- 2 weeks ago
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00:01Please, slower. I begged my mate, Dane Montagu, the most powerful alpha on the continent.
00:11Three years ago, he was forced to marry me at knifepoint, and now he was pinning me to the wall.
00:17At our mating ceremony, I was still a virgin, but he didn't slow down. His teeth sank deeper into my
00:23shoulder.
00:24Blood ran down my chest. His golden eyes burned with hate.
00:29I am Anne Reed, daughter of Waylon Reed, the alpha who slaughtered Dane's pack three years ago.
00:38The night I turned 19, my father dragged me onto Blue Ridge Land. He left me bleeding in the snow
00:44as bait.
00:45Dane was patrolling the border. He found me. He saved me. He carried me home.
00:52While he was saving my life. My father was slaughtering his pack.
00:56By dawn or rain, his parents were dead. A quarter of his pack lay in ash. My father held claws
01:02to his grandfather's throat.
01:03Marry her, or they die.
01:06The silver in my blood that night wouldn't let me speak. Dane married me at clawpoint. For three years, he
01:14punished me for it.
01:16He never touched me. He never said my name without hate. He slept with a woman named Evelyn. He let
01:24me feel every kiss through our mate bond.
01:30Three years you begged for this. Tonight you get it.
01:36He whispered at my ear.
01:41You went to a witch for a love spell. You drugged me, Anne. Just like your family slaughtered my pack.
01:50He pulled back. His mouth was red with my blood. He didn't look at me. He looked at the entire
01:58pack.
02:01It is done.
02:02We were the only pair in the pack still unmarked. For three years he refused to claim me. Tonight the
02:08mate bond forced him to.
02:10He threw a box of Plan B at me. It bounced off my knee.
02:15I won't let my blood mingle with reeds.
02:18Then he stepped off the altar. He pulled his phone from his robe. In front of the entire pack. A
02:24photo lit the screen. Red lingerie. A caption. He walked toward the doors.
02:31He was leaving. On the night he marked me. I stood alone on the altar in my torn robe. Blood
02:39at my shoulder. The pack staring at me.
02:43I was a fool to think tonight was different. I reached up. I pulled the silver ribbon from my hair.
02:50The one from our forced mating ceremony. I held it up so the whole pack could see. I lifted my
02:55chin. My voice carried through the hall.
02:59Dain Montague. He stopped at the door. The whole pack went silent. Cut the ribbon. Sever our mate bond. I'm
03:08done.
03:13The pack was waiting. Dain stood at the door of the hall. His back to me. His shoulders shaking. He
03:20didn't turn around.
03:21You've taken this little act too far. Do you really think I'll fall for it?
03:26Dain Montague.
03:27You can be free. You can be with Evelyn. Beg me.
03:33Dain Montague.
03:34Dain Montague. His voice was low. Cruel. I lifted the silver ribbon higher. So the whole pack could see.
03:42He turned then. His golden eyes had lost all control. Half wolf, half man. He stalled back
03:48across the hall. The pack parted for him. He stopped in front of me. Blood from my shoulder
03:56still dripping on the marble. He looked down at the ribbon in my hand. The one binding our souls.
04:02His claws came out. He took the ribbon from my fingers. He sliced it clean in half. A snap of
04:10magic flared in the hall, like a flame going out. Every wolf in the pack felt it. The
04:15mate bond ripped from my chest. I gasped. The pain dropped me to my knees on the altar.
04:20His mark on my shoulder faded to glass. The wound began to heal. He felt it too. His brow
04:27tightened. But his wolf was holding back. He stared down at me. He dropped the two pieces
04:36of ribbon at my feet. This is what you wanted.
04:41He turned again. He walked out of the hall. The doors closed behind him. The pack stared
04:49at me. Their fallen Luna. On the floor of the marking altar. Blood at my shoulder. A dead
04:55bond in my chest. Two halves of silver ribbon at my feet. The first to come to me was my
05:01grandmother-in-law. The old Luna. Dane's grandmother. She helped me to my feet. She
05:10wrapped her shawl around my torn robe. She didn't say a word. She walked me out of the
05:16hall. Into the night. I walked through the woods to the packhouse. Up the back stairs. Into the
05:26bedroom I had shared with him for three years. No one would share it with me again. I packed
05:34one bag. Passport. Cash. The two halves of silver ribbon. I zipped the bag shut. Then
05:45I remembered. The box he'd thrown at me on the altar. Plan B. It was still in the pocket
05:50of my torn robe. I dug it out. I held it in my hand. His final humiliation. I almost threw
05:58it in the trash. I turned and slipped it into the side pocket of my bag. But the zipper didn't
06:03close all the way. I didn't notice. The bedroom door opened quietly behind me. I turned. A tall
06:12man stood in the doorway. Lilac eyes. The same as mine. Anne. It's me. Yvander Dever. My cousin.
06:23The only family left on my mother's side. My mother sent me to come for you. She said you
06:27would need me tonight. I stared at him. Five years since I'd seen him. How did he know?
06:36Now isn't the time to ask. He stepped into the bedroom. He picked up my bag. I followed
06:45him toward the door. I didn't notice the pillbox slip from the side pocket. It landed on the floor
06:52of that bedroom. It was the worst decision of my life. I was lying in Evelyn's bed. Evelyn
07:00was in my arms. She was kissing my neck. I was waiting for the freedom to come. Freedom
07:06from three years of mate bond pulling me toward a reed. It didn't come. My wolf started snarling.
