MasukJacob*At once, the others followed his lead in a scattered chorus.“Good evening, Alpha.”“Alpha Jacob.”“Good evening, sir.”I waved absentmindedly at them, too tired to stand on ceremony. “Is there anything you can whip up for me?”The portly servant brightened immediately, looking almost delighted to be useful. “Yes, Alpha! There’s chicken broth left, and fresh bread as well. We’ll get it ready at once.”I nodded and stepped further into the kitchen. That was when I noticed the small figure seated at the servant’s table tucked into the corner of the room. Luke sat perched on one of the benches, happily munching away on bread and cheese with a large cup of milk beside him. His feet swung idly beneath the table as he ate, completely absorbed in his meal and blissfully unaware of my entrance.The sight of him made something inside me ease unexpectedly. Without even realizing it, I smiled. Perhaps it was because he looked so utterly content sitting there, cheeks puffed with bread and
Jacob*I watched silently as Tamsin, head of my household staff, took in the sight of my room with nary a word, though her lips pursed ever so slightly as she stepped carefully over shattered glass and splintered wood. Her gaze moved from the overturned furniture to the ruined curtains hanging crookedly from their rods before she bent to right one of the armchairs Laurel had sent flying across the room earlier.I understood her expression perfectly. The room looked like a warzone. One of the windows remained cracked from Laurel driving the broken table leg into it, and the cold evening breeze slipped into the room through the fractures, stirring the curtains weakly.Tamsin straightened the armchair with the same composure she approached everything with, but I did not miss the careful look she cast around the room again afterward. It wasn’t fearful exactly but more thoughtful than anything else. She had likely spent years managing household disasters, but I doubted many of them involv
Jacob*My chambers looked as though a cyclone had torn through them. Broken wood littered the floor and glass glittered everywhere. The curtains hung crookedly and my desk had been reduced to chaos.Very few things had escaped Laurel’s anger intact. I looked at her steadily through the destruction. Then, in a voice as dangerous and still as a deep river, I asked her, “Are you done?”Laurel bared her teeth at me as a snarl ripped from her throat. “I’m just beginning.”And in her eyes, I saw it not merely anger or hurt but violence. There was a naked desire to pummel mewith her fists, an undisguised wish that it had been my skull she shattered instead of the furniture around us. Even after her rampage, that fury inside her remained utterly undoused.My anger still burned hot inside my chest, but alongside it, exhaustion had begun to settle in. Without raising my voice, I said, “It’s obvious we need a break from each other.”The words seemed to hit her harder than if I had shouted. For
Jacob*“You broke your mate bond recklessly because you said it was me you truly loved. Then the second your precious ex-mate comes back looking tragic, suddenly you’re chasing after her again while keeping me dangling behind you like some spare option.” Laurel said, voice dripping scorn. “You posture like you’re noble, but really, you’re just selfish. You want both of us because your ego can’t stand losing either one.”“It’s heartening to see that you think so poorly of me, even after knowing me for so long.”She stepped closer again, glaring up at me with open contempt. “You’re a whore of a man, Jacob.”My wolf lunged violently inside me at the insult and my eyes glinted with fury at her words.Laurel either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “And Goddess,” she laughed bitterly, “I was such a fool for wasting my time on you. Krista was right to leave your sorry ass. I only wish I had been smart enough to do the same sooner.”The words struck something ugly inside me, not because they hu
Jacob*“That is not what I said.”“It’s exactly what you said!” Her voice rang through the room.I could feel my wolf growing restless beneath my skin now, irritated by the escalating tension. “Laurel,” I said firmly, “Elder Lenore has served this pack faithfully for decades. She would not fabricate something like this.”Laurel scoffed loudly. “Of course she would if it meant restoring Krista.”“She gains nothing from lying.”“Oh please. Have a care for my intelligence.” She began pacing again, faster now. “She adored Krista, just like everyone else in this fucking pack,” Laurel snapped. “Most of the Elders did. Krista was their precious Luna. Their perfect little symbol of unity and loyalty and sacrifice.”“And now Krista is back,” she continued bitterly, “and suddenly the Goddess still considers her your mate? Suddenly she must spend time with you? Sleep beside you? Be close to you? She’s being pushed right back into my place while everyone pretends this is about the wish of the Go
Jacob*Then, more to herself than to me, she muttered, “So this means Krista is still your Luna, isn’t she?”The question settled heavily between us. I nodded once and Laurel laughed again. This time, there was something brittle in it that immediately put me on edge. She began pacing again, rubbing both hands over her face before letting them fall to her sides. Annoyance blazed openly in her eyes now, hot and restless.“Surely,” she said tightly, “Elder Lenore gave some sort of solution to this. There has to be a way to fix it.”“There is,” I replied carefully. “Or at least, we hope there is. We’re going to try to draw Krista’s wolf out.”Even as I said the words aloud, they sounded absurdly complicated and ridiculous. If someone else had been telling me this story weeks ago, I might have thought the Goddess herself was playing some cruel joke.Laurel folded her arms across her chest tightly.“It won’t be easy,” I continued. “But we have to try.”“With all due respect,” Laurel said s
Krista *The weight of Jacob’s words lingered, settling deep in my chest and stealing the breath I wanted to fire back at him. I opened my mouth to demand he say whatever it was he had come here for and leave, but the exhaustion hit me like a wave. Before I could give him a reply, he quickly adds,
Jacob*Krista’s voice was lighter than I remembered, as if the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders. And then she laughed.The sound hit me like a punch to the gut. It was so familiar, yet so different. Softer. Happier.My wolf snarled, its jealousy surging again. “We should be the on
Jacob*Pushing myself to my feet, I dusted off the dirt and leaves that clung to my clothes. The tension that had coiled tightly in my chest began to unwind as I stepped away from the maple tree, following the trail the boy had left behind.As I walked, a thought stirred in the back of my mind. H
Jacob*As I left Laurel’s room, my feet carried me out of the manor. The air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and damp earth as I walked. My boots crunched softly against the dirt path, but the sound barely registered. My body moved on autopilot, one foot in front of the other, while my







