A hidden spark buried in a field already soaked with tension.
At some point, hidden beneath layers of silence, secrecy, and decisions no one in this room had fully uncovered, Ethan had marked Dakota. Not in passing. Not with a fleeting touch. He had bound himself to her, irreversibly. And from that bond had come a child.
A truth that, once revealed, would not simply complicate matters between packs.
It would destabilize them.
Dakota was no longer simply the estranged daughter of another Alpha. She now stood under the protection of Kade Nightshade, shielded by his territory, his authority, and whatever claim he now held over her future.
And Ethan, Ethan had already crossed into territory that no Alpha would ignore.
Black magic.
Forbidden.
Unforgivable.
He had used it on Dakota. Whether out of desperation, obsession, or something far more twisted did not matter.
To a wolf like Kade Nightshade, that was not a mistake.
That was an offense.
A direct violation.
