AdashaSoon, Magnus, Ingrid, May, and Gregory were at my side as our enemies attacked again.We fought in a tight circle, backs to each other, striking in sync. Fire blazed around us, the scent of blood thick in the air. We held the line. For a moment, it felt like we might survive this.Then I heard it.Gregory’s scream.A sound so raw it cut through the roar of battle like a blade.“Compulsion!” he shouted, hands clutching his head before collapsing hard to the ground.My heart seized. I turned to him.He looked right at me, eyes wide with panic, betrayal, confusion.I shook my head, frantic. “It’s not me!” I mouthed.But it was already spreading.May dropped next, crumbling mid-swing. Then several Eldenberge warriors collapsed mid-charge, their bodies twitching, eyes glazed.The pressure hit me like a tidal wave.It wasn’t just pain—it was invasion.Like fingers digging into my skull, trying to pry me open. Like someone was trying to rip my thoughts out, replace them with their wil
Adasha“Let’s push back, Willow,” I whispered to my wolf.She purred weakly inside me. Exhausted. Wounded. Trying.We had never wielded compulsion willingly.Never trained.No one had ever shown us how.And because of that, even our shared will—our fused strength—wasn’t enough to push it off us.Not yet.I turned to Tamara, my voice raw and breaking, but steady enough to strike.“Don’t you even care about your daughter?” I asked, my gaze falling to Laura, unconscious and injured in the dirt.Tamara looked at her briefly, then back at me—expression unmoved.A shrug. That was all.And in that second, I realized something chilling—Laura was just another piece on her board.Just like Kevin had been.Just like Austin.And now… she was reaching for me too.Because that’s what power-hungry cowards do.They harvest what they can’t create.And they crush anything that reminds them of who they used to be.“Laura will be fine. What do you care anyway?” Tamara snapped, her voice sharp and cold.
Adasha It wasn’t long after we consumed the nightshade that they caught up with us. Snarling. Growling. Rivercreek warriors—traitors in Kai’s ranks. They circled slowly, eyes burning, claws flexed, thinking I was an easy target now. A mindless beast that had run from battle. They were wrong. I was choosing it. I stood tall in my wolf form, lifted my head, and linked them with a voice laced with power and memory. “I am the daughter of Kevin Westwood. Your loyalty should lie with me.” Some paused, ears flicking. They’d heard it. Austin had called me Michelle. They knew something didn’t add up. Edmond had admitted it. One of them growled low, hesitant. “You heard Austin,” I pushed, “call me by my mother’s name—Michelle Westwood. You heard Edmond. I didn’t die. I was hidden. If you let Edmond Bruce collar me, I will die, and with me, the true Westwood bloodline ends.” I stepped forward, no longer stumbling. No longer shaking. “You’ve seen what Tamara did to her mate—what she
Adasha The sky burned red. Ash spiraled down like black snow, clinging to the blood-soaked fur that covered my body. My heart thundered in my chest—not from fear, but from purpose. I stood tall in the wreckage of Eldenberge, surrounded by my people, their blood and breath mixing with the dirt beneath our paws. And across the battlefield… Edmond shifted. His bones cracked in ways that defied nature, each snap echoing like gunfire in my ears. His body distorted—shoulders widening, spine elongating, limbs trembling with dark energy. I watched in horror as his skin tore and reformed, blood pooling beneath him until the fur broke through—muddy brown, slick with red, glistening like it had been born in violence. Then came his eyes. Bloodshot. Burning. Wrong. They glowed like coals left too long in the pit. His jaw widened, fangs curving longer than they should have. His wolf form towered, thick with muscle, scarred, trembling with unnatural power. Something inside him was twiste
Adasha I managed to shift back to my human form. Exhausted. Barefoot. Bloodstained. The weight of everything I’d just endured sat heavy on my shoulders—on all of us—but we had survived. Our men were rounding up the last of the attackers. The worst was over. Or so I thought—until I saw them dragging Austin across the ground, silver cuffs ready. “No,” I said quickly, voice firm despite the fatigue. The guards froze. Heads turned. Kai looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Don’t do that to him,” I said, stepping forward, my voice softer now. “He’s innocent in all this.” Kai’s brows drew together. “Adasha… he came to attack you.” I shook my head. “No. He came to fight for the honour of his family. He thought you stole the South. He thought you rejected the terms laid down by his father. He didn’t know who I was. The moment he found out—he tried to protect me.” Kai’s expression shifted slightly. Still uncertain. Still guarded. But he was listening. “He loved his brother, my fathe
