The morning air was cold, mist curling over the pack grounds like ghostly fingers. Evelyn awoke with a shiver, muscles screaming from yesterday’s endless labor. Every movement felt like a mountain pressing down on her small frame. She pressed her hands to her chest, feeling the bond thrumming faintly, almost painfully, like a heartbeat that belonged to someone else.
Lucien. Even now, the thought of him sent a ripple of fear and… something else she couldn’t name through her body. Desire, dread, and the faint pulse of connection that refused to be ignored.
Cassandra’s sharp voice sliced through the quiet.
“Move, omega. The Alpha isn’t patient, and neither am I,” she sneered, stepping aside to let Evelyn slip past. Her smirk was dangerous, her eyes calculating. Evelyn’s stomach twisted. Sh