07:13I sat up. Evelyn ran her hand down my back. What's wrong, baby? My bond. It's burning.
07:19It shouldn't be burning anymore. Evelyn went still. You really severed it? I told you I
07:26would. She laughed. I thought you were bluffing. I thought you'd never go through with it.
07:34What does that mean? Nothing. I just always thought you loved her more than you said.
07:39I stood up fast. My wolf was howling. Where is she? Who? My wife. You sound like you care.
07:49Where is she, Evelyn? How would I know? You're going after her. Of course I'm going after her.
07:56After everything her family did to your pack. Shut up. I left her there. I shifted in the woods.
08:04Charcoal fur. Faster than any wolf in three territories. I ran toward the pack house.
08:10My beta met me on the front lawn. His face was white. Alpha, where is she? Where is my wife?
08:16She's gone. Her car left for the airport an hour ago. What? She wasn't alone. There was a male
08:23wolf with her. One I don't know. I shoved past him into the house. Up the back stairs.
08:33Into the bedroom I'd shared with her for three years. The closet was empty. Her clothes. Her shoes.
08:40Her ribbon halves. All gone. But her scent was still here. Lilacs and silver. And another wolf's
08:47scent under hers. A male. He'd been in this room. He touched her things. I stepped further
08:54into the room. Then my foot hits something small on the floor.
08:59I bent down. A pillbox. Plan B. The one I'd thrown at her on the altar last night. Sealed.
09:09Unopened. She'd kept it. But she hadn't taken it. Damn it. I should have made her swallow
09:14it in front of me. Last night was the first time I'd touched her. She could be pregnant.
09:19And she hadn't taken the pill. And now she was on a plane. With another male wolf. She
09:24was carrying what could be my child to another man. The howl that came out of me shook the
09:28windows. It shook the whole pack. It shook the woods for miles. My beta dropped to one
09:35knee at the door. Alpha. Your orders. I stood. The unopened pillbox clutched in my hand.
09:43Stop that flight. At all costs. Bring her back to me. And the male with her. Kill him.
09:55One month later. A safe house in the French countryside.
09:58Evander brought me coffee. He set a tablet on the table. You should see this.
10:02The headline filled the screen. A photo of Dane. He was still handsome. But he looked exhausted.
10:07Like a man who hadn't slept in 30 days. The article said he had tracker teams on three continents.
10:11He had personally searched 12 countries. For a full month he hadn't returned to Blue Ridge.
10:15Reports said Alpha Dane was hunting. The ex-wife who had severed their mate bond.
10:19I closed the tablet. I walked to the bathroom. I'd been sick every morning that week.
10:25I took the test out of my pocket. I waited three minutes.
10:30Two pink lines. I sat down on the bathroom tile. I pressed my hand against my flat stomach.
10:37A piece of him was growing inside me. The man who had marked me in front of his whole pack.
10:41The man who was tearing the world apart to find me.
10:44I cried. For the first time in a month. When I came out, Evander was waiting.
10:49He took one look at my face. He didn't say anything.
10:52He picked up the phone. He dialed one number.
10:57Grandmother. She's pregnant. It's time.
11:00That night we drove three hours into the Alps.
11:03A house carved in the mountain. Three times the size of the Blue Ridge Packhouse.
11:07The territory of the High Alpine Pack.
11:10The center of the European wolf world.
11:12An old woman waited on the porch.
11:15Lylat eyes like mine.
11:16My grandmother.
11:17Luna of the High Alpine Pack.
11:19Augustine DeVere.
11:20The one I had never known existed.
11:21My granddaughter.
11:23I have waited 22 years for this.
11:25She led me inside.
11:26She placed her palm flat on my stomach.
11:28She closed her eyes.
11:30Two.
11:30A boy and a girl.
11:32Strong like their grandfather.
11:34Stubborn like their mother.
11:35I started to cry again.
11:36She held me.
11:36When I had no tears left, she spoke.
11:38Dane Montagu will hunt you until one of you is dead.
11:41I will not let that day come.
11:42Tonight you will die, my granddaughter.
11:44She set a folder on the table.
11:46There is a reed estate in southern France.
11:48I will set a fire there.
11:49A body inside.
11:50Female.
11:51Your height.
11:52Burned past recognition.
11:54Wearing your wedding ring.
11:55And your two halves of silver ribbon.
11:58I went still.
11:59My ribbon.
11:59He will recognize it.
12:00He will know it's you.
12:02And he will stop looking.
12:05Five years passed.
12:06The news of my death in a fire in southern France made the front pages.
12:10The world buried Anne Reed.
12:12I was reborn under my grandmother's roof.
12:14The high alpine pack took me in.
12:15I learned to fight.
12:17To rule.
12:18To lead.
12:20My belly grew round through the seasons.
12:22In the middle of a snowstorm, I gave birth to twins.
12:25A boy.
12:26Tristan.
12:27Golden hair.
12:28Dane's dark eyes.
12:29A girl.
12:29Serafina.
12:30Black hair.
12:31My lilac eyes.
12:33They were four years old now.
12:35They had never met their father.
12:37I planned that neither of us would ever see that man.