AdashaKai gave me a look—soft, supportive—and stepped away without a word. Gregory and May followed.Leaving us alone.Randy shoved his hands into his pockets, clearing his throat.“Didn’t know you were this badass,” he said with a half-smile.I laughed—tired, but real. “Neither did I.”We stood in silence for a beat, the dust still settling around us.And for the first time in a long time… there was no anger.Just quiet respect.Something new, but welcome.“Heard you held your ground,” Randy said, his voice low with something like admiration. “Liberated everyone before we arrived. I guess I underestimated you… didn’t give you the chance to prove yourself.”I smiled gently. “It’s all in the past now. I bear no grudge, Randy.”He nodded, eyes softening. “I know. Still… I’m glad you found a home.”A pause.“Thank you for not eliminating me all those years. I was cruel to you,” he added, glancing around at the aftermath. “Seeing what you did to these people… I might not have survived you
KaiI had my heart in my throat the entire ride back from Bridewood.Every second in that car felt like a lifetime.I was a fool. A blind, arrogant fool who’d trusted the wrong man and handed over the one person I was supposed to protect.How did I miss it?How did I not see it?Abraham’s words echoed in my head: All your information came from Edmond. He shaped your view. He made you move the way he wanted.And he was right.Every step I’d taken had been in Edmond’s shadow. Every decision… manipulated. Orchestrated.And now—Adasha.I gripped the edge of my seat so hard my knuckles cracked. The need to get home burned like acid in my veins.When we finally reached the entrance to my territory, that burning turned into fire—real fire.Smoke rose thick into the sky.Bodies.Blood.Everywhere.They hadn’t even tried to hide the massacre.We were too late.I didn’t need confirmation anymore. Abraham had told the truth.I barely had time to breathe before the enemy was on us—Rivercreek tra
KaiIn the shower, I held Adasha under the falling water. Her back to my chest, her head resting gently against me. My hands splayed across her stomach as if to ground myself in the feel of her—alive, warm, mine.Peace. That’s what it felt like. Fragile, earned peace.I pressed a kiss to her temple and silently thanked the universe, the gods, the moon—everything—for letting me keep her.When we stepped out, I dried her gently, dressed her like she was made of something irreplaceable, and called Darius.“Let Abraham go,” I told him.There was a pause, but no argument. We’d made enough mistakes. Held enough grudges. There were bigger battles ahead.Magnus had already begun arranging transport for Edmond and Tamara. Darius, Gabe, Randy, and Draco’s officers would oversee their imprisonment until we reached the council.Tomorrow, we’d present the evidence.And maybe—finally—make our move to abolish the law that justified the hunting and killing of Moonchilds.With Randy, Draco, and me bac
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AdashaThe sun was already high when the first cars pulled up the drive, tires crunching against the gravel.I stood near the front steps, Michelle balanced on my hip, Ethan clinging to Kai’s hand beside me.The soft hum of laughter and voices rolled in from the yard where balloons bobbed in the breeze and long tables were set with food, drinks, and gifts wrapped in all colors of the rainbow.One by one, they stepped out of the vehicles—and my heart swelled with something I couldn’t quite name. Gratitude, maybe. Or just the deep, overwhelming warmth of seeing people you love all in one place, safe and smiling.Randy was the first to appear, looking more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.Olivia walked beside him, glowing in a flowing dress that barely disguised her growing belly. He had one hand protectively resting on her lower back, the other carrying a stuffed bear nearly the size of Ethan.“Don’t say anything,” Randy said with a mock glare as he saw me smirking.“I wasn’t going to say
AdashaTwo Years LaterThe war with Tamara and Edmond felt like a lifetime ago.Now, the only battles Kai and I fought were over who had diaper duty or who could make the twins laugh harder.Our twins were turning one, and the house buzzed with energy as we prepared for their birthday celebration.We’d been wrapped in a bubble the past year—busy, blessed, and exhausted. Life had shifted. Priorities changed. And in that quiet, we’d drifted from everyone we once fought beside.This party was more than just a celebration for the twins. It was a reunion. A chance to gather everyone who meant something to us. To laugh. To remember. To feel like a family again.So much had changed.Randy had ended up fated to Olivia—Uncle James’ daughter.They were mated now, and from what I heard, completely inseparable.They were expecting their first child, and I couldn’t wait to meet the little one when the time came.Randy had softened, grown into himself, and it showed. I was genuinely happy for him.
