MasukThe sounds reached her before she stepped inside.Growls.Heavy impacts.The training grounds had always terrified her.This was her first time entering them.Until now, she had always stayed away.Even walking past this place made her nervous.The warriors scared her.When they sparred, they no longer looked human. Their growls echoed through the air like wild animals ready to tear each other apart. Teeth flashed. Fangs showed.Sometimes...Blood followed.She had never understood how anyone could watch without fear.Luna Lorraine certainly never expected her to.Growing up, her lessons had nothing to do with fighting.She learned etiquette.Discipline.Traditions.Everything expected of a future Luna.Protection belonged to the warriors.Not to her.They were trained to stand between danger and their Alpha or Luna without hesitation.Even if it cost them their lives.If she was being honest...Luna Lorraine never seemed to value that sacrifice.Sometimes, the way she looked at the w
Azerbel's Point of ViewLuckily...I found three women I could actually talk to without feeling like I was walking into a trap.That alone felt like progress.One of them was Rejin.Rustom's younger sister.She was loud.Blunt.Impossible to ignore.Just like her brother.Ironically...The two of them argued almost every time they saw each other.Apparently, having the same personality only made them fight more."Did you hear?" Rose whispered excitedly, leaning across the table as if she was about to share the biggest secret in the pack."Sir Dominic has been threatening the Alpha again.""What now?" Lena asked at once, moving closer.I watched them quietly for a moment.A small smile slipped onto my face.They were chaotic.But warm.Sometimes...They reminded me of Skylar.The thought made my chest ache.I missed her more than I wanted to admit."Who is Sir Dominic?" I asked.Three heads turned toward me at once.The silence that followed was almost insulting."You don't know?""No
Azerbel's Point of View"Don't be silly."The words came out sharper than I meant.Mostly because every small movement sent pain across my back.Even so...I pushed myself up.Genaro watched me too closely.Like one wrong move would tear my wounds open again."Okay..." he said slowly.He still didn't look convinced."Eat slowly."The bowl was warm in my hands.Steam drifted into the air.Rich.Comforting.For a moment, I only stared at it.Then I took a sip.My eyes widened before I could stop them.It was good.Too good.Maybe the best soup I had ever tasted.Luna Lorraine had always controlled my meals.Nothing too flavorful.Nothing too enjoyable.Food was supposed to keep me healthy.Not make me happy."I can tell you like it," Genaro said quietly.I looked up.He was leaning against the bedpost with his arms crossed.A faint smile rested on his face.The darkness from earlier was gone.But the exhaustion remained.He hadn't slept all night.Every time I moved...He woke up.Every
Azerbel's Point of ViewPain woke me before I opened my eyes.Dull.Heavy.Everywhere.But it wasn't as sharp as before.That was the first thing I noticed.The second...Something was keeping me still."Don't move."Genaro's voice.Low.Close."Your back is still injured.""You can't lie on it."His hand rested gently against me.Firm enough to stop me.Gentle enough not to hurt.Somehow...That made everything feel worse.Slowly, I opened my eyes.The room was blurry at first.Then it came into focus.From where I was lying, I couldn't see his face.Only his legs beside the bed."Water..."My voice was dry.Barely a whisper."Please..."It felt like I had swallowed sand."Don't turn," Genaro said immediately.I heard him move.Quick.Controlled.Water poured into a glass.Then his footsteps came back.A moment later, his hands were on me again.Careful.Too careful.He gently lifted my shoulders just enough.Making sure my back never touched the bed.Only then did I see his face.So
Azerbel's Point of ViewThree hours.The number wouldn't leave me alone.It echoed in my head, louder than the waterfall.I was six.How was that even possible?I stared at the water.Trying to picture it.Trying to remember something that refused to come back.I couldn't understand it.I was only a child.How could I have kept an eleven-year-old boy alive for three hours?Acting quickly...Choosing not to run for help...That part, I could believe.But everything after that?It didn't feel real."You held my head above the water," Genaro said quietly, as if he could hear every doubt in my mind. "You kept me there until the poison wore off and I could move again."I looked at him."I did?"The surprise in my voice was real.Too real."Wow..."A small breath escaped me."I must've been... really kind."I hesitated."How long did it take?"Genaro let out a soft laugh.Not to tease me.Just because he already knew the answer."You did it," he said."For about three hours."My breath caug
Azerbel's Point of View"I was never lost," I said quietly."I was left."The words didn't even feel like mine.But once they were out, they stayed there.Heavy.Sharp.Impossible to take back."So you're saying my father didn't want me?" I looked at Genaro, my chest tight. "He's the one who sent me to the Hellfire Pack?""Not exactly." Genaro shook his head. "A woman took you from your pack... and left you at an orphanage in the Hellfire Pack."A woman.Not even him.Something twisted inside me.So my own father hadn't even cared enough to decide my fate.A dry laugh escaped my lips."I wish I could tell myself not to believe this." My fingers curled into fists. "This... story."Because that's what it felt like.A cruel story someone made up.Except...It wasn't.It was my story.I already knew I wasn't important.I'd lived with that truth for years.But this...This was worse.It meant I had never been chosen at all."I warned you," Genaro said quietly."I know."The words came out
Azerbel had imagined this moment a thousand times.But never like this.Never with Guerero sitting beside another woman.Never with him unable to look her in the eyes.And never...with him choosing someone else."This is Ruby," Guerero said.His voice was low.Heavy."The woman I mentioned in my l
The question slipped out before Azerbel could stop it."Who is she?"Her voice trembled.Not because she didn't want the answer.But because a part of her was suddenly terrified of hearing it.Luna Lorraine's hand tightened around hers.And somehow...that made everything worse.The grip was gentle
The man she loved was finally coming home.So why did it feel like her heart was warning her instead of celebrating?Azerbel stood at the entrance of the Hellfire Pack, pressing her trembling hands together as she tried to steady her breathing.Beside her stood Luna Lorraine.On Lorraine's other si
Azerbel’s Point of ViewI felt it before I saw him.A gaze.Heavy.Sharp.Unmoving.It slid over my skin and made me shiver.Slowly, I lifted my head...and froze.A man was staring at me.Not just looking.Watching.Like he was studying me.Like he already knew something about me that I didn't.My







