LOGINLiora's POV."I was the adopted child while growing up," I said, my voice barely louder than the rustle of the leaves around us. I stared down at the gravel beneath my shoes. "It used to be just me and my parents, until my younger sister came along. I remember being over the moon to finally have a younger sister. I thought we would be best friends. We were at some point actually then,"Damien didn't interrupt. He just stood there, his tall frame casting a shadow in the moonlight, listening."But things changed fast," I continued, feeling a familiar tightness in my chest. "Blames started to always shift to me. Compliments went to only her. If something broke, I did it. If she cried, I made her. Of course, I was always the one at fault. It was really not very pleasant, so..."I looked up, biting the corner of my lips to stop myself from saying anything more. The memory of Serena sitting on that kitchen island chair, smirking while her mother cooked, felt entirely too close."So you got
Liora's POV "Ahem. Cough, cough."I cleared my throat quickly, the sound loud in the small room. I felt the heat rising to my face as I looked around at everyone. Their eyes were all fixed on me, waiting."Sorry," I managed to say, forcing a weak smile. "I just spaced out there for a second.""Are you sure you're good? You seemed pretty lost for a moment," Ella asked. Her forehead was creased with worry, and she had set her fork down."Honestly, I'm fine," I assured her. I looked over at Kira and Elias, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm really okay, guys." I let out a small, fake chuckle, doing my best to clear the awkward air that had formed within seconds.Nobody spoke for a moment. The silence felt heavy, and I could feel Damien’s eyes burning into the side of my face. He stared at me for a long time, his expression unreadable, before he finally spoke."She said she's fine. Don't bother the lady," Damien said. His deep voice ended the questioning instantly.Ella looked down at
Liora's POV "So these are your famous friends who run the restaurant you talked about?" Alpha Damien asked. We were in this personal chamber.He leaned back in his big chair. His gray eyes locked right onto us. The room smelled like old books and pine wood."Yes, this is Liora, Kira, and Elias," Ella said. She pointed to each of us with a bright smile."Thanks for having us, Alpha Damien," I said, stepping forward.As I spoke, I stared at his face for a second. There was something about the shape of his jaw. The way he held his head looked just like Ronan. My stomach twisted up. I stared at him, trying to see if I was wrong. The feeling faded when he shifted his weight. I quickly brushed the thought away. I told myself I was just being paranoid. It had been a long time since I stood close to a true Alpha wolf. In the human world, wolves were rare. Their energy was always weak, maybe that was what was affecting me."Wolves who run a fine restaurant in the human world. Quite fascinatin
Liora's POV "Isn't that the biggest pack in the South?" I asked, setting my fork down against the ceramic plate. My voice sounded a bit too tight, even to my own ears. "I didn't know you were from the Lockwood Pack, Ella.""That's because we haven't had that discussion before, right?" Ella replied. She popped a fry into her mouth, chewing casually."True," Lena agreed. She dipped another fry into the garlic dip, completely unbothered by the name.To them, it was just a name. But growing up in Voss, I had heard the stories. Whispered stories told around kitchen tables about how strict and untouchable the Lockwood territory had become over the years. According to the old rumors, they weren't always that cold. The sudden change had everything to do with Alpha Martins, the Alpha of Shadow Pack. Though I didn't ever get the full story."So, Liora, what do you say?" Elias asked, breaking my train of thoughts.I looked up and found him staring at me with big, hopeful eyes. Ever since my vis
Liora's POV "Isn't that Ella?" I leaned forward, squinting through the passenger window.The afternoon sun was blinding, hitting the empty road at a sharp angle. We were driving down a quiet, two-lane highway surrounded by overgrown fields. Not many cars came this way. A woman was standing by the road, waving her arms to flag down anyone passing by.As we rolled closer, the heat waves baking off the tarmac blurred her figure, but the sharp, confident posture was unmistakable. It was Ella. She was standing next to a small, midnight-blue car with its bonnet propped wide open. A thick, steady plume of white steam was flowing out into the dry air."Who's Ella?" Elias asked. He took his foot off the accelerator, gently bringing our car to a halt a few yards behind her packed vehicle."You don't remember?" I muttered, watching her face light up through the windscreen as she recognized us. "The girl who saved our ass when Lena and I went to that local market the first time we got to this ci
"Oh, hi, Jax. You are finally back," Isolde said, a bright smile on her face as she stepped out from a doorway.Jax stopped in the middle of the hallway. He was holding a small, faded black backpack by its top handle. He had left it in his car earlier because he didn't want to carry it up to his private meeting on Ronan’s balcony, but he had just gone back down to the garage to grab it. It was the only bag he had taken down south to Lockwood, it was just a simple, portable backpack with a few changes of clothes.He was almost to his room when Isolde blocked his path. The smile on her face felt completely wrong, and it instantly put him on edge. He never felt comfortable around her. Even though he was always polite and respectful because she was his Luna, she always made him feel like he had to watch his back. He honestly wondered how Serena could stand being so close to her."Luna," Jax said, giving her a quick nod."So, how did Lockwood go?" she asked.Jax kept his face completely bl
Liora's POV "Is that how blind you all are, or do you just choose to be?!" She continued.She looked around at the onlookers, and several of them shifted uncomfortably."How can you easily judge people without finding out the whole truth?" she asked loudly. "Just because these people seem new, or
The heavy silence on the other end of the phone line was suffocating. Theo stared at the phone in Gage’s hand, his chest tightening with every passing second."Liora? Are you there?" Gage called out, his voice dropping into a deeper, more urgent tone."I'm coming home right now," Liora’s voice fina
LIORA'S POV The week following the beam incident had been quiet, but it was a kind of silence which came with the feeling that ‘this is the calm before the storm’. After the beam incident, Silas wasn't just a supervisor anymore; he was one of us. Marcus had cleared him, the rest of us got more co
It was finally a new week, Monday morning and the house has finally returned to normal, well almost. The chaotic Hargrove’s event had died down except, well… Theo is still a bit shaken, though he hates to admit it. I stood in the kitchen, staring at a cup of coffee that had gone cold twenty minut