Randy“Well, are you just going to stand there?” Her voice snapped me out of the trance.I blinked. She was staring right at me, arms crossed, like I’d kept her waiting too long.“I… I thought you were— I was just—” I stammered, completely unprepared.She laughed. Soft, amused, but laced with something that curled in my gut.“Now that my family’s free, you thought I’d leave?” she asked, eyes locked on mine like she was reading every thought I’d tried to bury.I couldn’t answer. Because yeah… part of me had.She saw it. Smirked. And then, without a word, grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room.Before I knew it, I was sitting on the edge of her bed, heart pounding like I’d just run ten miles.She stood in front of me, the wickedest smile tugging at her lips. Then she slid the sheer robe from her shoulders and let it fall.I forgot how to breathe.The lingerie underneath was designed to kill. Lace. Skin. Confidence. Everything about her said mine, and she wasn’t asking for permissio
RandyI didn’t stick around in Bridewood after the council hearing. There was no point. My business wasn’t here—it was back home.And after everything we’d seen, everything we’d nearly lost, I wasn’t about to waste another second.The universe had given us a rare gift: survival. A second chance. That kind of mercy doesn’t come often, and it sure as hell doesn’t come twice.I had someone waiting for me. A sharp-tongued, stubborn woman who challenged me at every turn and still somehow made my world make sense. Olivia.She’d crashed into my life like a storm, and I’d spent too long pretending I didn’t want to get caught in it.No more second-guessing. No more keeping her at arm’s length because I thought it was the “right” thing to do.I was done holding back.Adasha was smiling again.That look in her eyes—that light—I hadn’t seen it in years. And if she could forgive me, then maybe it was time I started forgiving myself too.So we packed up. Jacob, Thompson, and I hit the road back to
Kai"So what are you trying to suggest, Alpha Bouras, Alpha Olsen?" William asked.Draco didn’t blink. “I say we abolish the law against the Moonchilds—and give them a seat among the Twelve. It’s rightfully theirs.”The room froze. Then exploded.Voices rose like a storm, clashing over one another. Some shouted in disbelief, others in anger. No one talked about making the Twelve into Thirteen. That was the part that made them really uncomfortable.Draco stood steady, calm in the storm.He didn't care.And neither did Randy.“I strongly support Alpha Bouras,” Randy said, rising to his feet. “When Edmond crossed the line, it wasn’t the Twelve that stopped him. It was a Moonchild. When everyone else fell, she stood. It’s time we stop punishing a bloodline and start honouring it. This is what justice looks like.”The murmuring dropped, volume shifting as some heads nodded reluctantly.I stood next.And I didn’t sugarcoat it.“I agree,” I said. “I don’t care what anyone in this room thinks
KaiIt explained everything.Adasha’s blood would have completed the serum. Stabilised Edmond’s mutation. Kept his eyes from bleeding, his mind from fracturing, his body from falling apart.Without it, he looked like something from a nightmare—a shell of a man, straining to contain power not meant for him.But what I still didn’t understand was why. Why go this far?Why betray the very council he sat on? His family had power. He had influence.So why?And still, Edmond refused to speak. Sat silent in his silver cage, eyes dull with defeat. Or delusion.Tamara wasn’t much better—except she wouldn’t stop crying.But not for her victims.Not for her daughter.Not even for the madness she helped unleash.No.She kept looking at Austin, pleading, weeping like the betrayal hadn’t even happened.“I never cheated on you, Austin,” she said, loud enough for the entire hall to hear. “I just… I wanted more for us. For our daughter. The Redwolfs were going to cheat our family. I couldn’t stand by
Kai"You have a big heart, Malachi," Abraham said, his voice low but warm.It pulled me back from watching Adasha and Austin—the quiet reconciliation unfolding in a single conversation.I gave him a faint smile. “A foolish one, too.”He shook his head. “No. You acted based on what you had. I must say, you three are wise. I had no proof—only suspicion. And yet you gave me the benefit of the doubt.”He looked around the council hall, his expression sobering.“It’s all in the past now,” he added. “And know this—I bear no grudge.”I nodded, and for once, I felt the weight ease a little.That’s when the room shifted.The side doors opened, and Gregory walked in, flanking a man I didn’t need to be introduced to.Tall, weathered, lean from hardship but still standing with dignity.The resemblance to Gregory was uncanny. But it was the eyes that told me who he truly was.James Moonchild.Adasha’s uncle.Michelle’s brother.One of the most hunted, most whispered-about survivors in our entire w
KaiWe talked over the final details of our trip to the council, and that’s when I learned Austin had insisted on joining us—even though he hadn’t fully recovered.But I understood.He needed to be there.Not just as a witness, but as a man with something to put right. His presence was required, and maybe… so was his redemption.As for Laura—she was out of danger, physically—but her path was clearer than ever.She would be returning to Rivercreek.Did Tamara ever tell her the real plan? Or was she just another pawn? Another disposable piece to be sacrificed for her mother’s social climb?I couldn’t say.And maybe it didn’t matter.I didn’t feel sorry for her.I hoped she’d be better. That she’d choose better. But deep down, I knew I’d dodged a bullet.If fate hadn’t intervened—if Adasha hadn’t come into my life—I could’ve ended up just like Austin. Bound to someone who wore the name but none of the heart.There was no way Laura didn’t carry some of Tamara’s venom. It was in the way sh