12:40Until last week, the plan died.
12:41A messenger came to grandmother's house.
12:44Then my grandmother ordered me back to American soil.
12:47Augusta de Vier did not ask.
12:48She gave commands.
12:50I had a rival for the Luna title.
12:52My cousin Liliana.
12:53Grandmother had not chosen between us.
12:55Whoever proved herself first would inherit the high alpine pack.
12:57My proof was buried in Blue Ridge.
12:59A relic from my mother.
13:01A journal she had left behind.
13:03The journal told of an ancient power.
13:05Hidden on the land my grandmother had lost 25 years ago.
13:08The land that now belonged to Dane Montagu.
13:10To unlock it, I needed Dane's cooperation.
13:13To get his cooperation, I needed to walk back into his world.
13:15And convince the husband who thought me dead to ally with me.
13:17I returned to America.
13:18At the door of my new estate, Trajan Graves stood waiting.
13:21My beta.
13:22My oldest friend.
13:23A bear of a man with curly hair and a dark beard.
13:26I had saved his life four years ago.
13:27He had been mine ever since.
13:29Ms. Devere.
13:29The car is ready.
13:30I checked the mirror.
13:31A lilac dress that hugged me like moonlight.
13:33Real moonstones at my throat.
13:35At my ears.
13:36Pale hair down past my shoulder blades.
13:38Lilac eyes lined in smoke.
13:39I was nothing like the broken woman who had fled this place.
13:42But I was still recognizable.
13:44Pale hair.
13:45Lilac eyes.
13:46The Montahagü wife back from the dead.
13:48The twins were safe in Grandmother's Mountain.
13:50Their father did not know they existed.
13:52Tonight he would not learn it.
13:53Tonight was about the journal.
13:55Tonight was about the Alliance.
13:57Tonight was about surviving the man who had buried me.
13:59The Blue Ridge Packhouse was the grandest mansion I had ever seen.
14:02Three hundred wolves in one ballroom.
14:03Every alpha on the continent.
14:05I walked in on Trajan's arm.
14:06Is that Anne Reed?
14:08Whispers started at once.
14:09Wasn't she dead?
14:10Crawling back to Dane?
14:11Wolfless.
14:11I lifted my chin.
14:13I saw him before he saw me.
14:14A man on the second floor balcony.
14:16Standing alone above the crowd.
14:17Like a king.
14:18Still dazzling.
14:19Still arrogant.
14:20Still Dane.
14:21But his eyes had changed.
14:22Five years of searching had hollowed them out.
14:24Dane.
14:24I whispered.
14:25As if he could hear it.
14:26His eyes snapped down to mine.
14:27The whole ballroom went silent.
14:29He didn't take the stairs.
14:30He vaulted over the railing.
14:31He landed in a crouch on the marble floor.
14:32He stood.
14:33He walked through the crowd towards me.
14:35Wolf stepped out of his way.
14:36Trajan tensed beside me.
14:37I touched his arm.
14:38Let him come.
14:39Dane stopped one foot from me.
14:41His scent reached me first.
14:43Cedar and storm.
14:44He grabbed my wrist.
14:46His grip was crushing.
14:53His voice was low.
14:54Wrecked.
14:56Loud enough for the whole ballroom to hear.
14:58Anne Reed.
15:00If you came back for a public execution.
15:03You're about to get your wish.
15:06I was done being afraid of him.
15:08Dane froze.
15:10Dane's hand still gripped my wrist.
15:12His voice still echoed in the ballroom.
15:14A public execution.
15:15Then I saw the people behind him.
15:17A woman in pearls.
15:18A man in a black suit.
15:20Esther and Waylon Reed.
15:21The people who had raised me as their daughter.
15:23The people who had poisoned my wolf.
15:25The people who had dumped me in the snow at nineteen.
15:27Esther's smile was wide and fake.
15:28Look.
15:29Our little Anne returned home to the nest.
15:31I couldn't speak and move.
15:32Trajan stepped between us.
15:33A wall of muscle and rage.
15:36Move.
15:36Waylon ordered.
15:37Mrs. Deville does not wish to see you.
15:39Trajan growled.
15:40Deville?
15:41Esther gave a small false laugh.
15:44She's our daughter.
15:45She's been missing for years.
15:47Enough.
15:51Dane's voice cut like a blade.
15:53The council demands I tolerate you here.
15:55But you will not make a scene.
15:57Or there will be blood.
16:00Trajan got me out the door in twenty seconds.
16:03I was shaking by the time we reached the car.
16:06We were halfway home before my phone rang.
16:09The screen lit up with two faces.
16:11I swiped to answer.
16:12Mommy!
16:13Tristan pressed his nose to his camera.
16:15Serafina griggled beside him.
16:16I smiled.
16:17The shake left my hands.
16:19My loves.
16:20How are you tonight?
16:21Mommy, when are you coming home?
16:24Soon, sweetheart.
16:25Yvon Dar leaned into the frame behind them.
16:27His lilat eyes met Mai.
16:28He looked worried.
16:29They haven't been sleeping since you left.
16:31Trust your gut.
16:32I told him.
16:33Don't let anything happen to them.
16:35The call ended as we pulled into my driveway.
16:37Strange cars in the gravel.
16:38Blue Ridge plates.
16:39Trajan tensed.
