Chapter 278 Chapter 278 FAYE Training days used to feel different. They used to burn. 425 Pards Not just the muscles–everything else, too. Anger, fear, the constant need to prove that I belonged in a world that was always testing how much pain I could take before I broke. I

Chapter 277 ALEXANDER I stepped into the office just as Cole was ending a call. The door closed softly behind me, but he still sensed my presence immediately–he always did. He sat at the small conference table near the window, his shoulders slightly hunched, his tablet balanced in one hand

Chapter 276 Chapter 276 ALEXANDER *25 Floints. Faye’s answer hit me like a slow, steady weight. Yes. Just a single word–simple, unadorned–but the meaning behind it was anything but simple. I stood there for a moment, still holding her hand, trying to process what she had just admitted. My mind

Chapter 275 Chapter 275 ALEXANDER +25 Points I was checking my wristwatch every passing minute, wondering if I had made the right decision not to go after her. Then I felt her presence. Not the sharp spike of panic I’d been bracing myself for all afternoon. Not the hollow drop

Chapter 274 Chapter 274 FAYE The door to the kitchen creaked open just as my hand closed around the doorknob. +25 Points Patrick’s mother stepped back into the living room with a tray, her movements careful. A glass sat at the center–dark liquid that looked like wine stirred in it.

Chapter 273 Chapter 273 ALEXANDER Irene found me in the corridor just as the last of the tension began to settle. “Alex,” she said, frowning slightly. “Where’s Faye?” I stopped. +25 Points The question caught me off guard because, in my mind, Irene should have been the last person to

Chapter 272 Chapter 272 ALEXANDER I didn’t need to step outside to know what was happening. +25 Points The moment Irene’s voice rose–in that quiet way of hers–I was already on my feet, moving toward the window. I stopped just short of it, my hand braced against the glass as

Chapter 271 Chapter 271 +25 Points After Helen stepped out, the door closing softly behind her, Irene turned back to Alexander. “Alexander.” He didn’t look up. “What.” She hesitated, then said gently, “She’s still our mother. And that was her grandchild too. She’s mourning in her own way. She doesn’t

Chapter 270 Chapter 270 ALEXANDER +25 Points The pack house was quiet this morning in a way that felt unnatural, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. I sat in the office with my chair turned toward the window, my back to the desk, staring out at nothing in

Chapter 269 Chapter 269 FAYE +25 Points The drive home was quiet in a way that felt deliberate, like the silence had weight and intention. I stared out the window, watching familiar streets blur past, feeling disconnected from all of it. Alexander didn’t push. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t