Novel-novel oleh Alison Hart

/Alora/The peaceful night stretched before us, revealing numerous stars that unfurled like small light forecasts for our future. Randall and I sat on a hill that offered breathtaking views of our growing piece of land, which had become our true home. We gazed at the beautiful full moon as the woods extended over the valley, presenting complete routes to our village across ancient rifts. It was now calm. It was our peace of mind.Randall's body heat comforted me as I relaxed against him, allowing the tranquil evening to soak deep into my center. I placed my palm over the intricate tattoo on my wrist to connect with the sacred bond between the ground, our packs, and him. As I viewed our land illuminated by moonlight, I was confident that every step we took had resulted in this beautiful moment. And it was gorgeous.My softly whispered words, "We've been through hell," showed the real truth. We withstood the difficult times together because we refused to give up, and as a result, we e

/Alora/A heavy atmosphere of joy filled the festival space, along with numerous life energies coursing through its grounds as I strolled among the crowded visitors. Since ancient times, this festival has commemorated peace and memory under the official name of the "Festival of Unity." Every pack territory within our boundaries, as well as pack territories from nearby territories, came together for a unique celebration in honor of Lila's lingering spirit. Throughout the event, we honored the alliance between the SilverClaw and Night Terrors packs, which has grown stronger since their original bond via conflict.My ears were overwhelmed with the sweet noises the children produced as they raced by. Because the long-standing hatred between us was no longer there, the once bitter enemies from both packs reunited as a unit in an unhindered celebration. The scene was quite amazing to see. They were unaware of how their ancestors had previously overcome adversity and endured bodily suffe

/Alora/The night was filled with silence. The only sound was the rustling of the leaves beneath the weight of the moonlight as the wind swept through the trees like the moan of an old, tired soul. It was a welcome sound, and the forest—so familiar to me—always gave me a sense of calm. However, tonight felt different.The ambush had left a mark on me. The loss and uncertainty were nearly too much to endure. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the expressions of people I couldn't protect. I could still hear the echo of Lila's laughter in my head, a sound that felt distant and unreachable now.I needed to find some comfort, even if just for a moment.The grave was just ahead. I didn't need to search; I already knew where it was. I had been there several times since the night Lila was taken from me.I kneeled by it, resting my palm on the cool stone and allowing the weight of my sadness to subside for a while. I hadn't been able to truly grieve previously. The battle, the pack, and the b

/Alora/The air smelled of smoke, blood, and betrayal. I stood in the center of what was left of the ritual grounds; the ashes of the sacred bonfire spread across the earth like a terrible metaphor for the vows made just hours before. Wolves hurried to help the injured, their frightened shouts breaking over the crackling of remaining flames. My hands were coated with filth and blood—some of it mine, not all. My breaths were short and weak, but I refused to falter."Ethan, secure the perimeter," I said, my voice as keen as the dagger strapped to my thigh. "Kayla, please prioritize wounds. "Nobody dies on my watch today.""On it," they said in unison, their expressions a combination of resolve and fatigue.Randall's presence behind me was like a shadow, his protective instincts tightening in the aftermath of the attack. His voice was low, but it carried the weight of a storm barely contained. "This wasn't a random attack, Alora.""I know," I said, turning my attention to the wolves ar

/Alora/My breathing became louder than the vision breaking my focus with its rough and irregular rhythm that made me feel like I tore through endless forest paths. My heart thundered in my chest, an unrelenting beat that echoed the warning still ringing in my ears: Maintain the bond, or else this connection will destroy you.The abrupt movement as I stood up revealed my death grip upon the blanket which served as my link to reality. The gloomy light of the moon through curtains provided the only illumination in the room. Beside me, Randall stirred. His usual calm attitude tonight seemed to create a heavy powerlessness. When his eyes met mine he slowly awakened. His voice came from the darkness low and thick while still sleepy. “Another vision?”My voice reduced to a soft minimum as I replied "Yes." “And it’s getting worse, Randall. The voices... They’re louder. Different voices are giving us warnings about the approaching dangers.“What did you see?” His face remained calm but a m

/Alora/Hello, Randall.I needed to stand in front of you and acknowledge my faults.Her face tightens, and his hands form tight fists at his sides. Despite the tense situation, his eyes remain filled with anguish.Maris takes another stride toward him, unfazed by his threatening tone. Her words rush as she says, "I made a mistake." Walking away from you was the worst mistake of my life. I told myself that I could find happiness with him, but I realized my mistake.Randall, he's gone now. He's died. And I..." Her low words are muffled by grief, and a single tear falls down her cheek. "I never stopped loving you."Maris' remarks begin to weigh heavily on Alora and Randall's bond. Alora's breath pauses for a moment.Randall's natural weakness pierces her heart more deeply than any weapon.Randall talks gently and firmly, eventually concluding, "You don't get to say that today." "You disappeared. You choose him. When you left to start your new family, I painfully grasped every shattered p