16:40He sent his people.
16:44Miss DeVay?
16:45I'm Piper Montagu.
16:47Dane's sister.
16:48My brother is worried for your safety.
16:49He sent us to guard the estate.
16:50I forced a smile.
16:52How thoughtful.
16:53Inside the house.
16:54I had just taken off my high-heel shoes.
16:57When my phone rang.
16:59Grandmother.
17:01I answered on the second ring.
17:03Her voice was wrecked.
17:05Aurora.
17:06Something has happened.
17:07The twins are gone.
17:08So is your cousin Edminder.
17:11I dropped the phone.
17:12My knees almost dropped with it.
17:14Aurora.
17:15What?
17:15The twins.
17:16Gone.
17:18Evander too.
17:19Trajan's face went hard.
17:20He was about to mind-link the pack.
17:22Then someone knocked on the front door.
17:24Sharp.
17:24Three times.
17:25I crossed the foyer on legs I couldn't feel.
17:27I pulled the door open ready to fight.
17:29Hi mommy.
17:30I stopped breathing.
17:32Tristan stood on my doorstep.
17:33Serafina behind him.
17:34Evander right behind her.
17:35A small gray-haired woman behind Evandard.
17:37Mrs. Melville.
17:37Their nanny.
17:38I dropped to my knees on the marble floor.
17:40I pulled both children into my arms.
17:42I smelled their hair.
17:44Lilacs and warm bread.
17:45Alive.
17:46Safe.
17:47Real.
17:47Mommy.
17:48You're squishing us.
17:49I know, baby.
17:51I didn't let go.
17:52Evander stepped inside.
17:53He pulled Mrs. Melville with him.
17:55He looked around the foyer.
17:57Whose cars are in the driveway?
17:59Blue Ridge Wolves.
18:00Dane's sister.
18:01He sent her this morning.
18:03Shit.
18:03Mommy, Evander said a bad word!
18:05I almost laughed.
18:07I picked up both twins at once.
18:09I felt them safe in my arms for the first time in a month.
18:14Upstairs.
18:14Now.
18:15I took them to my private rooms.
18:18Treyjian locked the door behind us.
18:20Mrs. Melville took the twins into the adjoining bedroom.
18:23The four-year-olds were yawning already.
18:25Eight hours on a plane.
18:26I turned to Evander.
18:28Tell me everything.
18:29Evander paced.
18:30He never stayed still.
18:32Someone tried to poison them.
18:34I went cold.
18:36Mrs. Melville scented it in their dinner.
18:38Before she fed it to them.
18:39By the time we knew, the kitchen staff was gone.
18:42If I'd had a wolf, I would have shifted right there.
18:45I would have torn something apart.
18:49Who?
18:50Evander and Trajan exchanged a look.
18:52You know who?
18:53I knew.
18:55Liliana.
18:56My cousin.
18:57My rival for the Luna title.
18:59Grandmother will have to listen this time.
19:01Trajan shook his head.
19:04She'll demand proof.
19:05If you accuse Liliana again with no evidence, your grandmother will disown you.
19:09I made a wordless sound of rage.
19:12Then someone knocked on my private door.
19:14I froze.
19:15I gestured Evander out of sight behind the couch.
19:18I opened the door.
19:19Piper stood there.
19:20She gave a small apologetic smile.
19:23Dane loomed behind her.
19:24In the bedroom across the suite, one of the twins began to cry.
19:27Dane's brows came together.
19:29Is that a child crying?
19:30Every drop of blood left my face, but I would not let him see it.
19:34Yes.
19:35My cousin just arrived from Europe.
19:37With his children.
19:40Dane's eyes narrowed.
19:41He smelled the lie on me.
19:43I could see it in his face.
19:45I stepped aside.
19:46I could not block him without making it worse.
19:49Evander, we have a guest.
19:50I prayed Evander had heard everything.
19:53I prayed harder that the twins stayed in the bedroom.
19:55Dane walked into my private rooms.
19:57His golden eyes sand every corner.
20:00Evander sat on the couch.
20:02He rose as Dane entered.
20:05Evander.
20:06My voice steady.
20:07Alpha Dane Montagu of Blue Ridge.
20:09Our partner on the project.
20:10And his sister Piper.
20:11Evander grinned.
20:13He extended his hand.
20:14It's good to meet you, Mr. Montagu.
20:16I've heard about you.
20:18Dane raised an highbrow at me.
20:20I gave him a cool little smile.
20:21Let him wonder what I told my cousin.
20:23Did you expect this visit?
20:25No.
20:26It was a surprise.
20:27True.
20:28The only true thing I had said all night.
20:31Do you think it is wise to have children here, considering what happened tonight?
20:36I forced a smile.
20:38Thanks to you and your warriors.
20:41I believe it is perfectly safe.
20:43I needed him to leave.
20:45Now.
20:46I had not known I was pregnant when I ran.
20:48The Deveres barely caught it in time.
20:51I had thought about telling Dame.
20:52A thousand times.
20:54Every time I remembered the box of Plan B.
20:56I remembered his voice.
20:57I would rather drink molten silver than cross our bloodlines.
21:00If he learned I had hidden his son and daughter for four years.
21:03I did not know what he would do.
21:06What I did know.
21:07He would take my children.
21:09I would die before that happened.
