Lynn's POV

Six years later.

The envelope sits on my kitchen counter like a coiled snake.

Black wax seal. Fire Moon insignia stamped in red. My name written in formal script across the front.

My hands shake as I pick it up again. Third time today. As if staring at it will change what's inside.

'Don't open it,' Istha growls. 'Burn it.'

"I need to know what it says."

'You already know. They want us back.'

The living room erupts in laughter. Baron crashes into the couch, Lira squealing as she dodges him. They're playing some game involving stuffed animals and imaginary dragons.

"Mommy!" Lira calls. "Baron's being mean!"

"Am not!"

I force a smile, tucking the letter behind my back. "Play nice, you two."

Baron grins at me—all golden hair and ice-blue eyes. Every time I look at my son, I see the man who threw me out. They look kinda similar, but Baron probably takes after me more—he’s got softer facial features. I just don’t know if he’ll end up as sharp and tough-looking as his dad when he grows up.

Lira bounces over, her green eyes—my eyes—bright with mischief. "Can we have ice cream?"

"After dinner."

She pouts but runs back to Baron, her long wavy hair flying behind her.

I retreat to the balcony and slide the door shut.

The city sprawls below, anonymous and human. Safe. I've built this life brick by brick—award-winning jewelry designer, part-time lawyer, single mother. No pack. No Alpha breathing down my neck.

And Alpha Lucas never severed my bond to Fire Moon. Six years, and I'm still technically pack.

'He kept the door open,' Istha murmurs. 'Trap door.'

I break the seal.

The letter unfolds, crisp and formal.

*Lynn Beverly,*

*You are hereby summoned to return to Fire Moon Pack territory. Your presence is required.*

*You have six days from receipt of this letter to confirm your compliance.*

*Failure to respond will result in measures being taken.*

*Alpha Grayson Hamilton*

My heart sank.

'Burn it,' Istha snarls. 'We're not going back.'

I pull out my lighter—the same one I've carried since I left. The flame catches the edge of the paper, and I watch it curl and blacken. The envelope follows, both reduced to ash in the flowerpot on the balcony railing.

"We're not going back," I whisper.

Inside, Baron shouts something about winning. Lira giggles.

I can't go back. Grayson threatened to kill me. And now I have his children—children he doesn't know exist. Children who look exactly like him.

'Move,' Istha says. 'Now.'

She's right.

*****

Three days of apartment hunting later, I finally find something.

Ninth floor, doorman building, secure parking. Forty-five minutes from Margaret Jewelry Company, but it has a good school district nearby. Private. Expensive. Worth it.

I sign the lease that afternoon.

"Mommy, why are we moving again?" Lira asks that night as I pack her stuffed animals into boxes.

"New adventure," I say, keeping my voice light. "You'll love the new school."

Baron frowns from his bed. "I like this school."

"The new one is better." I ruffle his hair. "Trust me."

He doesn't argue, but his jaw sets in that stubborn way that's pure Grayson. My son is going to be an Alpha someday, whether he knows it or not. Already he's protective of Lira, already he stands taller than the other boys his age.

What would Grayson do if he saw him?

'Don't think about it,' Istha warns.

I can't help it. Six years of running, hiding, lying. Six years of keeping my children away from the pack that should have been their birthright.

Fire Moon Pack would have given them everything—training, community, safety. Instead they have me, scrambling from apartment to apartment, changing schools every time I catch a whiff of wolf scent nearby.

But they're alive. They're happy. They don't know what I gave up.

They don't know what almost happened.

*****

The memory hits without warning.

Labor. Thirty-six hours. Yanis pacing the hospital hallway while Wendy held my hand, her physician's calm the only thing keeping me from panic.

"You're doing great," Wendy had said. "Just breathe."

"I can't—I can't do this alone—"

"You're not alone. We're right here."

Yanis and Wendy. The couple who found me six months pregnant, working double shifts at a diner to pay for the dorm room I could barely afford. Wendy had taken one look at me and dragged me to their house.

"You're staying with us," she'd said. No room for argument.

They'd been my parents when I had none. Helped me finish my degree online, paid for my law courses, watched the twins when I had late client meetings. That's right—to survive, I studied law alongside my jewelry design degree. Their daughter Elin still calls me "big sister."

I owe them everything.

And I've repaid them by lying. By hiding what I am, what my children are. Wendy thinks Baron's aggression issues are just "boys being boys." Yanis jokes about Baron's growth spurts.

They don't know he's a wolf pup. That Lira will shift someday. That I'm not human at all.

Wolfen society law forbids revealing the truth to humans.

So I smile and lie and keep my children safe the only way I know how.

*****

The new apartment is everything I hoped.

The doorman tips his cap when we arrive with our boxes. "Welcome, Ms. Beverly. Let me help with those."

"Thank you."

Baron runs ahead, exploring. Lira clings to my hand, wide-eyed at the lobby's marble floors.

We settle in over the next week. New school registration. New routines. I program the company's address into my GPS—forty-five minutes each way, but I'll make it work.

Margaret Jewelry Company has been good to me. Brian Stanton, the CEO, hired me fresh out of school based on my portfolio alone. Now I'm chief designer, my pieces featured in magazines, worn by celebrities.

I thought I was safe. That the move had worked.

But--Two weeks after we move in, another letter arrives.

Black envelope. Fire Moon seal.

My hands go cold.

How did they find me?

'Doesn't matter,' Istha snarls. 'Get rid of it.'

I don't open this one. Just write "NO SUCH PERSON" across the front in thick black marker and leave it for the mailman. My hand shakes so badly I almost drop it.

'They're not going to stop,' Istha whispers.

That night I can't sleep. Every car door that slams makes me jump. Every footstep in the hallway could be them coming for me.

I start checking over my shoulder when I walk Baron and Lira to school. Scanning faces in the grocery store. Watching the rearview mirror on the drive to work.

I'm not going back to the man who threatened to kill me while I carried his children.

Baron asks why I'm quiet at dinner. Lira wants to know if I'm sad.

"I'm fine," I tell them. "Just tired."

They accept it because they're five and they don't know any better.

But I catch Baron watching me sometimes with those ice-blue eyes, and I wonder what he sees. If he can sense my fear. If his wolf is already waking up, even though he's years from his first shift.

'He's strong,' Istha says quietly. 'Like his father.'

"Like his mother," I correct.

That night I double-check the locks. Test the windows. Make sure my phone is charged and nearby.

Fire Moon Pack wants me back.

But they can't have me.

They can't have my children.

I'll run forever if I have to.

'We will,' Istha agrees. 'For the pups. Always.'

I look in on Baron and Lira one last time before bed. They're asleep, peaceful, safe.

That's all that matters.

Whatever Alpha Grayson Hamilton wants, he's not getting it.

Not now. Not ever