Chapter 6 Years ago , Alpha Dorian and I made a rule : as long as the mate bond between Atticus and me remained in effect , I could never tell him the truth - that he should have died the night of the crash . So in all of Nightfall Pack , he was the only one who didn't know . He could never understand why the Elders refused to let him separate from me . When Elder Soren sighed , Atticus gave a sharp , scornful laugh . " Uncle Soren , are you senile now ? Teaming up with Seraphina to lie to me ? " Arrogant as ever , he didn't see the reckoning closing in . The next day , Atticus accompanied business partners on a tour of the construction site . Halfway through , the world tilted . At first he blamed the heat , took a short rest , then pushed up - only for his knees to fold . He hit the ground hard and coughed up a mouthful of blood . The partners blanched . " Alpha ! Are you all right ? " The www shed him to the hospital . The healer studied the scans , face tightening . " Sir ... did you suffer a major car accident ? " Atticus felt his stomach drop . " Eight years ago . ' " The laceration on your liver doesn't look like something you could live with for eight years . " The healer tapped the film , disbelief written all over him . " By rights , you should have been dead . " He heard himself say it and snapped his mouth shut . Cold sank through Atticus like a plunge into black water . He drove back to the pack as fast as he could , the pressure in his chest mounting . He stepped out of the car and vomited another scarlet mouthful across the flagstones . The warriors at the gate stared . He forced out a roar . " Find the balm the Luna left me . Now ! " But he had shattered those jars himself days ago and sent the remains to the dump . Nothing was left . The rooms had been scrubbed spotless . Rage slammed through him . He pounded the wall , then tore the place apart . He yanked open his closet - and froze . Every suit hung in perfect order . Not a single piece missing . He'd always assumed I was vain and would take the valuables when I left . Yet when I left , I hadn't even taken my own clothes . His throat closed . He kept searching until he pulled a timeworn journal from a desk drawer . Alpha Dorian's hand lay there in steady strokes : Chapter 6 Galato - [ 2017 Atticus was in a car crash . I begged Seraphina Lark to keep him alive with the pack's secret incense . ] [ Term : ten years . If Atticus betrays her , cut the incense . Once it stops , he dies . ] So few lines ; a death sentence all the same . Cold sweat crawled down his spine . Regret and fear flooded him . 14 A memory jolted him : I used to tuck an emergency Moonbinding incense balm into his suit pocket . Hope sparked . He lunged for the closet . Empty . The suits were gone . While he reeled , Anya breezed in , humming . She tipped her chin up , smug light in her eyes . " I had the housekeeper send your suits out . They should be back from the dry cleaner by now . " She let a sly gleam show and twisted the knife . " That Seraphina is vicious . She stuck a balm into every pocket . If I hadn't found them first , you'd be dead by slow poison already . " Chapter 6