Finn"We found him." Edward’s words through the phone made my blood run cold. "But Finn... you’re not going to like this."My claws extended involuntarily, piercing the leather of my steering wheel. "Tell me.""He’s holding her in his pack. My sources confirm she’s alive, but..." Edward hesitated, something he never did. "Dickson’s planning a marking ceremony. Two days from now, during the full moon."The world stopped.My wolf howled in pure rage, the sound echoing both in my mind and through my chest. The steering wheel crumpled under my grip."What did you just say?" My voice came out distorted, barely human."He’s going to mark her in front of his entire pack. Make it official. He’s inviting representatives from other packs to witness it - to show everyone that he’s claiming his mate.""She isn’t his mate," I howled. "She is mine."The windshield cracked from the force of my anger. Marking ceremonies were sacred, meant to be a celebration of true mates finding each other. The thou
FinnThe Northern pack house loomed ahead, its dark silhouette a stain against the night sky. From my position in the surrounding forest, I could see guards patrolling the perimeter – too many to count, all heavily armed.My phone buzzed. David again.“I’m thirty minutes out with reinforcements,” he said without preamble. “Don’t do anything stupid, Alpha.”I ended the call without responding. Thirty minutes was too long. Whatever Dickson was doing to her, I wouldn’t wait to find out.The guards were disciplined, I’d give them that. Regular rotations, overlapping patrol routes. But they had one critical weakness - they weren’t expecting an Alpha to come alone. The very audacity of it would work in my favor.I closed my eyes, letting my wolf surge forward. The shift was violent, bones cracking and reforming as rage fueled our transformation. When I opened my eyes again, the world was sharper, clearer. Every scent carried a story.And there – underneath the mingled odors of wolfsbane and
ScarlettPain. That was the first thing I registered as consciousness slowly returned. Not the sharp, burning agony of wolfsbane, but a dull ache that seemed to reach into my bones. The second thing I noticed was warmth. A familiar presence wrapped around me like a shield.I forced my heavy eyelids open to find myself in an unfamiliar room, lying in a massive bed. Medical equipment beeped softly nearby, but what caught my attention was the large figure slumped in a chair beside me.Finn.He looked terrible. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and bandages wrapped around his body spoke of wounds that hadn’t yet healed; wounds he’d taken fighting for me. His hand was clasped around mine, our mate marks perfectly aligned.“You’re staring,” he murmured without opening his eyes. “Do I look cute?”“You look awful,” I managed to croak, my throat dry.A small smile tugged at his lips as he finally looked at me. Those ocean-deep blue eyes I remembered so well now filled with a mix of concern and r
ScarlettThe room fell silent after I spoke, and Finn stayed still on his knees, his expression filled with devastation. I watched as understanding dawned in his eyes – the true weight of what he’d done, the irreparable damage his rejection had caused.“Your child?” he finally managed, his voice barely above a whisper. “How? How is it possible for me to do that?”“It is," I said with a smirk. “All you need to do is go to the underworld to bring back my child.”The medical equipment beside my bed beeped steadily, marking the painful seconds that stretched between us. Through our cursed mate bond, I could feel his anguish building like a tsunami.“I—”“If you can’t do that,” I spoke, cutting him off. “Then you should have it in mind that it won’t be possible between us. After all, you made it very clear that day – I was nothing but my father’s daughter to you. A reminder of everything you’d lost.”Finn’s shoulders began to shake. For the first time since I’d known him, I watched as tear
ScarlettAfter Finn’s tearful departure, I sat alone in the hospital room, my mind reeling. The revelation of our lost child had shaken me to my core, tearing open wounds I’d long thought had scarred over.Even now, I could still feel the phantom flutter of that tiny life, the dream of a future I had dared to imagine. Finn’s devastation had been visceral, undeniable. The man who had once rejected me without a second glance was now brought low, his pride and control utterly shattered.A part of me, the part that still craved his love and acceptance, wanted to reach out, to ease his suffering. But the stronger, colder part of me - the part that had endured five years of torment and loss - recoiled at the very thought.How dare he, I thought bitterly. How dare he come here, torn apart by guilt, and demand my forgiveness? As if any amount of remorse could undo the pain he had caused me.Yet, even as I tried to harden my heart against him, I couldn’t ignore the ache in my own chest. The ma
FinnI closed Scarlett’s door behind me, my hands trembling with the effort it took not to punch through the nearest wall. Her words echoed in my mind: “I will never show my face in front of you again.”“MATE!” Storm howled inside me, the sound so anguished it made my chest physically ache. My wolf had been in constant torment since Scarlett’s return, torn between joy at having her near and agony at her rejection.I barely made it to my office before my control slipped. With a roar, I swept everything off my desk, watching as papers scattered and my laptop crashed to the floor. The sound wasn’t nearly satisfying enough to drown out the pain.“Alpha?” My Beta, David, appeared in the doorway, concern etched on his features.“Out,” I growled, my eyes blazing red. When he didn’t immediately move, I snarled, “Now!”The door clicked shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts and Storm’s increasingly frantic pacing. I could still smell her on my skin from being in her room - a blend of lavender
