "Entire villages wiped out. Hybrid creatures driven mad with pain."Callum's shoulders tensed beside me. Even in the dim light, I could see the muscle working in his jaw."How many attempts?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady."Too many to count." Sofi'a's silver hair shone in the candlelight as she walked over to a towering mosaic. "The earliest records date back to the 12th century. A monastery in the Alps—"My phone buzzed, interrupting her. Three urgent messages from my corporate contacts flashed across the screen."James's company," I whispered
The tempest outside Wolfe Industries' glass-walled conference room was merely a sideshow compared with the turmoil reigning inside my chest. I stood at the head of the mahogany table, the blueprint of the medical conference center glowing from my tablet while Callum exuded raw power beside me. The steady beat of the rain against the windows reflected my racing pulse."The Global Medical Innovation Summit gives us one shot," I said, my financial analyst's mind dissecting our impossible situation. My fingers traced the conference center layout as Fiona and Alistair leaned forward, their wolves stirring beneath their human facades. "Once Amelia presents her 'breakthrough' in genetic manipulation to over a thousand leading scientists and researchers, containing this becomes impossible.""She's going to out us all," Fiona growled; her red curls seemed to spark with electricity. "Centuries of secrecy, gone in an instant.""Not if we stop her first." Callum's voice carried the weight of his
Sweat and tension wafted up, burning my nostrils as I faced Callum across the training mat. My heart raced against my ribs, but I refused to back down. Not this time."I won't be benched just because you're scared of losing me," I snapped, trying to push into my voice all the weight of those betrayals past.Amber streaked ominously in Callum's eyes. "This has nothing to do with being scared, Olivia. The mission—""Is precisely why I should go there!" I interrupted, moving one step closer. "Have you forgotten that I headed up corporate merger acquisitions for the most considerable financial firm in London?""Copping business hostile-takeover moves doesn't compare to taking espionage around and behind enemy lines," snarled Callum; his shoulders tensed perceptibly. "Business executives versus lethal killings-how will that work?"And I'm not some fragile human anymore!" The words exploded from me before I could trap them.The training room fell silent. Around us, pack members paused in th
The Scottish rain lashed against the windows, each drop echoing my racing heartbeat. After weeks apart, being in the same room as Callum should have felt like coming home. But tension crackled between us, like lightning, turning this safe house into a prison."Any word from Fiona?" My voice was small, not as it came out.Callum's wide shoulders didn't move; his eyes remained on something beyond the window, framed there against gray churning like a silhouette of violence. "Not yet."Three weeks earlier, we had mapped a possible life together. These days we both couldn't take very much of each other's face. I paced worn wooden boards that creaked regularly for the old apartment in lumps; heels clicked against silences for cadence without calming anything in my nervous system.The tablet on the ancient wood table pinged, causing both of us to jump. On the screen, Fiona's face appeared-her usual fiery demeanor instead twisted into something grimmer."You need to see this." Her fingers fle
Emergency red lights strobed across wall-mounted screens, casting an unhealthy glow over my face as I stood gripping the steel railing. The knuckles were white as I watched another enhanced soldier tear a Seoul shopping district apart. Half wolf features twisted and grotesque under the street lights."Three more incidents reported in Berlin," Fiona announced, her voice strained. "They're gathering in packs now.""Damn it." I pursed my lips, watching our company logo on the tattered uniform of the soldier. Every attack felt like a personal failure, another reminder of how I was connected with this chaos through James.Callum's voice cut through the tension in the crisis command center of Wolfe Industries. "Get me Alpha Santiago on the line. Now.""Already connecting," Alistair said, his huge frame hunched over a computer terminal.The underground facility hummed with activity as pack members coordinated responses across the continent. Screens covering every wall showed similar scenes o
Rain whipped at my office windows, each droplet hitting against the panes like my heart was racing while staring at documents set out in front of me on my desk. Those spotless white sheets were taunting me with the crimes written therein-systematic tests of the serum among unwitting employees."Ms. Blackwood?" The tone of Sarah's voice had trembled over the intercom. "Your emergency board meeting begins in ten minutes."I hauled myself off the couch to fetch them with trembling fingers, feeling the wolf stir beneath my skin. "Thanks, Sarah."My phone buzzed. Callum."Strike team in position. Waiting for your signal."Three words. That's all it took. My fingers hesitated then typed: "Go."The familiar click of my Louboutins against marble echoed down the hall as I approached the boardroom. London sprawled beneath me through the floor-to-ceiling windows, oblivious to the storm about to break."Production facility Charlie is dark," Fiona's voice crackled through my earpiece. "Servers com
