登入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
Jacob*I shaved in silence, dragging the short blade carefully along the sharp plane of my jaw while steam curled lazily through the bathroom. The room smelled faintly of soap, steel and cedarwood oil, scents so familiar to me that I barely noticed them. My focus remained on the mirror in front of me, on the precise movement of my hand, even when I heard the door to my chambers open without ceremony.There was no knock and no greeting of ‘Alpha’ – there was only one person who would dare to enter my rooms this way: Laurel. I did not turn toward the sound. A second later, I caught sight of her from the corner of my eye. She stood leaning against the bathroom doorway with her arms folded tightly across her chest, watching me with an expression that was difficult to read from this angle.“Was the meeting with Elder Lenore successful?” she asked.I grunted in assent, drawing the blade down the curve of my cheek.The answer clearly was not enough for her, but Laurel did not immediately pr
Jacob*Despite myself, I smiled again. The memory of our kiss still lingered between us like heat under skin, and Elder Lenore’s instructions loomed heavily over everything. But as Krista walked beside me with amusement softening her expression and sunlight catching against the strands of her hair, it became painfully easy to understand why my wolf refused to let her go. A smile tugged at my mouth despite myself as I glanced sideways at her.“What makes you think I was ever caught,” I asked lazily, “just because I happened to be part of the prey?” The late afternoon sun filtered through the trees around us, painting shifting gold across the path as we walked back toward the manor grounds. The breeze carried the scent of pine and earth. “It’s truly a pity we weren’t childhood playmates,” I continued. “You would’ve known then that I always led the prey to victory.”Krista rolled her eyes with immediate disbelief, though there was laughter in it. “Always?” she repeated dryly. “If you’re
Jacob****For a moment, I simply stood there, staring at the pristine white sheets. They did not even look like they’d been slept in. My mind scrambled for an explanation. It didn’t make sense. She had been here last night—Elder Miriam herself had assured me she would stay until the worst of the b
KristaI took one last deep breath and stepped outside. The cold night air hit me like a splash of water, shocking me into alertness. I could feel the pale, gentle light of the moon pouring down on me, and I whispered a silent thank you to the Moon Goddess. Strength flooded into my body, faint but
KristaAs I lay in the stiff infirmary bed, I watched the slivers of moonlight creep in through the window and tried to pass the time until I was sure the pack was asleep. It felt as though every minute stretched into hours as I waited, tense and restless, listening for the quiet I needed to make m
KristaAs the days slipped by, Laurel’s recovery had become more than a quiet, hopeful thing; it was a presence, pulsing in every corner of the pack. And with each new morning, I’d watch Jacob drift farther from me, pulled by the gravity of her pain. Every quiet evening he spent in the infirmary, h







