ADAM'S POVThe loud ring of my phone cut through the silence, breaking my focus as I looked over a map spread out on my desk.Finn’s name flashed on the screen, and I took a steadying breath, my mind already racing. I had half-expected this call, after the whole thing that went down today, so if he was calling me, it meant that he had something very important to say. I just hoped that whatever it was, it was good news.Swiping the screen, I lifted the phone to my ear. “Finn.”“Adam.” His voice was tense, but steady. “I need your help finding the rogue wolf that caused the accident. I can’t let him escape, not after everything he’s done to Aria and Dante.”Hearing the strain in his tone, I couldn’t help but respect his determination. Ever since Finn and I started talking, I had noticed that he had always had a way of speaking that made people listen, but now he sounded determined in a way I hadn’t heard before. “Good,” I replied simply. “But first, I’ll send you some things to get you
LINDA'S POVLately, Finn has been acting… off. The little things had changed—he would look at me with a strange intensity, his words sometimes turning into cryptic questions or lingering silences.It was almost as if he had found out something, something I didn’t want him to know. But I wasn’t going to just wait around to finad out if my suspicions were right.I had to go see him, I had to know if he had done something stupid that had caught Finn's attention.As soon as I saw an opportunity, I slipped out without telling a soul and drove towards the cabin.I drove until the town disappeared, the paved roads giving way to gravel roads that clawed up through the hills. A dense stretch of forest rose around me, making me feel like the only person left in the world. And then, up ahead, the cabin came into view.The cabin was nothing much to look at, worn down and barely holding together. It felt like a part of the forest itself, hunched and tired, with vines creeping up its wooden sides l
FINN'S POVRight after ending the call with Adam, I wasted no time in calling in favours. I also ordered a few of my most trusted warriors to immediately begin the search and dig deeper, because I needed something that would put an end to all this… this mess.Suddenly, one of the warriors called, his voice hushed, almost uncertain.“Finn,” he said, sounding rattled. “We've got a location. There has been a sighting.”“A sighting? Are you sure?”“Positive. It’s on the surveillance camera. The rogue.. he was spotted near a rural area, just inside our border.”“Are you really sure it's him? I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing with false information.”“He matches the guy in the picture, so I'm confident it's him.”I paused, my grip on the phone tightening. “Send me all the details. And get everyone ready. We're heading out now.”It didn’t take long to get ready. Within minutes, my warriors were gathered, each of them tense, aware of the seriousness in my voice.I studied their fac
LINDA'S POVRalph didn’t say anything, but his eyes darkened, filled with a clear desire. And then, instead of answering my question, his hand slipped under my jacket, warm against my skin.He let his fingers gently trace a line down my back, while his other hand moved to cradle my neck. As he leaned in, he pressed his lips against my collarbone.A shiver ran through me as his lips brushed against my neck, his wet, warm tongue sliding over my skin, arousing a desire I knew I wouldn't be able to suppress easily and… goodness, I struggled to hold my composure.Suddenly I felt him place his hand on my bare breast—apparently, he had somehow managed to unhook my bra without me noticing.My thoughts screamed at me to push him away, to tell him that we shouldn't be doing this. But I couldn't do or say anything because then he started to gently massage my breast.“Ralph,” I whispered, my breath coming out in short gasps. “Please. Stop.”Ralph completely ignored me as he pulled his lips away f
LINDA'S POVSuddenly, a loud voice pierced the silence."Just do it. And don’t come back until you have something useful," someone barked from above, the words slightly muffled but clear enough to make my heart hammer in my chest.I unconsciously tensed, my body pressing closer to Ralph. He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Relax, Linda," he whispered, his breath warm against my ear, a calming presence in the chaos of the moment.But that voice—it nagged at me, familiar and unsettling. "Ralph," I whispered, straining to listen. "That voice… it sounds… I know that voice."He raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He looked thoughtful, then leaned his head closer, listening intently to the faint sounds from above.Then it hit me, like a slap. "It’s Finn," I gasped, the realization making my stomach drop. "That’s definitely Finn’s voice!"Panic flooded through me, intense and urgent. Could Finn have brought warriors here? To catch Ralph?Ralph’s grip on my shoulder tightened, his expression
FINN'S POV"Linda," I muttered through gritted my teeth as I looked around the empty cabin. My fists clenched, my frustration building. "I swear, you will regret betraying my family."Just then, I heard footsteps approaching behind me. It was Carl, the Beta known for his remarkable sense of smell. His expression was troubled, his brow furrowed as he stopped just inside the doorway.“Carl,” I snapped, eyeing him impatiently. “Is there a problem?”Carl hesitated, glancing around the room before he spoke. “I don’t know, Finn. Something’s not right here. My senses—they are telling me he’s here. Ralph is here.”I frowned, my frustration boiling over. “What do you mean? The cabin is empty, Carl. We’ve searched every inch of it. There’s no one here.”He shook his head, looking around as if he could see something the rest of us couldn’t. “I can’t explain it, Finn. But I’m telling you, the rogue wolf—he’s close. My senses have never been wrong.”I exhaled sharply, trying to hold back the impat