The studio lights slammed against my face as I gripped the leather armrests, my hands threatening to shake. My heart was thudding against my ribs, and the metallic tang of fear wafting from the production crew seared my nostrils. "Three minutes to air," the floor director yelled as his clipboard rattled. "Are you absolutely sure about this?" Katherine Chen leaned forward, her dark eyes alight with both concern and hunger for the story of the century. "Once we go live, there's no going back." I caught Callum's reflection in the camera lens. He stood with his arms crossed, jaw tight, those amber eyes never leaving my face. The mate bond between us thrummed with tension and wordless pleading. "I must." My voice came out with more conviction than I did. "Amelia's propaganda is turning the people against us. Someone has to show them the light." "And that someone had to be you?" Katherine pressed. "A woman who, till recently, was just another financial analyst?" "Who better?" I m
"Consider it done," Elena Volkov said firmly. "Go save your mate."Callum didn't waste time responding. "Alistair, organize the medical team. We need the anti-silver treatments developed by pharmaceutical. Fiona, coordinate from here." He was already moving toward the door."Where are you going?" Alistair asked, though he already knew the answer."To get Olivia.""Callum," Fiona called, her expression grim as she studied the biometric readings from Olivia's tactical gear. "Her heart rate's dropping."The Alpha paused, his face a mask of controlled fury. "Then I'd better hurry."I drifted in and out of consciousness, aware of voices around me but unable to respond. The silver burned through my system, preventing my werewolf healing from closing the wound."Stay with me, Olivia," Lucas urged, his hands pressing against my side. "The extraction team is coming."Silver poisoning was a unique agony—like acid in the veins, burning from within. I'd experienced it before, but never this sever
The damp air of London's underground tunnels clung to my skin, rank with the smell of sulfur and centuries of decay. I signaled the team to halt, my eyes adjusting to the darkness."Scent markers ahead," Lucas whispered, his military training evident in his precise movements. "Two hundred meters.""Everyone clear on the objective?" I asked, adjusting the tactical pack containing Amelia's stolen files against my back.Sophia nodded, her dark eyes gleaming amber in the low light. "Get in, confirm virus distribution points, get out. No engagement unless necessary.""And if it becomes necessary?" I challenged."Then we make them regret ever hearing the word 'werewolf,'" Lucas growled, his fingers flexing as if already imagining claws extending.The three younger wolves—Elliot, Zara, and Dominic—exchanged nervous glances. They were pack members Callum had reluctantly agreed to include after I'd insisted we needed their specialized skills."Stay focused," I told them. "Remember your trainin
Rain lashed against the windows of the executive suite of Wolfe Industries as I stared at the security footage playing on my tablet. My hands shook as I watched James-my ex-husband-stalk through the loading docks of our research facility."How did he get access?" I demanded, my voice sharp enough to make Fiona flinch."Amelia gave him the codes." Fiona's Irish lilt carried a growl. "She's been feeding him that experimental serum for weeks."My stomach lurched. The mate bond with Callum pulsed with shared anxiety-he'd felt my distress from across the city. "Show me the lab footage again."The video showed James injecting himself with a glowing blue liquid, his body convulsing as bones crackled with the transformation. But this wasn't a normal shift. The black wolf that emerged was grotesque, nearly twice the normal size."Olivia." Callum's voice came from the doorway, low with tension. He crossed to me in three long strides, pulling me into his arms. I breathed in his scent - pine and
James stood in Callum's office, and the mere presence made my skin shiver. His new form felt like ill-fitting skin with twitchy movements. Behind him, the full moon neared, cloaking everything in an ominous luminescence through the floor-to-ceiling windows over the panorama of London at dusk."I did this for you, Olivia," James said, shifting a step closer. His amber eyes flashed in that terrible rhythm of human and wolf. Terrifyingly too irregular. "To understand what you've become.""Back," I stammered, continuing my reverse pace. The shifting in James wasn't quite right - a perversely distorted sense in his energy - wrong."Afraid?" He let loose with a burst of manic-tinged laughter. "The great Olivia Blackwood afraid of her own husband?"Ex-husband," I corrected sharply. "And you're insane if you think this changes anything between us.""Everything's changed!" James lunged forward, grabbing my arm. His grip burned like fire. "You took everything from me when you chose him. Now I'l
