Chapter: CHAPTER 78The Space BetweenKael did not sleep.He stood on the battlements until the moon climbed, waned, and dipped behind cloud, his wolf restless beneath his skin—not raging, not threatening to break free, but pacing. Watching. Calculating.That was worse.Because rage he could fight.This—this quiet, creeping awareness that something delicate was shifting inside the pack, inside Selene, inside him—had no claws to meet.Below, Nightfang lived.Torches guttered and were replaced. Guards rotated. Somewhere in the lower courtyards, laughter rose and fell as wolves off duty shared drink and stories. Life continued, stubborn and ordinary, even as something fundamental adjusted its footing beneath it.Kael pressed his palms to the cold stone.He had faced gods. He had faced prophecy. He had faced the Devourer and not blinked.But this?This was choice without violence. Presence without possession. Love without certainty.And it was unraveling him.Selene lay awake too.Her chamber felt different
Last Updated: 2026-01-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 77Adrian did not leave the Hall in anger.That was what made it devastating.There was no slammed door, no shouted accusation, no final look thrown like a blade over his shoulder. When the Oracle dismissed the Council and the torches dimmed back to their resting blue, Adrian simply inclined his head—once—to the elders, once to Selene, and once to Kael.A gesture of respect.A gesture that said I am not finished, but I am not your enemy either.Then he turned and walked out.The sound of his footsteps faded long before anyone breathed.The Nightfang Hall emptied slowly after that, as if the pack itself were afraid that motion might shatter something fragile and unseen. Wolves avoided Selene’s gaze—not in judgment, but in discomfort. This was not a wound they could bite or bleed out. It was a knot pulled too tight around fate.Kael remained where he was long after the last torchbearer left.Selene stood beside him, close enough to feel the heat of him, far enough that her sleeve did not b
Last Updated: 2026-01-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 76The Hall of Nightfang had been built for war.Stone older than memory rose in a crescent, carved with the sigils of every Alpha who had bled for the territory. The ceiling arched high enough that voices carried and multiplied, turning even a whisper into something that felt judged. Torches burned with blue flame—witchlight—fed by the pack’s ley lines, reacting to truth, to power, to intent.Tonight, they burned brighter than usual.Kael stood at the center of the floor, shoulders squared, hands loose at his sides in a posture that every wolf in the room recognized as controlled violence. Not unleashed. Not restrained. Balanced. Barely.Selene stood to his right, dressed in black and silver, the mark at her throat faintly visible beneath the collar of her cloak. She had chosen not to hide it fully. A message. A risk.Behind them, the pack gathered in tiers—betas, elders, sentinels—silent, watchful. The air vibrated with contained instincts. This was not a trial of teeth and claws.This
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Chapter: CHAPTER 75The summons arrived before dawn.Not by horn. Not by runner.By seal.Selene found it waiting on the small table beside her bed when she woke—parchment thick as hide, the Nightfang crest pressed deep into crimson wax. For a moment she simply stared at it, heart thudding, already knowing.The law had teeth.And it had bitten.The twin stirred lazily inside her, amused rather than alarmed.So it begins, she murmured. How quaint. Wolves pretending rules can hold gods.Selene ignored her and reached for the seal. Her fingers hesitated—then broke it cleanly.By order of the Nightfang Elders,Selene of the Silver Vein is hereby summoned to a Council Review,to assess fitness for Luna Ascension under Clause Thirteen.No accusation. No defense. Just procedure.Selene exhaled slowly, folding the parchment with deliberate calm.So this was Ariane’s escalation.Not a confrontation. Not a theft.A structure.A cage built of tradition and “concern,” where Selene could either contort herself into a
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Chapter: CHAPTER 74Kael chose the wrong kind of courage.He chose the kind that looked decisive from the outside and reckless from within—the kind born of guilt and urgency rather than clarity. He told himself it was necessary. He told himself the pack needed certainty, and Selene needed to see it, needed to feel it publicly, where doubt could not hide in corners.He did not ask her first.That would be the mistake that followed him for the rest of the night.The summons went out at dusk: a full gathering in the Great Hall. Not a war council—those were closed, heavy with strategy and blood—but a formal assembly, the kind that carried tradition in its bones. Elders, betas, wardens, neighboring emissaries still lingering from the last conclave. Torches were lit in iron brackets; banners of Nightfang were unfurled.When Selene felt it through the bond—Kael’s intent, sharp and burning—her stomach sank.He’s going to do something, the twin murmured with a hum of anticipation. Good. If he claims you before al
Last Updated: 2026-01-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 73The chamber feels impossibly small, though the stone walls stretch high above them. Lyra can still feel the lingering heat of their closeness, the lingering pulse of the bond that threads them together—alive, hungry, impossible. Even after the fire of their stolen, stolen intimacy, Rylan has not left her side. Every movement he makes mirrors hers, every breath synchronizes, every heartbeat echoes across the invisible tether that binds them.But the world will not pause. The Veil hums low, impatient, as if warning them the reprieve is temporary. And beyond the chamber, footsteps echo, deliberate, dangerous.Kade.Lyra’s chest tightens. She can sense him more than see him—a predator, lurking at the edge of firelight, eyes glinting with jealousy so sharp it could cut stone. He doesn’t just want her; he wants the power that courses through her veins. And perhaps, he wants to claim Rylan’s devotion, too.Rylan notices before she can speak. His jaw tightens, gold flaring dangerously bright.