Third pov David watched the council members as they entered the meeting room, their expressions a blend of worry and interest. He could tell they were aware of their Alpha’s unease, which permeated the pack bonds like a pre-storm charge. As the Beta, he felt it more intensely than others, the sharp pang of his Alpha’s suffering pulsing beneath his surface. The northern border dispute should have been a straightforward matter. The Stone Ridge Pack had been encroaching on their hunting grounds for months, testing boundaries, looking for weaknesses. At any other time, Finn would have handled it with the calculated precision that had made him one of the youngest and most respected Alphas in the region. But now... David studied Finn as he entered the room with a confident stride. While Finn may have seemed like a strong leader to the council members, David noticed the subtle signs of inner turmoil. The trembling hands and tense posture. It was clear that Finn was struggling to maintain h
ScarlettI hurried out of David’s office, my heart racing in my chest. The mate bond pulsed with intensity, sensing Finn’s presence in the council chamber. My wolf, Ray, whimpered and clawed at my insides, desperate to turn around, to go back.“Mate,” she pleaded. “We need him.”“We need nothing,” I snarled internally, though my hand betrayed me by clutching at my chest where the bond pulsed strongest.I hadn’t come to discuss hospital bills. I’d come because I’d overheard the maids discussing the meeting, and I had asked one to take me there since I didn’t know anything about his pack. I was curious— curious about how he led his pack, how he spoke during important meetings. I had let my curiosity get the better of me.But seeing Finn had scattered my thoughts. Five years hadn’t prepared me for how he would look sitting at the head of that table, power and authority radiating from him in waves. Finn... this Finn wore his power like a second skin as I watched him speak.“You’re impress
ScarlettI turned to leave, but before I could make it to the door, a weak voice called out to me, stopping me in my tracks.“Scarlett…”The sound of my name from his lips sent a shiver down my spine. I froze, my hand hovering over the doorknob, unable to move forward or turn back.“Who… who are you leaving him for?” he rasped, his voice barely above a whisper, broken and raw with emotion.The world seemed to freeze in that moment. Time stood still as his question weighed heavily on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.Despite everything I had done; the violence, the threats against his mate; David still couldn’t accept my betrayal.His loyalty to Finn ran so deep that even now, bloodied and beaten, he clung to the belief that I couldn’t truly abandon my mate.I looked at David, at the man who had always stood by Finn’s side through every hardship, and something inside me cracked. This was the moment when my bridges would truly burn, when I would have to leave them both behind.I
Scarlett“Sister, are you sure you are going to kill him?”It was her. It was a familiar and beloved voice that I could never forget, not in a thousand lifetimes.The sound froze me in my tracks, sending chills down my spine.I turned slowly, my heart hammering against my ribs, knowing exactly who stood behind me even before my eyes confirmed it.It was my sister, the one person who could see through my lies.“Alisha,” I whispered her name, the sound barely escaping my trembling lips. “Why are you here?”Her eyes, so like my own, searched my face, confusion and hurt swimming in their depths. “You want to kill my mate, sister?” she asked, stepping toward me with outstretched hands. I stumbled backward, my legs quivering beneath me, but I forced myself to stand firm.“Why?" Her voice trembled, on the verge of tears, cracking with emotion. The sound cut through me, adding to the pain in my already broken heart.Every fiber of my being screamed to reach for her, to pull her into my arms a
ScarlettFive days. Five agonizing days since the Alpha King’s proposal had shattered my world.The pressure of his ultimatum pressed against my chest like a stone, making each breath a struggle.How could I possibly tell my people? The words stuck in my throat whenever I tried to form them. And Finn; my sweet, loyal Finn, how would he look at me if he knew the terrible price I had to pay for his life?The thought consumed me, crawling through my veins, stealing sleep from my nights and peace from my days. My beloved mate was dying, his strength fading with each passing hour. And I alone held the power to save him—at a cost that tore my heart in two.I paced the bedroom floor until my feet ached, the floorboards creaking beneath my restless steps. The Alpha King’s face haunted my thoughts—his cold smile, those piercing eyes that made my skin crawl.He wasn’t someone I could challenge or defy. The mere thought of confronting him made my hands tremble.Even if I mustered all my courage