ARIA'S POVThe drive to the location dragged on far too slowly for my nerves. I tapped my foot impatiently against the floor of Adam’s car, and every now and then, I glanced over at him, silently urging him to press harder on the gas.Adam remained calm, his eyes fixed on the road, his hands steady on the wheel.“Adam, can’t you go any faster?” I asked, my voice barely masking my frustration. “Every second counts. You know what that rogue is capable of. You've seen him fight, he's really good.”He briefly looked at me, a reassuring but calm look that only frustrated me more. “Aria, take a breath,” he said, his voice steady, maddeningly patient. “I get it. But if we go rushing in, it could make things worse.”“Worse? If we’re too late, Adam, what then?” I clenched my fists, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “What if he’s already hurt someone, or… or worse?”“Aria, trust me,” he said, keeping his voice soft. “We’re doing this the smart way. Besides, Finn is already there, and he’s n
ARIA'S POVI watched Adam bravely charge into the fight, his shoulders squared and his expression serious.As much as I wanted to stay out of sight, to avoid becoming a distraction, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fight.Ralph stood proudly, his dark eyes filled with anger. But Adam and Finn were equally determined, moving with so much strength, their eyes burning with an intense seriousness.For a moment, fear and hope collided in my chest because Ralph was a monster, and I knew what he was capable of. But Adam and Finn were no strangers to battle–they were built for it.I found myself gripping the edge of the car door, silently willing them to end it quickly.Thankfully, it didn't take long for them to gain the upper hand. With every calculated strike, every brutal blow, they pushed Ralph back, overwhelming him, until finally, he dropped to the ground, restrained by Finn's warriors, his face twisted with fury."Get your filthy hands off me!" Ralph growled, his voice filled wit
ARIA'S POV The truck rumbled over the bumpy dirt road, its tires kicking up a cloud of dust that hung in the hot air. I stared out the window, watching the endless expanse of sand and scrub roll by. The sun beat down mercilessly, and for what felt like an eternity, there was no sign of civilization—just the wide, empty desert stretching to the horizon.Finally, after almost an hour and a half of driving, something came into view. At first, I thought they were more rocks or ruins, but as we got closer, I realized they were rows of small wooden cabins. They looked old and weathered, like they had been standing there for decades, barely holding up against the harsh desert winds.“Are those… the homes of people?” I asked, squinting at the cabins.Kieran glanced at me, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Yep. Pretty basic, huh? This is the border of the Astral Pack’s territory.”I frowned, looking out at the makeshift community. “Living in wooden cabins in the desert must
DANTE'S POV Finn's question lingered in the air, and I could feel his eyes on me, waiting for an answer. But what could I say?Did I really want Aria to be with Finn? Did I even have the right to want anything when it came to her?I fell silent, staring at the floor as my thoughts spun out of control. Of course, I still loved Aria. I always would. But I had ruined everything—our love, our future, all of it. Linda was lying in a hospital bed, and her family would never stop blaming me for what had happened. Even if Linda woke up, this mess wouldn’t magically disappear.Just then, as I closed my eyes, Arias' face appeared in my mind. The softness of her smile, the fire in her eyes, the way she used to say my name like it meant something—like I meant something. My heart twisted painfully as the memories rushed in, unrelenting.I remembered the first time I saw her, the way she lit up a room without even trying. I remembered the way she believed in me when no one else did, how her laugh
DANTE'S POV The hallway outside the ICU was a war zone of words. Finn stood firmly in front of me, his voice sharp and unwavering as he defended me.“Cynthia,” Finn snapped, his tone laced with frustration, “you’re acting like Dante pushed Linda out of that window himself. He didn’t make her jump, and he sure as hell didn’t make her lose that baby!”“Don’t you dare speak to me like that!” Cynthia spat, her voice raw with anger and tears. “My daughter is lying in there because of him! Everything that’s happened—her pain, her suffering—is on him! And you’re defending this… this…”“Enough!” Finn interrupted, his patience wearing thin. “Linda did this to herself, and you know it! She’s been lying and manipulating everyone around her, and now you’re trying to make Dante your scapegoat? That’s not going to happen.”“How dare you!” Cynthia shrieked, her face twisted in fury. “You’re nothing but a troublemaker! You think you can just waltz in here and cover up for him? My daughter wouldn’t b
