I came home from college expecting to deal with my emotionally unavailable father, an empty fridge, and a summer full of boredom.

What I didn’t expect was to walk into the kitchen and find a barefoot, stunning woman in my dad’s shirt stirring eggs like she owned the place.

Spoiler: She does.

Her name is Elena, and apparently, she’s my brand-new stepmother—seven years older than me, way too cheerful, and totally off-limits.

But try telling that to my brain when she’s bending over to grab orange juice or accidentally falling on top of me in the laundry room. Try telling that to my heart when she’s laughing at my jokes, defending me at dinner, or wearing my hoodie because “it smells like comfort.”

My dad doesn’t see her. Not really.
But I do.
And that’s the problem.

Now I’m stuck in a house full of tension, sarcasm, and slow-burn chaos.
She’s married to my father.
I’m supposed to be focusing on my future.
But somehow, I’m falling for the one woman I absolutely, definitely, 100% should not be falling for.

Oops.

Kael, Elena, Milo, and Aaron escaped the cabin only to find the forest more dangerous than ever. A massive predator stalked them with golden eyes, its attention focused entirely on Aaron. For the first time, Aaron's hidden strength surfaced, earning the predator's cautious respect. The forest seemed to acknowledge this shift, but the hunter's game was far from over—and the tension between Kael and Elena simmered under the weight of fear, desire, and survival.


The mist hung low, curling around their feet like ghostly tendrils as Kael led the group through the damp forest. Every snap of a twig or rustle of leaves made Milo flinch, gripping Aaron's arm tightly. Elena followed close behind, dagger poised, eyes darting in every direction. The sun was a pale disc in the clouded sky, offering little warmth, but casting enough light to reveal the twisted shapes of the forest around them.


Chapter 59 - Chapter 59: Secrets in the Mist