Gracie’s POV
My hand was shaking so badly that I nearly dropped the picture Tavin shoved into my palm. It was blurry and grainy, like it had been taken in secret, but there was no mistaking the woman in the image.
My mother.
Tied to a chair in Mooncroft’s underground dungeon.
Her face was swollen, bruises covering her arms and neck. Her shirt had been ripped, her hair pulled at the scalp. One of her eyes looked swollen shut.
“No,” I breathed, clutching the photo to my chest. “No, no, no…”
“She’s still alive,” Tavin said, his voice low and tight. “But barely.”
He handed me his phone next, and I hesitated before looking. When I finally did, I wished I hadn’t.
The image was now all over the dark pack forums, circulated as a warning. Alpha Lucien wanted us to see it. He wanted us to kn