21:11Dane's eyes drifted to the bedroom door.
21:13The door behind which my twins slept.
21:15I felt the blood drain from my hands.
21:17If one of them opened that door, he would see himself in their face.
21:21He would know.
21:23Then his phone buzzed.
21:25So did mine.
21:26I glanced at the screen.
21:28I gasped.
21:29A news alert.
21:30A photo of us at the gala earlier tonight.
21:32Below it.
21:33A second photo.
21:34Evelyn Barkley.
21:35Hands on her stomach.
21:37Red-rimmed eyes.
21:38The headline screamed.
21:39Dane's face was white.
21:40He had not known either.
21:42I smiled like ice.
21:43Alpha Montague.
21:45Congratulations.
21:46Your new wife is pregnant.
21:48His face went blank.
21:49I need to leave.
21:50He turned.
21:51He walked out of my rooms.
21:52The door closed behind him.
21:55I sit there shaking.
21:56My twins were safe in the next room.
21:58Their father had just learned he was about to have a child.
22:01With another woman.
22:02I should not have felt anything.
22:04I had divorced him in my own mind years ago.
22:07So why did my chest hurt?
22:09Why did I want to chase him out the door?
22:12And tell him the truth?
22:15I drove straight from Aurora's house to the city.
22:17To the penthouse Evelyn picked.
22:19A place full of expensive things.
22:21A place that never felt like home.
22:23The child I'd heard at Aurora's house.
22:25I couldn't shake the sound of it.
22:26The cry had felt familiar.
22:28Like something I'd known before I'd known it.
22:30But I had a bigger problem.
22:32My fiancé was pregnant.
22:34I'd learned it from the fucking internet.
22:37Evelyn.
22:38I'm here, sweetheart.
22:39She came towards me in a tiny dress.
22:41Grinning.
22:42Bright.
22:42Wrong.
22:43She threw her arms around me before I could speak.
22:46Why does the internet think you're pregnant?
22:47She blinked.
22:48Her eyes filled.
22:49A small, beautiful mask of betrayal.
22:52Oh no.
22:53How did they find out?
22:54Someone must have leaked it.
22:56I wanted to tell you first, sweetheart.
22:58A low growl started in my throat.
23:00How can you be pregnant with my child?
23:03I have never touched you.
23:05Then I remembered.
23:07Three months ago.
23:09The eight year anniversary of the night the reeds slaughtered my pack.
23:12The night my parents died.
23:15The night I was forced to marry.
23:17The woman who is now Aurora DeVere.
23:20Every year on that night I let myself break.
23:22I drank until I couldn't see straight.
23:24I never came home from it sober.
23:27That night you were drunk.
23:28You came to my bed, sweetheart.
23:30Evelyn's cheeks went pink.
23:31My jaw locked.
23:33A year ago I'd faced the truth.
23:35I didn't love Evelyn.
23:36I felt only gratitude.
23:38She'd saved my life when I was 11 years old.
23:41A girl with a crescent birthmark on her arm.
23:43I owed her my life.
23:45I'd told her the truth.
23:47I'd tried to end the engagement.
23:49She wouldn't hear it.
23:51And now?
23:53If she really carried my child.
23:55Then Aurora's face flashed through my mind.
23:57Then the faces of two children.
23:59A little boy with dark eyes and golden hair.
24:02A little girl with dark hair and Aurora's lilac eyes.
24:05I had never met those children.
24:07But I knew them.
24:08Like they had been waiting in my mind my whole life.
24:11I knew you'd be excited.
24:12She grabbed my hands.
24:14She was babbling about names and nurseries.
24:16I felt cold.
24:17I didn't want her child or a life with her.
24:20But I owed her.
24:22I grew up without parents.
24:24I would never let a child of mine grow up without a father.
24:27Set the wedding date.
24:28Her eyes lit up.
24:30She threw herself at me again.
24:32I held her without feeling a thing.
24:34Across town.
24:35In my pocket.
24:36My phone buzzed.
24:38I pulled it out.
24:39My beta had it.
24:40A little boy at the bedroom door.
24:42Golden hair.
24:43Dark eyes.
24:44Looking out at the empty hallway where I had stood 20 minutes before.
24:47My breath stopped.
24:50I sat in my car outside the doctor's office.
24:52I stared at the photo on my phone.
24:54A little boy with golden hair and dark eyes.
24:57Standing in Aurora's hallway.
24:58Looking out at where I had stood.
25:00He looked four years old.
25:01Maybe a little more.
25:03I did the math.
25:04Five years plus nine months.
25:06Equals.
25:07I couldn't breathe.
25:09But Aurora had told me he was her cousin's son.
25:12Evander Devory of the High Alpine Pack.
25:14A man I had just met.
25:16A man whose age I didn't know.
25:18A man who could have a son who looked like.
25:21Me.
25:22I made myself put the phone away.
25:25I needed evidence.
25:26Not a feeling.
25:27Not a face in a security feed at midnight.
25:30I called my beta.
25:32Archer.
25:32Run a background check on Evander Devory.
25:34His marital history.
25:35His children's birth records.
25:37Quietly.
25:37Don't let it get back to Aurora.
25:40I would not confront her without proof.
25:42If I was wrong, I would lose her again.
25:44If I was right, I would not give her the chance to run again.
25:48Across town.