ARIA'S POV I had finally decided to pick up my hobbies again, but it wasn’t easy because I had been away from designing for so long that it felt almost foreign. But thank the goddess for Adam, he wouldn’t hear any excuses.“Aria, this is exactly what you need,” he said firmly one evening, dragging me into an empty room in the house that had been freshly cleaned and reorganized. “If you’re going to move forward, you have to focus on the things that make you happy.”“I don’t even know if I can still do this,” I muttered, standing in the middle of the room. The desk, the sketchbooks, the neat rows of pencils and tools—it was all waiting for me, as if it had been there forever.“You can,” Adam said simply. He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway with a knowing look. “You just have to try, Ri. What’s the worst that could happen?”I didn’t answer, but something in the way he said it made me want to prove him right.After he left me alone, I closed the door. The quiet was strange,
DANTE'S POV Linda’s bloodied body had been rushed into the emergency operating room, leaving Finn and me standing in the hallway. The doors closed with a loud slam as the stretcher passed through, the sound echoing like the end of a sorrowful melody.I couldn’t move. My legs felt like lead, and my mind was blank.Finn was beside me, his voice low and urgent. “Dante,” he said, gripping my shoulder. “You know that this wasn’t your fault, right? You couldn’t have stopped her.”I didn’t respond. How could I? Linda’s words haunted me, her cries of desperation echoing endlessly in my head. You don’t believe me, do you? I’ll have to prove my innocence by dying. And then the window. The fall. The blood.“It doesn’t feel that way,” I finally whispered, my voice cracking.Finn shook his head, his grip tightening. “Listen to me. You can’t take this on yourself. Linda… Linda made her choices. You tried to help her. That’s all anyone could’ve done.”Before I could answer, a loud, piercing wail
DANTE'S POV Linda’s cries filled the hospital room like the stubborn pounding of a storm. She was sobbing uncontrollably, her hands clawing at her chest, her voice hoarse as she repeated the same words over and over again: “It’s my fault… it’s all on me… I listened to Ralph and I didn’t protect my child…”I just stood there, rooted to the spot, not sure of what to do or say. Finn’s words echoed in my mind, clear and steady: “The child wasn’t Silas’s, it was Ralph’s!” Those words refused to leave me, even as Linda’s cries grew louder, slicing through my thoughts.“Linda,” I finally said, my voice low, though it didn’t feel like my own. “You really need to stop. You’re only going to hurt yourself.”She shook her head violently, her hair whipping around her face as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. “No, Dante! You don’t get it! I should have done more! I should have protected my baby!” Her voice cracked, and she fell to her knees, clutching at my shirt. “Please… please don’t hate me
ARIA'S POV The call from Finn came late in the evening, just as the world outside my window turned dark. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that sent a chill down my spine.“Aria, Linda’s baby didn’t make it,” he said suddenly.For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. “What… what did you just say?” I whispered, gripping the phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white.“Linda lost the baby,” Finn continued. “And she’s making quite a scene. But, Aria, listen to me… you don’t have to feel guilty about this.”My mouth went dry. “I…I wasn’t…”But that was a lie, wasn’t it? Guilt had already taken a hold of me, tightening its grip with every word he spoke.Finn sighed, his voice softening. “I’m telling you this because I know how you think. Don’t let her manipulate you. She’s good at this… making herself the victim, drawing everyone in. You know this wasn’t your fault.”But how could it not feel like my fault? I could still hear Dante’s voice from earlier that day, blaming me for
DANTE'S POV Finn's words seemed to echo endlessly in my head. There was no humour in his tone, no trace of malice or lies. He wasn’t the kind of man to twist stories for the sake of drama, especially not about Linda. But this? This was too much to wrap my head around.“Are you really sure this is true?” I asked, my voice quieter than I intended.Finn nodded, his expression serious. “I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.” He leaned against the wall, his shoulders slumping. “Right after Ralph died, her baby didn’t make it either. That’s not a coincidence, Dante. It’s hard not to suspect that this was all part of her plan.”The burden of his words hung between us, heavier than anything I had ever carried before. Linda? Linda, the woman who I thought I knew better than anyone? Could she really be capable of this? Could she…Goddess help me…be ruthless enough to kill her own child?I shook my head, trying to push the thought away, but it clung to me like smoke. “No. No, I can’t believe that.”F
ARIA'S POV The loud sound of the ambulance siren broke through the chaos, silencing the frantic murmurs of the crowd for a moment. Dante didn’t wait for the paramedics to take charge. With a sense of urgency I hadn’t seen in him before, he picked up Linda in his arms. Her pale, lifeless body looked even more fragile in the bright light of the ambulance as Dante climbed in, shouting for them to hurry. I watched him go, his desperation etched into every line of his face. His eyes never left Linda’s bloodied form as the ambulance doors slammed shut behind them. For a brief, fleeting second, I felt a pang of something close to pity. But it was quickly swallowed by a flood of bitterness as the whispers began. “This is all Aria’s fault,” someone muttered from the crowd, loud enough for me to hear. “Yes,” another voice chimed in, filled with hate. “If Linda’s baby dies, the pack won’t spare Aria. That child is the pack’s future heir.” The words hurt more than I cared to admit. My che