The wind whipped forcefully against Emma's face as she ran, her twin brother Ethan trailing behind. They had managed to escape their mother's watchful eye, driven by the haunting voice that had been tormenting Emma for days. Unaware of the impending danger, they ventured deeper into the forest. At that moment, a powerful storm threatened to unleash its fury upon the land, and if they were caught, they would end up drenched to the bone."Hurry, Ethan, run faster!" urged Emma, noticing her brother stumble over a stone and come to a painful halt."I can't run," gasped the eight-year-old boy, clutching his ankle and wincing in pain. "It hurts… it hurts too much."Emma glanced momentarily in the direction of their small house. They were getting closer, but the once-familiar path now seemed distorted, and the smoke from the chimney that seeped through the roof pipe took on a dark and eerie appearance, causing her a intense shiver.Their mother had forbidden them from venturing too deep into

The kind old woman had kept her word about giving them a ride. They loaded their belongings into the car, and despite her brother's annoyed expression, Emma settled into the passenger seat. Ethan had always been fiercely protective of her, but since their mother's death, that behavior had increased considerably.For some unknown reason, the sweet old lady gave her brother the creeps. But he agreed to let her take them, since they'd run out of options.At some point on the trip, Emma and her brother lost track of time. They couldn't tell if it had been minutes or hours since getting in the car, so they began to feel drowsy and eventually fell into a deep sleep.It was strange, especially for Ethan, who couldn't relax enough to fall into a deep slumber. Emma attributed her own drowsiness to exhaustion from traveling all the way from Pennsylvania to Alaska. When she finally opened her eyes, the cityscape had given way to a breathtaking mountainous landscape.They found themselves amidst

Asher stood there, unable to utter a word as he watched them walk toward the house. His beta held onto his arm tightly, although if he wanted to break free and kill the intruders, no one could stop him but the house itself. He knew that the building was protected by magic and wouldn't allow any wolf to approach it, yet these strangers could access it freely.Conflicting emotions surged within him, and he struggled to keep them under control. His mind told him one thing, while his wolf vehemently disagreed. Never before had he felt such opposition to his inner wolf's desires, and it had never been so challenging to rein it in. He was out of his mind, and his Beta could sense the inner struggle he was going through."I want them gone today," he snapped through clenched teeth, feeling his wolf vehemently reject that request."Alpha, I don't want to argue with your orders, but perhaps this may be our only opportunity to break free from this curse. Wouldn't you like to regain our freedom?"

Asher resisted the urge to glance back and witness Emma's face etched with terror. Anger surged within him, directed both at himself and his wolf. Briefly, as he saw her pleading expression, a flicker of compassion arose, almost compelling him to offer solace. If it weren't for his fiancée's menacing growls, he might have done something irrational and embraced her. Hugging a witch? Absolutely not!But what if she wasn't a witch? Asher couldn't get the thought out of his head. The newcomers to the town seemed to be just two ordinary, frightened people, but there was something off about them. Though this was a subjective assessment, it was his first encounter with humans. Maybe they all had that strange scent and he just hadn't recognized it.The thought that they might be innocent people who had stumbled upon the village troubled his thoughts, but he quickly dismissed it. That was impossible, no one could enter or leave Silvershade Summit, especially not humans. As soon as they arrived

Asher didn't understand what had happened, his wolf had taken control of his body and he had no way to stop it. This hadn't happened since he was an inexperienced lycan who could barely control his own turn.He was thankful that his Beta had interrupted, otherwise he would have marked her. He had every intention of biting her and making her his.But the worst thing, the thing he was most ashamed of, was that he knew exactly what his wolf was going to do and he didn't try to stop it. He gave up, not wanting to fight the scent of that woman that seemed to engulf him to the point of leaving him without willpower."What do you want, Alaric?! "He growled as he stood in front of the door, stopping his Beta's advance.He hoped that the witch had the sense to pull her clothes together and get down from the desk. He didn't want anyone to know what was about to happen in this room.His Beta squinted and tried to peer into his office, but Asher had positioned his body in front of him to prevent