(Briarâs POV)
I didnât remember falling asleep.
One minute, I was in my room, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the whispers scratching at the edges of my mind. The next, I was gasping awake, my body tangled in cold sheets, my skin damp with sweat.
The voice still lingered in my head. Low. Sinister. Familiar in a way that made my stomach turn.
"Briar..."
I sat up fast, chest heaving. The moonlight barely reached the corners of my room, and for a terrifying second, I thought I wasnât alone.
I reached for my phone. 3:47 AM.
I swallowed hard and forced my hands to steady. This was getting worse.
Something was wrong with me.
I barely made it through the day without zoning out. My body felt foreign, my wolf distant, and Oliviaâ¦
She was watching me. I could feel it every time we were togetherâher eyes lingering, the tension in her body whenever I stumbled or hesitated. She knew something was off.
And I hated that I didnât know how to explain it.
---
At the Pack Archives
(Oliviaâs POV)
Briar sat across from me, arms crossed, eyes filled with frustration. I had forced her to come here after her latest episodeâone where she nearly clawed through a solid tree without realizing it.
She hated feeling weak. I could see it written all over her.
"We need answers," I said, flipping through an old pack registry. "Youâre experiencing things that arenât normal for a newly turned wolf. There has to be a reason for it."
Briar exhaled sharply. "And what if there isnât?"
"There is," I countered, pushing a thick, leather-bound book toward her. "And weâre going to find it."
Silence.
Then, reluctantly, she opened the book.
The records went back generations, detailing pack lineages, notable warriors, alphas, and bloodlines. Most were nothing specialâuntil we reached a name neither of us recognized.
"Valeria Laurent."
Briar stilled.
Laurent.
Her family name.
My pulse quickened as I skimmed through the details. Valeria wasnât just any werewolf. She was powerful. A bloodline descendant of something older than the packs themselves. Something most thought was long gone.
"Briar," I murmured, lifting my eyes to hers. "Your family⦠they werenât just wolves. They wereâ"
My words caught in my throat as Briar suddenly gasped.
Her body convulsed. Her hands gripped the table like she was trying to anchor herself.
And then her head snapped up.
Her eyes werenât their usual shade. They were glowingâbright gold.
And when she spoke, the voice that came out of her wasnât hers.
"You shouldnât have looked."
---
(Briarâs POV)
I woke up on the floor. My head was pounding. My throat felt raw.
Olivia was kneeling beside me, gripping my shoulders. Her expression was tight with barely restrained panic.
"What the hell just happened?" I croaked.
"You tell me," she said, voice sharp. "Because for a minute there, you werenât you."
I clenched my jaw, my mind still foggy. But the moment I tried to sit up, a fresh wave of dizziness hit me.
Thatâs when I heard it.
"You are mine, little one. You were never meant for her."
The voice slithered through my mind like poison, making my entire body go rigid.
No. No, no, no.
This wasnât real. It couldnât be.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to meet Oliviaâs gaze. "I⦠I think someone is inside my head."
Her expression darkened.
"Someone or something?" she asked.
I wanted to lie. To brush it off.
But I couldnât.
So I whispered, "Both."
---
That Night
I shouldâve told Olivia everything. I knew that.
But when the whispers started creeping into my waking hours, I kept them to myself.
I didnât want her to look at me like I was dangerous.
Like I was⦠broken.
Instead, I acted normal. Smiled. Laughed when Ethan and Tara teased each other. Pretended I wasnât feeling the pull of something outside the packâs borders.
Until the moment I woke up standing in the woods.
The cold air bit at my skin. My breath came in ragged gasps. I had no memory of how I got here.
And thenâ¦
I saw him.
A figure standing at the treeline, his silhouette blending with the shadows.
He was tall, cloaked in darkness, but his golden eyes shone like fire.
He smirked.
"Itâs time to come home, little wolf."
---
(Oliviaâs POV)
I woke up with a sick feeling in my gut.
I reached out instinctivelyâbut Briar wasnât there.
The second I realized she was gone, I was up and moving. Caleb, Ethan, Taraâwe all tracked her scent, following it deep into the forest.
The moment I saw her, my heart nearly stopped.
She stood motionless in front of a man whose aura reeked of power.
My wolf snarled inside me.
"Briar!" I called, stepping forward.
She turned her head slightly, her body rigid, but she didnât move.
The man smirked at me. "Ah. The Alpha mate. How adorable."
"Let. Her. Go."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "You still donât understand, do you? She was never meant for you. She was born for something greater."
Briarâs entire body tensed. I could see the struggle in her eyesâthe war raging inside her.
She was fighting.
But she was losing.
I felt something inside me snap.
I stormed forward, ignoring Calebâs warning growl, and grabbed Briarâs face, forcing her to look at me.
"Briar," I whispered, desperate. "Come back to me."
For a second, nothing happened.
And thenâ
I kissed her.
It wasnât just a kiss. It was a claim. A plea. A promise.
The moment our lips met, warmth surged between us, the bond flaring to life. A growl tore through the air, and Briar trembled in my arms.
She gasped against my mouth, and suddenly, she was there.
Her eyes were no longer gold.
They were hers.
And the manâhe snarled in frustration, stepping back. "This isnât over."
I held Briar close, my grip unwavering.
"Yes," I said, my voice steady. "It is."
---
Aftermath
Briar collapsed against me, her breathing heavy, her hands fisted in my shirt.
She looked up at me, eyes wide, filled with something raw. Vulnerability.
"I almost lost myself," she whispered.
I cupped her face gently. "You didnât. I wonât let you."
She exhaled shakily. Then, finallyâfinallyâshe nodded.
And I knew, in that moment, she wasnât just choosing to trust me.
She was choosing us.