I cross-referenced another bank statement, and the numbers on my screen all began to blur together. My wolf bristled beneath my skin, restless after hours being trapped in my office. But I had to find the connection. Had to prove Amelia's research wasn't just funded by concerned citizens."Got you," I whispered to myself, my fingers flying across the keyboard. Shell companies folded into shell companies, but they all connected to one base-PharmaCorp Global.My office door burst open. "Olivia." Callum's voice was tight with tension. Amber eyes locked onto mine, and instantly my wolf perked up at her Alpha's presence. "The board meeting's been moved up. They know."My heart stopped. "How?"Amelia." His jaw clenched. "She sent proof to every major shareholder.""I'll come with you." I stood, but Callum raised his hand."No. Stay here. Keep digging." His voice softened. "Please, love. This could save us all."He was gone before I could argue. I forced my attention back to my screen, the a
I quaked and replayed for the third time the recorded shot from surveillance cameras. Amelia's secret facility gleamed on screen in all clinical white and beige, and then he appeared-the figure of James meticulously recording how captured werewolves struggled and writhed through transformation."Olivia." Callum's voice held concern tight as he stood a step behind. "You really don't want to go over this again.""I do." It cut deeper than James's infidelity ever had. "He's working with Amelia to develop a 'cure' that's nothing but torture.""We have enough evidence." Callum's hand settled on my shoulder. "The pack alphas are waiting."Turning from the screen, I met his amber gaze. "How many did they experiment on?""Too many." His jaw clenched. "But we'll end this. Tonight."It was already chaotic when we entered. Five London alphas prowled the marble conference room, centuries of rivalry crackling between them."This is a waste of time," Marcus snarled, his massive frame towering over
My body shook with strange power coursing through my veins. Shattered glass crunched beneath my feet, scattered across the marble floors of Wolfe Industries' headquarters. The full moon's ethereal glow filtered through the broken windows, casting long shadows across the destruction."Olivia." Callum's voice was tight with concern. "Your eyes."I caught my reflection in a shard of glass. Where my green eyes once were, brilliant gold now blazed back at me. The power rising inside was ancient, primal-something far beyond the normal werewolf strength I'd grown so accustomed to."What's happening to me?" My voice shook as another wave of energy pulsed through my body.Callum took a step toward me, then stopped, once more. My mate was one of the most powerful Alphas in London, but even he acted cautious against the force emanating from my skin. Through our bond, I felt his amazement and uncertainty."The prophecy," he breathed. "It's actually happening."The screech of helicopter blades cut
Chapter 89: ConvergencePain rips through my body as another wave of silver fire courses beneath my skin. Through blurred vision, I catch my reflection in the penthouse window – ethereal symbols pulse across my arms in an ancient script I shouldn't understand but somehow do. My fingertips trace the glowing marks, each touch sending sparks of electricity through my nerve endings."She's burning up." Marcus's worried voice sounds like it comes from afar. "The Proto-Lycian markings are spreading at a speed I have never seen. At this rate.""At what rate?" I demand in my hoarse voice. "Tell me what's happening to me!"The pack healer gives a glance at his assistant. "The ancient bloodlines stir within you. But the blend of First Born and witch ancestry-it's unprecedented."I try to focus on the London skyline beyond the glass, but my enhanced senses are going haywire. The heartbeat of the city pounds in my ears-thousands of footsteps, whispered conversations, and. something else. A primal
The ancient Celtic runes swirled in front of my eyes as Emilia's fingers quivered across the worn leather journal. My heart crashed against my ribs, each beat a repetition of the omen to be. The heat from the lamp couldn't dispel the chill in my bones."Olivia." Her voice broke. "The prophecy. it's about you."Callum's presence behind me shifted, his warmth radiating against my back. The lamp's glow cast long shadows across the pack library's wooden shelves, making the ancient texts loom like silent witnesses."What do you mean?" I fought to keep my voice steady."Five bloodlines must come together under the power of the crimson moon." The pattern that outlined the runes glowed beneath the touch of Emilia's tracing finger. "The Blackwoods- which is your family. Should one of these five fail, the ritual has to. This can't-"I turned, and fell, nearly stepping back onto Callum, my face beet red."A werewolf," Callum completed in a growl. "Your bloodline is no coincidence, Olivia. The Ma