MasukMy pace slowed.I was close.The grove opened ahead of me, circular and impossibly quiet. The ground was covered in dead moss. Stones lined the perimeter, carved with symbols so ancient they seemed to hum.And in the center, she stood.The dark priestess.Tall. Shrouded in a veil of black. Skin like
CASSANDRADerek knows.The thought pounded in my head like a war drum, louder than the creaking floorboards beneath my feet as I stumbled back inside my cottage. I couldn’t breathe. My skin was ice. I gripped the edge of the counter like the world might slide out from under me if I let go.He knows.
"As a matter of fact," I said slowly, "it was."She nodded. "That was from one of my favorite shirts. My mother was furious when she saw that I’d torn a piece from it."The air went out of my lungs.Her favorite shirt.I blinked, trying to picture that day clearly. Cassandra had been there—that much
DEREKI didn’t move.Didn’t nod. Didn’t speak.I just stood there, letting her see it in my face. Because yeah—it was me.Every call, every closed-door meeting, every favor I cashed in to fast-track the permits they needed before anyone could find a reason to stall or block it. I’d done all of it. Q
DEREKThe crowd had already begun to gather when I arrived.The courtyard in front of the new Rogue Foundation was cordoned off with velvet rope and lined with silver-and-navy banners. The city's emblem flew alongside Moonstone’s and Red Ridge’s on tall flagpoles, and a heavy length of ribbon stretc
DEREKThe growl of the four-wheeler under me did nothing to quiet the growl inside my chest.I’d been patrolling for hours.The wind whipped against my jacket, tugging at the collar as I tore down another ridgeline, the sun low and angry behind me. Dust kicked up behind the tires in plumes. My hands
ELENAThe low fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, washing everything in a sterile, humming glow.Maggie sat across from me, wrists cuffed, the chains on the table between us rattling softly every time she moved. Her eyes were red, her mouth pressed into a thin, trembling line. She looked like a ghos
ELENAThe phone was slipping in my sweaty palm, but I refused to hang up."I understand protocol," I said tightly, forcing my voice to stay even. "I’m not asking for full disclosure. I’m trying to ascertain if Maggie is being treated fairly and afforded her right of due process."Static crackled on
DEREKThe door to the Alpha’s office shut behind us with a heavy click, sealing the tension inside.Elena stalked ahead of me down the hallway, her bare shoulders tight with fury and frustration.I caught up to her in three long strides."I want to talk to her," she said, voice low and feral. "Now."
ELENAThe path wound back toward the packhouse, soft and familiar beneath my boots.The sunlight had grown sharper, more golden, but it did nothing to thaw the knot of cold sitting heavy in my chest.I walked beside Derek, every step humming with tension I couldn’t fully name.He didn’t say anything