25:49I had finished reading the twins to sleep.
25:52I sat on the couch in my private rooms.
25:55Trey John stood at the door.
25:56I dialed Liliana's number.
25:58She picked up after two rings.
26:00Aurora.
26:01She purred.
26:01You never call.
26:02How wonderful.
26:03Then she gave a shocked little face I couldn't see.
26:05Oh.
26:06I heard the twins were missing.
26:07How terrible.
26:08I smiled with all my teeth.
26:10It seemed someone tried to poison them.
26:12Evander brought them to me to keep them safe.
26:15A pause.
26:16Just one beat too long.
26:17Oh.
26:18They are with you now.
26:19I called to let you know.
26:20You should expect a gift from me.
26:23Her eyes sharpened.
26:24Through the phone, I felt it.
26:26Someone knocked on her door.
26:28I had timed it perfectly.
26:29She rose.
26:30She opened it.
26:31A basket of apples sat on her doorstep.
26:34Round.
26:34Juicy.
26:35The same fruit she had poisoned for my children.
26:38Her smile.
26:39Vanished.
26:40I don't know what you are implying.
26:42Oh, I think you do.
26:43I drawled.
26:44And if you ever come for my children again, it will not be poison that kills you, Lily.
26:48I will do it with my bare hands.
26:51I hung up.
26:52I tossed the phone across the couch.
26:54Evander leaned in the doorway.
26:56Tall and broad.
26:57Well done.
26:58Unless that brings her down on you harder.
27:00She will have a hard time reaching me here.
27:02Especially now.
27:03I suppose I should be grateful to Dane.
27:07His name in my mouth hurt.
27:08The phone rang again.
27:10Grandmother.
27:11I tapped answer.
27:12She did not greet me.
27:14Aurora, dear.
27:15I need you to have dinner with some vampires.
27:17Two nights from now.
27:18It is urgent.
27:20Two nights later, I drove to Man Leering Manor.
27:24Trey June beside me.
27:25Dane's number went unanswered.
27:27His beta said he was out of town.
27:29I sat in my car outside her house.
27:31I watched her taillights pull away.
27:33I read the report on Evander.
27:35Born 33 years ago.
27:37Single.
27:38No children.
27:40I started my engine.
27:42I followed her into the dark.
27:45Managering Manor rose at the end of a long driveway.
27:48The butler led us into a sitting room.
27:50Violet Mannington sat by the fire.
27:52A small woman in a black silk dress.
27:55Pale.
27:56Beautiful.
27:57Wrong.
27:57She did not rise when we entered.
27:59She did not blink for a long time.
28:02Luna e'er de vile.
28:04Her voice was a whisper through dust.
28:06Welcome to my home.
28:07I lowered myself into the chair across from her.
28:10Trajan stood behind me.
28:11I introduced myself per high-oakene protocol.
28:14She did not respond in kind.
28:16She tilted her head at a wrong angle.
28:18The fire dimmed.
28:19The shadows moved like puppets on strings.
28:21This was not a vampire.
28:23This was something wearing one.
28:24There are two.
28:26It whispered.
28:27The sage and the sentinel.
28:29Their blood together is the key.
28:32I had no idea what it meant.
28:33I had no time to ask.
28:35I reached into my dress pocket.
28:37A vial of blessed water from a green witch.
28:39Let us leave.
28:40Trajan's body grew beside me.
28:42Seams popping.
28:43Claws elongating.
28:44The thing screamed.
28:45It flew at us.
28:47I threw the vial in its face.
28:49It shrieked.
28:49Steam burst from its skin.
28:51The shadows wavered.
28:52Just long enough to see the door.
28:54Run!
28:55I shouted.
28:56I lunged for the doorknob.
28:58Locked.
28:59Behind us, the thing began to laugh.
29:01Then a roar shook the house.
29:02Wood splintered.
29:03The front door tore off its hinges.
29:05A massive charcoal lichen stood in the doorway.
29:08Dane.
29:09Golden eyes blazing in his wolf face.
29:11He saw me first.
29:13His chest rumbled with relief.
29:14Then he saw the darkness behind me.
29:16His instinct took over.
29:17Get outside.
29:18He growled.
29:19For once, I obeyed.
29:21I ran past him into the cold air.
29:23I heard the fight behind me.
29:25Claws on something solid that should not be solid.
29:28Tearing.
29:29Bleeding.
29:29Screaming.
29:30Then two sets of paws.
29:32Trajan stumbled out first.
29:33Bleeding from three gashes.
29:35Dane behind him.
29:36Human now.
29:37Tall.
29:38Naked.
29:38Furious.
29:39The house behind us went silent.
29:41The darkness did not follow.
29:44Get in the car.
29:46Dane ordered.
29:46He took the wheel.
29:49I climbed into the back with Trajan.
29:51I pressed a piece of cloth against his bleeding side.
29:54We drove to my house in silence.
29:57Dane carried Trajan inside himself.
30:00He called for a healer named Celia.
30:02I hovered over Trajan's bed.
30:03I felt Dane's eyes on me.
30:06Hot.
30:07Possessive.
30:08Jealous.
30:08I knew that look.
30:10Even after five years, I knew it.
30:12Then a small voice came from the doorway.
30:15They said Uncle Trajan is hurt.
30:17My whole body went still.
