LOGINI seemed to like Kira far better than Alpha Ronan. What do you guys think?
Alara’s POVThe first howl reached the Midnight Pack just before dawn.It cut through my sleep like a blade — sharp, urgent, and wrong.I woke with a gasp, my hand flying instinctively to my belly as Astrid surged awake within me, hackles raised, senses flaring. The wards around the pack shuddered faintly, a ripple of crescent energy brushing against my skin like a warning.Not ours, Astrid growled inside me. That howl carries rot.I pushed myself upright slowly, breathing through the tightness in my chest. The room was dim, shadows stretching along the stone walls, the violet glow of my pendant pulsing softly against my sternum. It had been doing that more often lately—responding to things I couldn’t yet see, threats I couldn’t fully name.Outside, boots thundered across the courtyard.Commands followed. Short. Sharp. Controlled.Ronan.He didn’t raise his voice often, but when he did, the pack moved as one.I wrapped a shawl around myself and moved to the window, careful not to rush
Xavier’s POVThe first den of corrupted rogues perished precisely at dawn.Not with the common mercy of fire — fire was too quick, too clean — but with the cold, obliterating violence of Lycan wrath, unleashed and utterly unrestrained. Massive, brutal cracks ran across the ancient stone walls as my claws tore through the packed earth of the underground chamber, the sickening stench of the Shadow’s corruption clinging to every breath I drew. The rogues inside barely had time to register the arrival of the apex predator before their demise.They never did have time.Corrupted wolves fought differently than any creature I had ever faced. They fought desperately, recklessly, without self-preservation, like something else wore their skin, something that pulled the strings f
Alara’s POVSleep never truly came that night.It hovered just out of reach, like a shore I could see but never step onto. Every time my eyes fluttered closed, my instincts dragged me back, sharp and alert, as if something unseen prowled just beyond the wards.Astrid was awake too.She paced inside me, restless and bristling, her hackles raised. ‘Too many eyes,’ she murmured. ‘Too many shields.’“I know,” I whispered into the dark, one hand resting over my belly, the other clutching the edge of the blankets as if they could anchor me.The pendant at my throat pulsed fai
Alara’s POVIn the days that followed, the first thing I noticed was the silence.Not the peaceful kind — the kind that wrapped itself around you like a warm blanket — but a silence that watched. Listened. Shifted when I moved.It settled into the Midnight Pack after the warding night, subtle enough that no one spoke of it aloud, yet present in every corridor I walked, every breath I took outside my chamber.At first, I told myself I was imagining it.Pregnancy heightened instincts. Crescent energy sharpened awareness. Dr. Ella had warned me about that — how senses would stretch, how emotions would deepen, how paranoia could masquerade as intuition.But this wasn’t paranoia.This was becoming a pattern.The guards doubled when I walked the eastern path at dawn.I noticed it the third morning in a row. Where there had once been one sentry leaning casually against the carved oak post, there were now two. Where wolves used to nod and continue their patrols, they now straightened, eyes fl
Alara’s POVThe days slipped by quietly at first.They braided themselves into gentle routines — warm mornings, slow breaths, the careful stitching together of a body and heart that had been torn apart too violently to heal quickly. I learned the rhythm of the Midnight Pack: dawn patrols fading into mist, shared meals in the great lodge, the distant clang of training blades carried on mountain air. Healing came in pieces. Some days it felt real. Others, it felt like pretending.Until the air changed.Until I changed.I woke one morning before dawn, breath shallow, heart racing for no reason I could name. Moonlight filtered through the narrow window, silvering the floorboards. I shifted onto my back — and felt it.The faintest curve beneath my navel.Not bloating. Not illusion. But life.My hand trembled as it moved there, palm resting over a softness that hadn’t been there yesterday. A pressure bloomed behind my eyes as understanding settled deep in my bones.The twins.My babies.And
Alara’s POVThe lingering ache from the bond eased slowly — far slower than I wished it would. It clung to me like a bruise beneath my ribs, pulsing with every breath, a faint echo of Xavier’s Lycan brushing against my consciousness before withdrawing into silence.The pain didn’t tear through me anymore. But it still whispered.Astrid paced in the back of my mind, equally restless, equally wounded.‘We’re healing,’ she reminded me softly. ‘He felt it too.’“I know,” I whispered back, though the knowing did nothing to soothe me.The Midnight Pack murmured with life outside the windows, wolves going about their routines, scent trails weaving through the courtyard as morning broke through the mountains.A soft knock sounded.Before I could answer, the door cracked open and Kira peeked inside with her usual bright-eyed energy. “You’re awake!” she exclaimed as she slipped in, carrying a steaming mug. “I brought the mint-honey tonic Dr. Ella said you need. And before you protest, yes, it t