LENASarah’s feature ran the next morning, and my name sat under the headline in clean black type.By Lena Hale.I’d asked her to use it. She’d raised one eyebrow and said nothing, which, from Sarah, counts as a full paragraph of curiosity. I’d explained anyway. Corwin was my mother’s name, the one she hid for twenty years to keep me alive, and it now hung in careful letters above the archive door. That felt right. It belonged there.But Hale was my father’s name. It had gotten me through six years of foster homes and scholarship forms and a hundred first days at a hundred new schools. It was the name I’d built myself under, alone, before I had anyone to build with.I wasn’t giving it up. I was just finally letting both of them exist.“A name is what you do with it,” Sarah had said, and slid the proof across her desk. “Good work, Hale.”I carried that sentence all the way to the archive.Ivy waited at the door with her arms wrapped around herself, though the morning was warm. Beatrice

COLEWe drove home on a Sunday, and the lake let us go without a fight.Lena slept for the first hour, feet tucked under her, forehead resting against the window. I kept the radio low. Somewhere past the state line I caught myself checking the mirrors and made myself stop. Nobody was following us. Nobody had been for months. The sun caught the ring on Lena’s hand where it lay against her knee, and I looked at that instead.Old habits fade slowly. Wolves know that better than most.Our apartment looked exactly as we'd left it, except for the mail. It had piled up on the counter like a small landslide. Lena sorted it while I hauled bags upstairs: thank-you cards, a flyer for the fall pumpkin festival, two bills, and a page folded into quarters and taped to our door in Noah's blocky handwriting.Call me. Not urgent. Very urgent. Bring food.“That’s Noah,” Lena said, reading over my shoulder. “Fluent in contradiction.”“He’s had practice. He lives with Astra.”I called him from the kitche

LENAWe chose somewhere quiet, deliberately, a small cabin near a lake far enough from any pack territory that the word conspiracy hadn’t once crossed either of our minds since we’d arrived four days earlier.“I could stay here forever,” I said, curled against Cole on the small dock behind the cabin, watching the late afternoon sun paint gold across the water. “Just us. No council business, no archive deadlines, no wedding logistics.”“We have another week,” Cole said, pressing a kiss into my hair. “Let’s make it count before ordinary life reclaims us properly.”We’d spent the days in a particular, unhurried rhythm, hiking the trails surrounding the lake, cooking simple meals together in the cabin’s modest kitchen, reading in comfortable silence on the dock, the whole week feeling like the first genuine rest either of us had allowed ourselves since this remarkable, difficult year had first started demanding constant vigilance.“Can I tell you something?” I said, watching the sun conti

COLEThe same clearing that had witnessed the harvest gathering, and later, my nervous proposal, had transformed completely for the occasion, string lights woven through every branch, white flowers arranged along careful rows of chairs, the whole space holding a kind of magic that felt entirely earned after everything that had brought us here.I stood at the front with my father beside me, watching the gathered crowd, both packs mixed together now without any of the careful division that had once defined every interaction between them, Corwin and Silverclaw seated together as one community rather than two wary factions.The music shifted, and my breath caught as Lena appeared at the edge of the clearing, her dress simple and elegant, exactly the way I’d known it would be, her father’s absence quietly honored by Aiden walking beside her instead, an arrangement that had felt immediately, obviously right the moment she’d suggested it.She was radiant, steady despite the obvious emotion i

LENAAstra had insisted on a proper evening together the night before the wedding, something she called tradition, though I suspected she’d mostly invented it on the spot, and I found myself gathered with her, Okafor, and Ivy in the sitting room of the small cottage Astra and Noah shared, wine and easy conversation replacing whatever nervous energy I’d expected to feel.“You seem remarkably calm,” Okafor observed, studying me over her glass. “Most brides I’ve witnessed carry considerably more visible anxiety the night before.”“I think I used up most of my capacity for anxiety over the past year,” I admitted, considering the observation honestly. “Whatever nerves I might have felt about tomorrow feel remarkably small compared to everything else we’ve survived together.”Astra laughed, something warm and genuine in the sound. “That’s a fairly reasonable perspective, given everything.”“How are you feeling?” Ivy asked, something gentle in her question. “Not about tomorrow specifically.

COLESummer settled over Silverclaw territory with the particular lazy warmth that made everything feel slower, gentler, considerably more forgiving than the constant vigilance that had defined so much of the past year.Lena had taken to the archive work with genuine enthusiasm, splitting her days between careful cataloging and the freelance journalism pieces Sarah kept encouraging her toward, and I found myself settling into a rhythm of summer training and the slower, steadier work of learning what pack leadership might eventually require of me, my father patient but deliberate in gradually handing over responsibilities I’d need to eventually carry alone.Wedding planning had become its own gentle chaos, spread across kitchen tables and careful lists, considerably more joyful than complicated despite the genuine work involved.“Your mother wants a proper pack ceremony,” Lena said one evening, surrounded by lists and half-finished notes at our kitchen table. “Traditional elements alon