30:19I had told Mrs. Melville to keep them upstairs.
30:21I turned slowly.
30:22Tristan stood at the door.
30:24Serafina behind him.
30:25Golden hair.
30:26Dark eyes.
30:28Black hair.
30:29Lilac eyes.
30:30The boy who looked like his father.
30:31The girl who looked like me.
30:33I saw Dane's face change.
30:35I saw him look from the boy to me.
30:37I saw the math happen behind his eyes.
30:39Five years plus nine months equals...
30:42His mouth opened.
30:44He took a step toward the children.
30:46Aurora!
30:47His voice was raw.
30:48Whose children are those?
30:52Before I could answer, Ivanner came skidding down the hallway.
30:55He scooped both twins into his arms.
30:58He grinned at me apologetically.
31:00Sorry.
31:01They got away from me.
31:02I exhaled like I had been holding my breath for a year.
31:05Dane.
31:05You remember my cousin Ivanner.
31:07Dane stared at the children in Evander's arms.
31:09He stared at the little boy's golden hair.
31:12He stared at the little girl's Lila eyes.
31:14I watched the suspicion build in his face.
31:17Then I watched him push it down.
31:19I had been holding the box of Plan B in his hand.
31:22The math should not work.
31:24He turned back to me.
31:25These are your children.
31:26It was not a question to Ivander.
31:28It was a question to me.
31:30They're his.
31:31Ivander nodded.
31:33Naturally this time.
31:34Time for a snack in the kitchen?
31:35He told the twins.
31:37He walked away with them.
31:38My son and daughter clinging to his legs.
31:40My heart walked out the door behind them.
31:42Dane watched them go.
31:43His face was wrong.
31:45Something in him hurt and he did not know why.
31:47Then he turned to me.
31:48Come out.
31:49I have something to say.
31:50I closed the door behind me.
31:52In the hall he said one word.
31:53Book.
31:55We walked to my bedroom.
31:56I unlocked my safe.
31:58I instantly regretted it.
31:59Inside the book.
32:00But also the photos of my twins.
32:03Together in my arms.
32:04Photos I had treasured for a long time.
32:06Photos no cousin's children would explain.
32:08I flipped them face down.
32:09I lifted the book out fast.
32:11What are you hiding?
32:13Nothing that matters.
32:14He reached past me.
32:16He picked up the photos.
32:18I could not breathe.
32:19He looked at the first one.
32:20His own face went pale.
32:22He set the photos down.
32:24He turned.
32:25He backed me against the wall.
32:27Not threatening.
32:28Not looming.
32:29But close.
32:29So close.
32:31You are lying to me.
32:32About those children.
32:33I'm not.
32:34He caught my chin.
32:35He forced me to look at him.
32:37His voice dropped to a growl.
32:39Anne.
32:39Or Aurora.
32:40Or whoever you are.
32:41Are those children mine?
32:44No.
32:45They are not.
32:46I leaned forward.
32:48I pressed my fingertips against his chest.
32:49A cold smile.
32:51And if you keep looking at me that way, I might reconsider showing you the book.
32:56Dane stepped back.
32:57His face was still wrong.
32:59But he could not press me.
33:01Not yet.
33:02I pulled the journal from the safe.
33:04The pearl pendant I left inside.
33:05The book my grandmother believed marked me as the chosen.
33:07I flipped through ancient pages.
33:10Symbols only I could read.
33:12When I neared the back, Dane caught my arm.
33:16Stop.
33:17What is that?
33:18He traced where three pages had been torn out.
33:21The remaining edges stained rust brown.
33:23Old.
33:23Dried.
33:24Blood.
33:25Esther Reed tore them out.
33:27Why?
33:29I don't know.
33:30What are these pages?
33:33A ceremony.
33:34To reveal the moon goddesses chosen.
33:37Dane went very still.
33:39Then we need them.
33:40We don't.
33:42The book guides us to the relic.
33:43That's enough.
33:44Aurora.
33:45His voice was low.
33:47My grandfather knows ancient magic.
33:49You do everything required.
33:51Or people die.
33:52We go to the Reed house.
33:54We find those pages.
33:55I went cold.
33:57No, we don't.
33:59He stepped close.
34:00Rage and threat back in his voice.
34:02Yes.
34:02We do.
34:03Meet me there.
34:04Day after tomorrow.
34:06He left.
34:07I closed the safe with shaking hands.
34:12That night I dreamed.
34:13I dreamed of the night my family killed my wolf.
34:18I crawled through the snow.
34:21My veins on fire.
34:23My wolf curled in a tiny corner of my mind.
34:26Whimpering.
34:27Dying.
34:30Please.
34:31Hang on.
34:32Please don't leave me.
34:33Then a warm hand on my face.
34:36His voice.
34:38Shh.
34:38What's your name?
34:40And in that moment.
34:43She died.
34:45I woke in tears.
34:47My pillow soaked.
34:492 a.m.
34:50I lay there.
34:51Hating that part of me still loved that voice.
34:55Three rooms away.
34:56My phone lit up on the nightstand.
34:59Piper Montfrey.
35:00I answered.
35:01Aurora.
35:02The Reeds are here.
35:03Broken Forest Wolves have your house surrounded.
35:07Esther wants in.
35:10I came downstairs in three minutes.
35:12Traven was in the foyer.