Last Updated: 2026-01-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 29The aftermath of the Winter Wraith’s assault still lingered in the castle. Torches flickered in the corridors, smoke hung heavy in the air, and the faint pulse of Lyra’s bond with Rylan vibrated through the walls like a heartbeat too loud to ignore.Rylan’s golden eyes scanned every shadow as they walked through the halls, his hand never leaving the small of her back. The bond had surged during the last encounter, leaving them both raw, sensitive, and aching.“You’re still trembling,” he murmured, voice low and rough. His lips brushed her temple, and Lyra’s pulse spiked.“I’m not,” she whispered, trying to steady herself, but her fingers twitched against his chest. “Just… aware.”Rylan didn’t respond immediately, but his claws flexed subtly beneath the fabric of his partially shifted form. He sensed her, felt her, and knew how fragile they both were after the bond’s surge.“We need answers,” he finally said. “Kade won’t stop. And the Council… they aren’t exactly neutral observers anym
Last Updated: 2026-01-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 28The castle shook again, the sound of splintering stone echoing through the halls. Lyra pressed against Rylan, his arms a cage of heat and protection around her, gold eyes flashing, wolf beneath the surface coiling with lethal intent. The white-hot pulse of the bond between them throbbed through the chamber, stronger, hotter, more desperate than ever.“Lyra,” Rylan growled, jaw tight, claws flexing. “Stay behind me. Every move counts. Every second counts.”She nodded, heart hammering, feeling the pull of the bond and the tug of the Winter Wraith. It wasn’t just outside anymore; it was in every shadow, every whisper, every heartbeat of the castle. It hunted, and it knew where she was.Kade’s laughter echoed from the far end of the hall. “You two are so predictable,” he hissed, stepping into the chamber with a swirl of corrupted magic around his fists. His eyes burned with envy and obsession, focused entirely on Lyra. “You think the bond protects you? You think your little Ascendant tric
Last Updated: 2026-01-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 27The castle trembled. Stone walls cracked under the weight of dark magic, torches flickering violently as shadows danced unnaturally across the corridors. Lyra clung to Rylan, her white-hot mark blazing beneath her skin, pulsing in sync with his gold eyes. Every nerve in her body screamed danger, desire, and the irresistible pull of the bond that bound them tighter than steel.“Stay close,” Rylan whispered, his hands firm on her hips, claws brushing the fabric of her cloak, muscles coiled like a predator ready to strike. “Whatever happens… don’t let go.”Lyra’s hands threaded into his hair, nails grazing the nape of his neck. “I won’t,” she breathed, heart hammering. The bond screamed in response, a living, breathing force between them, white-hot and raw, amplifying every thought, every desire, every flicker of fear.Outside the chamber, the Winter Wraith moved through the corridors like living darkness. Lyra could feel it—its hunger, its ancient recognition, its desire for her power a
Last Updated: 2026-01-13
Chapter: CHAPTER 26The chamber feels impossibly small, though the stone walls stretch high above them. Lyra can still feel the lingering heat of their closeness, the lingering pulse of the bond that threads them together—alive, hungry, impossible. Even after the fire of their stolen, stolen intimacy, Rylan has not left her side. Every movement he makes mirrors hers, every breath synchronizes, every heartbeat echoes across the invisible tether that binds them.But the world will not pause. The Veil hums low, impatient, as if warning them the reprieve is temporary. And beyond the chamber, footsteps echo, deliberate, dangerous.Kade.Lyra’s chest tightens. She can sense him more than see him—a predator, lurking at the edge of firelight, eyes glinting with jealousy so sharp it could cut stone. He doesn’t just want her; he wants the power that courses through her veins. And perhaps, he wants to claim Rylan’s devotion, too.Rylan notices before she can speak. His jaw tightens, gold flaring dangerously bright.
Last Updated: 2026-01-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 25The chamber breathes.Stone older than kingdoms hums beneath Lyra’s bare feet, sigils pulsing like a second heartbeat as her mother stands before her—alive, unchanged, and impossibly real. The reunion shatters something fragile inside Lyra, but before words can form, she feels it—Rylan.A sharp hitch in the bond. Pain, tightly leashed. Fear, swallowed whole.He sways beside her.Lyra turns just in time to catch him.His weight folds into her, solid and burning, his breath ragged against her hair. She wraps herself around him without thinking, anchoring him with everything she is.“Easy,” she whispers. “I’ve got you.”His fingers dig into her cloak, knuckles white. “It’s worse here,” he admits under his breath. “The Veil… it presses.”Lyra lifts her chin, meeting her mother’s steady gaze. “Then give us a moment.”A beat.Then the woman—her mother—nods once. With a flick of her wrist, the sigils dim. The chamber recedes, sound dulling, the world narrowing to the two of them.The bond e
Last Updated: 2026-01-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 24Darkness returns in pieces.Not the gentle dark of sleep—but the violent absence of sound, of gravity, of place. Lyra drifts in it, weightless, every breath feeling borrowed. The Veil has no sky, no ground—only currents of cold and heat braided together, whispering truths without language.She feels Rylan before she sees him.The bond tugs—weak, then sharp, then frighteningly thin.Rylan.Her pulse spikes. Panic claws up her throat as she forces her eyes open.They are not in the Sanctum.They are nowhere she recognizes.A vast expanse stretches around them, silver-black and endlessly deep, like moonlight spilled into an abyss. Fractures of light float like broken constellations. The Veil breathes—slow, ancient, aware.Lyra pushes herself upright.Pain flares—sharp, then dull—but she ignores it.“Rylan!” Her voice echoes strangely, bending as if the Veil itself is listening.He lies a few paces away, motionless.Fear slams into her harder than any spell ever has.She scrambles toward
Last Updated: 2026-01-10
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