Alyssa sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers absently tracing the emerald pendant resting against her collarbone. The events of the past few days felt like a fever dream—Kade’s scorching touch, the revelation of her being a queen among wolves, and the chilling warning from Lucian.
The weight of it all pressed down on her. How could her entire life be built on lies? How had she never questioned the strange connection she felt to the moonlit forest or the wild instinct that always simmered beneath her skin?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint knock at her window. Heart pounding, she turned and saw Kade’s familiar figure in the shadows. Without hesitation, she crossed the room and slid the window open.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, but even as she said the words, her body