35:13His wound torn open from trying to fight.
35:16Two Blue Ridge Warriors holding him back.
35:19Then Esther walked in like she owned the house.
35:23She sat on my couch.
35:24She lit a cigarette.
35:26She blew smoke and lazy spirals.
35:29Two of her biggest warriors flanked me.
35:33Evenger had gotten the twins out the back.
35:36They were hiding in the woods.
35:37They were hiding in the woods.
35:37Scents masked.
35:38The Blue Ridge Wolves watched from across the room.
35:41Council Pact tied their hands.
35:43No blood.
35:44No bond.
35:44No interference.
35:46Unless Esther struck first.
35:49What do you want, Esther?
35:50You've been back a while, Anne.
35:52You still haven't visited your family.
35:54I'm no Reed.
35:56She tilted her head.
35:58Of course you are.
36:00I clenched my fists.
36:02I would not let her see me shake.
36:04I know I'm a devore.
36:06I know my mother came to Georgia.
36:08I know she disappeared.
36:10Fill in the blanks, Esther.
36:11She smirked.
36:12Don't you remember who you are?
36:15Who you serve?
36:17A cold, dark feeling poured through me.
36:21Dark memories swam at the edge of my mind.
36:23Forest at night.
36:25Candlelight on stone walls.
36:27Blood on my small hands.
36:29Things I could not look at.
36:31Things I had never been able to look at.
36:33I don't know what you mean.
36:35But my voice wavered.
36:36You're remembering, aren't you?
36:38Anne.
36:40Weyland opened it.
36:41Dane stood there.
36:43Alpha Reed.
36:44I am here to make sure you do not violate the pact.
36:47I almost wilted with relief.
36:49Dane's eyes found me first.
36:52They scoured me head to toe.
36:54Then he looked at the windows.
36:55I flicked my eyes toward the woods.
36:57He understood.
36:58The children were safe.
36:59He turned to Esther and Weyden.
37:00He folded his arms.
37:01Casual.
37:02Dangerous.
37:02Anne Reed is a false name.
37:04This woman is Aurora DeVay of the High Alpine Pack.
37:08Esther smiled like a snake.
37:09Her mama gave her to us.
37:12Celeste sold her in a blood oath.
37:14Anne is ours.
37:16My blood went ice.
37:17My mother had sold me.
37:18I pressed a hand to my mouth.
37:19No.
37:19That's not true.
37:20I met Dane's eyes.
37:21I let him see me stripped bare.
37:23Then Dane moved.
37:24He extended one finger into a claw.
37:27He sliced his own palm.
37:29Blood welled.
37:29He let three drops fall warm on my clenched hands.
37:34Aurora DeVay is under the protection of Blue Ridge.
37:37Any blood spilled here is mine.
37:39Hurt her, and the council falls on us all.
37:42Alpha power crashed through the room.
37:44I stood there.
37:46His blood on my skin.
37:48He had just bound my fate to his.
37:50Again.
38:202 a.m.
38:22Had dragged me down.
38:23This was the ditch I had bled into.
38:26These were the boulders that had cut my hands.
38:30This was the wall.
38:31The wall where Dane had found me.
38:34The wall where I had met him eight years ago.
38:36I touched the moss-covered stone.
38:39Something in the air tasted like fate.
38:41Aurora.
38:42What the hell are you doing here?
38:43I spun around.
38:45Dane stood on top of the wall.
38:47The moon behind him.
38:48His broad shoulders bare.
38:50His chest naked.
38:52He had run here as a wolf.
38:53I tried to bolt.
38:56He caught me in three strides.
38:57His grip on my wrist was iron.
38:59You may be under my protection.
39:01But trespassing on my land without permission
39:03means death.
39:04Dane, please.
39:05Let me go.
39:05There are things I need to do alone.
39:08His face changed.
39:09He thought I was lying.
39:10Where are you going, Anne?
39:12To join them?
39:13Are you betraying me?
39:15Eight years of swallowed words rose up my throat.
39:17Dane.
39:18I have never lied to you.
39:20From the night I met you.
39:21Right here.
39:22Eight years ago.
39:23I have been loyal to you.
39:26You hated me anyway.
39:28You never gave me a chance.
39:30Tears in my voice.
39:31Dane's grip loosened.
39:33Just for a heartbeat.
39:34I ripped my wrist free.
39:35I ran.
39:36Behind me a roar shook the trees.
39:38He shifted mid-stride.
39:40Charcoal lylan exploding through the dark.
39:42He wowed at the sky.
39:44I sprinted uphill.
39:45Toward the disputed border.
39:47I did not realize where I had run.
39:50I felt him close behind me.
39:52His huge clawed hand closed around my middle.
39:55He lifted me.
39:57Throw me over his shoulder.
39:58Let me go!
40:00He turned to carry me back to his land.
40:03Then Howl split the night.
40:05All around us.
40:06So familiar.
40:07Four lycons stepped from the trees.
40:08Two dozen wolves behind them.
40:10Yellow teeth.
40:11Patchy, starving fur.
40:12Esther.
40:13We were on Reedland now.
40:16She had been waiting.
40:18He is on Rises.
40:18She is on Rises.
40:18She is gettingarently moved through.
40:18She is coming from the oak house.
40:18She has关µ down.
40:18She has bitten off.
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