DicksonThere isn’t a single soul here. Not one. A place that was once bustling with rogues and outcasts has fallen deathly silent, mutated into a graveyard of memories and broken ambitions.The emptiness mocks me as I stand amid the ruins of my former glory. The bitter taste of regret floods my mouth as my thoughts drift to Scarlett—that woman who had seemed so insignificant, so easily controlled.If I had known she would become someone like this; this force of nature, this omen of destruction - I would have crushed her rebellion before it could take root.I would have held her down, broken her will, forced her to submit to my every command.By now, I would have been crowned Alpha King, with packs bowing before me instead of lying here, surrounded by the ashes of my mate and my dreams.“Who are you?” someone suddenly asked.My head snaps up, instincts instantly alert. I hadn’t detected anyone approaching—not a scent, not a sound, not even the subtle shift in air that usually betrays
Dickson.“How DARE you!” Scar’s voice shattered the silence, her amber eyes flashing with such venomous rage. She spat her words, each one aiming directly at my heart.Her beautiful face contorted with disgust, transforming the woman I loved into someone I barely recognized. “If I had known you were such a pathetic, spineless FAILURE, do you honestly believe I would have bound myself to you? You worthless bastard.”“Scar, please, just listen—” My desperate plea withered under her furious glare.“SHUT UP!” she snarled. “I thought you were something special- something magnificent. A true Alpha with the strength to crush that goddamn pack beneath your heel.”Her lips curled back, revealing her canines. “But I was catastrophically wrong. You’re nothing but a coward hiding behind excuses.”She paused, drawing a ragged breath, the contempt rolling off her in waves. “I lie awake at night wondering how moon goddess could have made such a grievous error in allowing you to become an Alpha.” Her
Leonardo“But...” A howl vibrated from deep within my chest, loud, raw and dangerous, making her freeze in place, fear flickering across her eyes.“Out!” I thundered, watching with savage satisfaction as they all scattered like terrified mice.I exhaled slowly, tension draining from my shoulders. These ants, always underfoot, always intruding.As she scurried away, I turned back to the mirror, straightening my cuffs.Now, it was time to meet my guest. The one I’d been waiting for.I walked as fast as my legs could carry me, finally reaching the throne room.“Here comes the king,” the guards announced. As they swung the doors open, my breath caught in my throat. I was awestruck by her beauty.Her aura pulsed with power, different and extraordinary in a way I’d never encountered. A possessive thought blazed through my mind: This woman must be mine.I forced myself to walk past her, even as my senses heightened to catch her scent, noting how she bowed her head in submission and respect.
LeonardoThe clash of bodies and the sharp scent of blood reached my ears before the dust settled. From the high balcony of my palace, I watched as the woman tore through my guards like they were nothing but paper dolls.Interesting.The Crescent Pack’s Luna, Scarlett. I had heard much about her; an ordinary omega turned Alpha’s mate, a woman marked by both suffering and defiance.And now, here she was, standing amidst the fallen, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths, her hands bloodied but unwavering.She was not what I expected.I had anticipated someone broken by rejection, tamed by the harsh hand of fate. Instead, what I saw was fire. A warrior. A queen in her own right, even if she did not bear the title.Beside me, my Beta Giovanni shifted uncomfortably. “Should I intervene, my king?”I held up a hand, stopping him. “No. Let’s see what she does next.”Below, Scarlett stepped forward, her boots crunching against the dirt as she towered over the wounded guards. A slow
Scarlett“Ray,” Seraiah muttered. “I believe she is Seraphina’s weaker version.”“What did you just say?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet as I struggled to process her words.My mind refused to accept what I was hearing, scrambling for any other explanation.“Are they joking? This can’t be real.” My thoughts raced frantically. “My Ray can never become something sinister like this.”Ray’s memories cascaded through me like a warm, familiar tide—her gentle presence when I needed comfort, her unwavering loyalty when everyone else had abandoned me.I remembered how she had nuzzled against me during those endless nights when darkness threatened to consume me. How her soft whimpers had somehow formed words of courage when I was drowning in despair. She had stayed beside me when no one else would even look my way.So how... how is it possible for her to be this wolf?“I guess you don’t understand what I’m saying,” Seraphina said. Her smug, superior
ScarlettThe battlefield smelled of burnt flesh and blood; an intoxicating mixture of death and destruction.I stood in the center of it all, my hands still tingling with the lingering heat of my flames.The scent of the rogues’ burned remains filled my senses, but instead of loathing, I felt something else entirely.Satisfaction.I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply. My power, the thing that had been locked away for so long, now coursed through me like an untamed storm, crackling under my skin.When I opened my eyes again, I saw Finn watching me.His ocean-blue gaze was filled with something I couldn’t quite place, something between awe and… fear. The thought sent a strange thrill through me.I understood why he was behaving like this. He thought my power might have controlled me, consumed my soul, and that I might kill his people after dealing with all these rogues.But he was wrong. I am the sole owner of this power. I can easily control it now.“Fin—”“Watch out!” he screamed as he l