Chapter 3

• Alaria:
• Four years later…
• “Mommy, look!”
• A little hand tugged at the hem of my coat as I hung the laundry on the line. I turned to see her standing barefoot in the grass, silver leaves from the nearby alder trees tangled in her curls.
• Anastasia.
• My little angel, the one person who kept me strong through everything that I went through.
• She pointed proudly at the messy crown of daisies she’d twisted together and placed unevenly on her head. “I made it myself! And I made sure not to break any of the flowers. I tried my best to tie them all carefully and I did not lose the petals.”
• I smiled despite the tight knot that lived constantly in my chest. “You did a beautiful job, sweetheart. You look like a little forest queen. But Mommy told you not to go too far. The daisies are far off the garden. Please next time come to me before you do so.”
• “Yes, Mommy.” She said, and I smiled.
• “Now what is our forest queen planning to do?” I asked, teasing her.
• She giggled, spinning in place as her wild brown curls bounced around her cheeks. “I am a forest queen with muddy toes! But as my first plan, I'm going to make you a crown too. You are going to be the queen of the world.”
• I laughed softly, hanging the last damp sheet on the line and brushing my hands clean on my apron. “Yes, a very messy queen. The Queen of the world is not going to like muddy toes, is she? Come here, let me clean you up before lunch. I made your favorite… lasagna.”
• She squealed and I laughed as I took her hand in mine, wanting to take her inside.
• We had carved a life out of nothing. I did not even know how I managed, stripped out of everything, my title, my name and all that. I knew I had to start from scratch, but I was willing to do it for my child. I was willing to do it.
• I rented cottage at the edge of the human border, hidden just enough from both pack and rogue territory. No one asked questions, and I never gave answers. Humans were easier to deal with. As long as you had a job to pay for the rent, it made-up for it. They just went quiet.
• I’d gone by the name Alara Vale ever since I disappeared from Blackridge.
• It was the one way to keep myself and my daughter safe. And the one way to stay away from the eyes of those who deemed themselves our enemies.
• No one here knew who I really was. No one knew where I came from. No one knew my story. I barely made any friends. I chose to keep it this way.
• And no one knew who my daughter’s father was. This was the most important thing.
• Nasia was mine.
• Only mine.
• And I had kept her safe. Until now.
• I was not going to allow him to come and ruin everything that I built, not after he chose to ruin everything that we had to break them, me, as if all of it was nothing.
• But lately something has changed. Though I did not understand what it was, I knew that something was different.
• The scent in the air wasn’t right.
• The howls at night carried too far.
• And today, for the first time in months, I hadn’t heard the birds sing.
• Not one.
• “Mommy,” Nasia whispered suddenly, tugging at my sleeve. “Someone’s watching.”
• The sound of a low growl came from a distance. My eyes hardened.
• But my heart dropped.
• I didn’t even ask where she had seen them, my instincts snapped into place. I scooped her into my arms, ducking into the cottage, slamming the door behind us. My breaths came too fast. Too loud.
• “Go to your hiding spot,” I said sharply, kneeling and holding her face in my hands. “Right now. Just like we practiced, okay? Do not make a sound, okay?”
• Her eyes, wide with fear, nodded once.
• She bolted for the trapdoor behind the wood stove, the one we kept unlocked just in case.
• Just in case became right now.
• I grabbed the dagger from under the floorboard and stepped back from the window. My heart pounded as I heard footsteps crunching leaves outside. Not one pair. Not two.
• Several.
• Wolves.
• A growl sounded, low, guttural, and near the back wall.
• They were surrounding us.
• Rogues.
• I tightened my grip on the blade. My heart racing against my rib cage with each passing moment.
• This cottage wasn’t fortified. I had no pack. No backup. Just me, and the child I swore I would die to protect. And I was going to do everything in my power to keep her safe.
• Glass shattered.
• I spun toward the back window just as a wolf launched itself through, its teeth bared and red eyes locked on me.
• I barely dodged in time, the blade slicing across its shoulder. It howled, knocking over the kitchen table as it crashed into the chairs.
• Another one burst through the front door.
• I kicked the overturned table toward it, buying myself seconds.
• I didn’t need to win. I just needed to stall. To give Nasia time to stay hidden. To…
• Pain exploded in my side as claws ripped into my ribs. I screamed, falling back against the counter.
• The first rogue stalked forward, blood dripping from its mouth.
• And just as it lunged for my throat…
• A howl pierced the air.
• A different howl.
• Commanding. Furious. Alpha.
• The rogues froze.
• Then came the sound of paws, massive ones, tearing through the brush. A black wolf collided with the rogue in front of me, sending it flying into the wall with a sickening crack.
• Another flash of fur, another growl, another body slammed to the floor.
• And then silence.
• I blinked through the blood in my eyes, gasping. My vision blurred, and I could barely stay upright.
• The black wolf turned toward me. Its eyes locked with mine, dark, stormy gray.
• I knew those eyes.
• Even in wolf form, I knew.
• Liam.