LOGINDAMON'S POV Soft sunlight filtered through a narrow opening high above, spilling into a hidden clearing tucked between towering walls of ancient stone. I stopped without meaning to. The place felt... Impossible. The nightmare we'd escaped seemed impossibly far away, as though the mountain itself had swallowed every trace of it and spit out something new. A narrow stream wound quietly through the clearing, its crystal-clear water slipping lazily around smooth stones polished by countless seasons. Moss climbed the surrounding cliffs in thick emerald patches, while stubborn vines draped themselves over ledges that had likely gone untouched for centuries. The air no longer smelled of blood or decay. Only wet stone, wood smoke and the fresh herbs drying somewhere nearby. Nestled against the cliff stood a small stone dwelling. Nothing grand. Nothing remarkable. Just a modest home built into the rock itself, as though the mountain had opened its arms and quietly sheltered it from
MICHAELA'S POV "Damon?"The last time I'd seen her...She'd been asleep.Her red hair had spilled across the pillow in tangled curls, her chest rising and falling in the slow, steady rhythm of peaceful sleep.I'd stayed beside her longer than I should have.Simply watching.Memorizing.The warmth of her scent.The constellation of freckles scattered across her face.All twelve of them.The faint curve of her lips, as though she was carrying on a very important conversation inside her dreams.I had taken all of her in.And somewhere deep inside my chest, something had begun to ache.Slowly.Quietly.Dangerously.It was the sort of ache that demanded immediate attention. Because everything I felt for this woman was becoming far too large to contain.Far too dangerous to ignore.Then she'd stirred.I'd held my breath, hoping she wouldn't wake.I couldn't have explained why I was there.Not to her.Not even to myself.She hadn't.And somehow...Even though that was exactly what I'd wante
MICHAELA'S POVPain returned before consciousness did.A dull, relentless throb spread through every inch of my body, settling deep inside my bones until even breathing felt like work.Consciousness arrived in reluctant fragments.First came pain.Then warmth.Then the unmistakable softness beneath my back.My sluggish mind struggled to make sense of it all before slipping away again, only to claw its way back a second later.For a long moment, I wasn't entirely certain whether I'd opened my eyes or not.Darkness surrounded me either way.Slowly...The memories returned.The cliff.The fall.The deafening rush of wind ripping the scream from my throat.The creature crouched over me, its jaws stretching open as it prepared to strike.Then...Nothing.No.Not nothing.There had been someone else.A female.The sorceress.My eyes flew open.I tried to sit upright immediately.Pain exploded through my ribs.A sharp gasp escaped me before I collapsed back onto whatever I was lying on, sque
DAMON'S POVThere was no way I was letting Rhoda continue with an injury like that.And there was no way I was leaving this place without knowing what had happened to Michaela.The thought of her sent a bolt of pain through my chest that had nothing to do with my own injuries.Just moments ago, I'd had hope.Real hope.Now, it was slipping through my fingers, crumbling piece by piece.My head buzzed at the thought of Michaela trapped somewhere down here...Alone.Surrounded by those monsters.I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief moment, trying to steady myself as the image forced its way into my mind.No.I refused to believe it.It wasn't possible.It simply couldn't be.I willed this to be the truth.I would find her, I repeated over and over in my head.Wait for me, Michaela.I would find you.When I opened my eyes again, I became aware of the cloaked female watching me, silently.Waiting.Without a word, with much more determination than the last second, I reached for the backpack
DAMON'S POVI had no more than two seconds to decide. So I made the only decision that made sense.I followed her.Surviving this nightmare on our own had already become impossible."Cover me," the cloaked female ordered.The command was sharp.Confident.Entirely too authoritative for my liking.Ruin stirred beneath my skin, distinctly displeased by the command in her voice. Yet beneath that irritation, I sensed something else.A reluctant respect.It made me hesitate.Ruin had never tolerated anyone who so much as tried to seem imposing.Not even Father.Whatever this woman was...Even my wolf wasn't dismissing her outright.Without another word, she strode deeper into the ruins.It seemed a few seconds after landing, whatever we had made the creatures to stay away from her, weared off.Rhoda and I fell in behind her, blades moving almost constantly as more of the monsters threw themselves into our path.I cut one across the chest.Rhoda impaled another through the neck before wrenc
DAMON'S POVFor one heartbeat, nothing moved.Everything remained still long enough for me to partially recover from the shock of the sight before me.Slowly, I reached for Rhoda's arm."Damon," she whispered again.I couldn't answer.I was too busy searching for a way out.There didn't seem to be one.The quiet murmur of the stream slipping between ancient stones filled the silence. I had no idea whether it was loud enough to hide the sound of our footsteps."Back away," I whispered.Rhoda didn't argue.We moved one careful step at a time. Neither of us turned our backs.Neither of us broke eye contact with the creatures.We were only a few paces from disappearing around a broken wall when Rhoda's boot caught against a loose stone.She stumbled.Her hand shot toward me for balance. The stone skittered across the ground.The sound echoed far louder than it should have.Every creature froze.Then...One moved.No.It exploded toward us.One moment it stood among the others.The next it
I open the window, sliding one foot over, then another. My feet land lightly on the carpet, and I smile at the sheer perfection of the action. The lights flick on. I gulp. Talia stands by the switch, arms crossed, her face set in that “I caught you and you’re in trouble” look. Despite the
I startle at the sound of leaves crunching under boots. “Who’s there?” “Mia? Is that you?” I turn to find Cole picking his way toward me. “Cole,” I breathe. “How did you—” “I had a feeling they were going to come for you after what you did.” He finally reaches where I’m leaning against a t
My screams does not deter him. Oh no. “Don’t—” I start. He lunges again. Below me, the group spreads out in a perfect semicircle. Waiting. “Catch her,” I recall Damon’s words. He plans to force me out if this tree, I realize. Panic claws at my lungs as I adjust myself on the branches so I c
Rule number one for anyone living in a werewolf pack—especially if that person is human: Never humiliate the future Alpha. Rule number two? If you do, don’t get caught. I broke rule number one three hours ago. And right now, I just broke rule number two. “You can run, but you can't hide, h







