The snow bit into my knees, each breath a shard of glass in my lungs. Drake’s voice still echoed—'You’re nothing. No wolf, no worth, no place in my world.' I’d been left in the Whisper Woods to die, a customary fate for defects. But then the trees parted. Not for a beast. For him. Theo Sterling. His coat black as midnight, eyes gold like molten suns. He didn’t speak. Just knelt, wrapped me in his fur-lined cloak, and lifted me like I was sacred. 'She is mine now,' he growled to the shadows where Drake’s watchers hid. Back at the keep, warmth returned—but so did fear. Because when his hand brushed my stomach, something stirred inside me. Two pulses. Fast. Ancient. And the Alpha, staring at me like I held the stars in my veins, whispered, 'They’re yours. And mine. But the pack will kill you for them.'

Now, they’re coming. Heavy boots on stone. Torchlight under the door. I can’t fight. I can’t run. And Theo isn’t here.