Clean Slates and Dirty Hands

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• The Alpha’s Pretty Mistake   The Beginning of Us

  KolIt had been a week since we buried Liam.Some part of me still wake up expecting to see him standing at the doorway to my study with his arms crossed, ready to ask me how much more he could do to earn his place back into the pack. Or to jokingly shove a report in my face and tell me that paperwork wouldn’t sign itself. But he was gone. And that truth say heavy in my chest.And yet, life didn’t wait. There was still Aria. There was still our baby. A piece of light amidst all the grief. A new beginning.That’s why tonight had to happen. No mourning, no reminders of war or betrayal or death. Just a quiet, warm banquet in the inner courtyard with music, lights, and something close to hope.And a formal announcement that Aria, my Luna, was carrying my child.I still couldn’t believe it. The words felt too big to sit comfortably on my tongue. But they were real. Aria. Me. Our baby.“Alpha Kol,” one of the cooks beamed as I passed by the edge of the garden. “Congratulations! We are all s

• The Alpha’s Pretty Mistake   The Warmth I Didn't Deserve

  LiraI didn’t remember falling asleep. But I must have, because by the time I opened my eyes, the rain had stopped and the only thing that I could smell was the wet earth.I lay on the floor with my face touching the cold wooden floor and the pieces of the broken mirror still by the side of me. My hand was cut and bandaged in old cloth. Probably me. Maybe not. My body felt distant. Like it was detached.And just then, the cabin door opened slowly.“I leave for a few hours and come back to this?”I didn’t move. Damian stood just by the door, taking hold of the mess before him. The chair that was against the wall, the broken bowl, the blood stains on the floor. His arms were full: a hare, a half-wrapped loaf of bread and a flask of something in it. His eyes then settled on me.“You alive?”Barely. I didn’t answer. Just blinked slowly. He dropped the supplies on the table and crouched beside me.“What the hell happened?”“I happened,” I mumbled, slurring slightly. “Sorry about the chair.

• The Alpha’s Pretty Mistake   Splinters on the Self

  LiraThe cabin I had found refuge in, was rotting at the edges, just like me.Rain had poured through the ceiling last night. The floor was damp under my bare feet. Mildew has began to grow. I sat on the edge of the little bed, bandaging my thigh with a strip torn from what used to be a dress. Now it was just fabric soaked with blood.The wound wasn’t clean. It was a reminder from my escape through the Moonlight border two nights ago after I had escaped the New Moon Pack. I’d been tracked, briefly, but I lost them in the river. Still, I knew better than to think they’d stop looking. Especially Kol. Especially Aria.I winced while tightening the bandage with trembling fingers. My hands were filthy. My knuckles were raw. And the blood underneath my fingernails, wasn’t just mine. I’d lost count of how many days I’d been on the move. Every two, maybe three, I’d pack up and disappear deeper into the territory between the New Moon and Moonlight Packs. No man’s land. Perfect for a ghost like

• The Alpha’s Pretty Mistake   A New Dawn

  AriaOn returning home, no one really said much. The loss of Liam hung heavy in the air and in everybody’s chest. His sacrifice was very much to deal with but something came out with it, and that was change.We were back at the estate and in the council hall. It was full. Bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder, quiet as they waited for the next shift in power. No guards stood by the door like they usually would. No warriors in armour posturing at the corners. It was just the pack. Unified in mourning. Waiting for something to hold onto.Elder Sorah stood at the centre of the hall. Her face was pale and as wrinkled as her dress. For once, she didn’t look composed. She looked… tired. She stepped forward and cleared her throat.“I have served this pack for longer than many of you have been alive. First as an elder, then as temporary Alpha. When I took that title, it was not out of pride or ambition. It was because I thought our people needed caution. Structure. A steady hand in uncertain ti

• The Alpha’s Pretty Mistake   Ashes To Honour

  KolThe river was quiet that morning. The sun hadn’t gone down completely. The wind made the white banners standing tall flutter. A line of warriors stood at attention by the riverbank, all dressed in black and their heads bowed. The pack had gathered, all of them, soldiers, elders, staff, even the children, because this wasn’t just a funeral.This was a goodbye to one of our best… even though he had once betrayed us.This was Liam’s farewell.I stood beside the wooden pyre we built for him. We’d stacked it carefully, every log positioned by the men he’d trained and trained with. His body, which was dressed in ceremonial white, lay atop it. He lay peaceful and strong with his hands folded on his chest, like a warrior should be.Aria stood next to me with her hand in mine. No one spoke for a long time. And then, finally, she stepped forward.Her voice shook, but she didn’t hide it.“When I first arrived at the Moonlight Estate, Liam didn’t treat me like he treated the other Luna’s. He

• The Alpha’s Pretty Mistake   The Price of Peace

  KolLiam’s eyes were opened wide, staring at nothing. I reached out with my trembling hands, and gently closed them. The warmth was already fading from his skin.I don’t know how long I knelt there, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t comprehend that I had just lost him. For good.Then I looked up. Around me, my pack was dying, bleeding, screaming. What was the point of all this? Liam was gone. And for what?I curled my hands into fists. They were slick with his blood. I felt the fire in me rising again, rage, grief, vengeance. But then it cracked, giving way to tiredness.I didn’t want to do this anymore. I didn’t want to watch another soldier die, another child cry for their mother, another fire scorch the soil I’d sworn to protect.This war, it had to end. So I tore a piece from the hem of my bloodied white shirt, lifted it high into the air, and stood.It was a truce. A surrender. Not of pride, but of bloodshed.I walked slowly to the centre of the field. Raising my arms, I raised the