LOGINLIAM
Neah looks down at her hands. The gash she got from the tunnel. The one she scraped on concrete when we were running from Marcus's wolves. It's closing. Not wolf fast. But faster than human. The skin knits together as she watches. Her eyes widen.
Something is waking up inside her.
Before I can ask what she's seeing, the packhouse door slams open. Ryan storms in with three warriors flanking him.
DAY ONE — NEAH**I stand in the clearing with Aldara.Three days to master power that took ancient Lunas decades to understand.No pressure."Show me projection," Aldara says. "Maximum range."I focus. Let the golden energy build. Then release it in a directed wave.The light shoots across the forest. Over trees. Through clearings. Miles and miles of concentrated life force.At the edge of Iron Valley territory, flowers bloom. Injured deer heal. A dying tree straightens and grows new leaves.Three miles. I just projected healing three miles away."Good," Aldara says. Not impressed. Analytical. "Now simultaneous targets. Heal multiple subjects at once."She gestures to ten wolves scattered across the training ground. All carrying minor injuries from sparring.I reach out. Not with my hands. With my awareness. The new ability the stone gave me.I can see them. Really see them. Not just bodies. Th
LIAMI can't breathe.Neah emerges from the tunnel and my breath stops completely.She looks like herself. Same face. Same build. Same stance.But more.Golden veins trace patterns across her arms. Glowing faintly beneath her skin like living circuitry. Her eyes are pure liquid gold. Not flickering. Not shifting. Completely transformed.When she moves, it's with a grace that's almost otherworldly. Fluid. Precise. Like gravity affects her differently now.Kain goes silent inside my mind. Then drops to his belly. Not in submission. In reverence.Our mate is no longer wolf or human or hybrid.She's something else entirely.Neah walks toward me. Each step causes flowers to bloom where her feet touch the ground. The air shimmers around her. Life force radiating in waves I can feel even in human form.She stops three feet away. Studies my face."I'm still me," she says. Voice layered. Multiple tones speaki
NEAHDawn breaks over Iron Valley.I stand at the entrance to the tunnel. Fifty feet below, the lunar stone waits.Behind me, everyone I love has gathered. Silent. Watching.Liam stands closest. His hand in mine. The bond thrumming between us. Fear and love and trust all tangled together.Caleb is beside him. Vanessa's hand on his shoulder. My twin. My brother. Ready to follow me into hell if I asked.Theo, Shane, and Miles stand in a line. My warriors. My family. Theo has the earpiece ready. Shane's trying to smile. Miles holds the leather cord he braided for Caleb's baby.Micah and Sera flank the entrance. Gold eyes glowing faintly. My fellow hybrids. My foundation. They know what I'm about to face better than anyone.Elena and Diane stand together. Mother and surrogate mother. Both crying. Both trying to hide it.Aldara waits at the tunnel entrance. Ancient. Powerful. The guide who brought me this far."Are you
LIAM---I'm waiting when Neah comes back to our room.She's been gone for hours. Making peace with everyone on her list. Healing wounds. Mending fractures.I felt it all through the bond. The grief with Diane. The love with Elena. The brotherhood with Caleb. The loyalty with the boys.Every conversation another piece of armor stripped away. Every truth another step toward wholeness.Now it's my turn.She closes the door behind her. Leans against it. Exhausted but lighter somehow."Hey," she says."Hey yourself.""I saved you for last.""I noticed.""Not because you're least important. Because you're the most. And I needed to get the rest out of the way before I could do this right."She crosses the room. Sits beside me on the bed. Takes my hand."We need to talk," she says."I know.""About tomorrow. About the bonding. About what comes after."I nod. Can't speak. T
NEAHI find them in the common room.Shane, Miles, and Theo. My original circle. The warriors who became brothers. The boys who saw a grieving human girl three years ago and decided she was worth protecting.They're playing cards. Some game with complicated rules that Shane keeps changing whenever he's losing."That's not how this works," Miles says patiently."It's exactly how this works. House rules.""Your house rules change every hand.""Adaptation is key to survival."Theo just shakes his head. Doesn't argue. Knows it's pointless.I stand in the doorway watching them. Memorizing. Just in case tomorrow doesn't go the way I hope.Theo notices me first. Always does. "Neah."The other two look up immediately."Hey," I say. "Can I join?""Always," Shane says. Grins. "Fair warning though. I'm winning.""You're cheating," Miles corrects."Semantics."I sit. They deal me in.
NEAHI find Caleb at the training building.Our place. Where we've sparred and argued and cried and laughed since I was fifteen and he took it upon himself to teach me how to fight like a wolf even though I'd never shift.He's not alone. Vanessa stands beside him. Hand in his. United front.Good. That's good. Because we need to do this right."Hey," I say."Hey yourself." Caleb gestures to the mats. "Want to sit?""Yeah."We settle on the floor. Cross-legged. The way we used to when we needed to talk about something serious.Vanessa sits beside Caleb. Close but not crowding. She's learning. So am I."I need to say something," I start. "To both of you. Before tomorrow. Before everything changes.""Okay," Caleb says.I look at Vanessa first. "I was wrong. When you first arrived. I assumed the worst. Assumed you were trying to replace me. Assumed Caleb would forget about me the moment he found his mate. That wasn't fair to you."Vanessa's eyes widen slightly. "Neah—""Let me finish. You
NEAHThe knife hit the concrete floor with a metallic clatter that echoed through the corridor like a period at the end of a sentence nobody wanted to read.Marcus's smile widened. His hand stayed on my throat. Not squeezing
NEAHThe knife hit the floor with a metallic clatter that echoed through the corridor. Marcus's hand stayed on my throat. Not squeezing. Just there. A reminder of power differential. Wolf versus human. Predator versus prey.
NEAHThe tunnel swallowed me whole.One second I was standing at the entrance with sunlight on my back and Liam's eyes burning into me like a brand. The next I was inside. Dark. Cold. The smell of rust and stagnant water and something org
THEOI was right. Derek was the mole. The suspicion I carried for days was confirmed the moment Vanessa called with the news of his escape.I should have felt vindicated. Instead I felt cold. Precise. Furious in the controlled way that tu







