Fractured ResolveNyra POVI did not cry.Not once.Not even when I came back to Crescent Moon in the dead of night, with my bare feet and my shaking body, my mouth was filled with the bitter taste of fear. Everything else hurts worse. I did not make a sound when I walked past the guards who nodded at me with confused looks, their faces showing questions they were too nice to ask. I did not blink when Draven stormed out of the front door like he had been waiting there the whole time, anger and relief spinning behind his eyes like twin storms.Nyra, where the hell have you been?I held up my hand before he could touch me. It was not anger. It was not hate. It was not even distrust.It was numb.The kind that sits in your bones when your mind cannot handle anymore. When feeling anything at all might break you completely.I am fine, I said.Fine? You have been missing for... His voice cracked, it was from the emotions he was not able to hold back. You vanished just like that, and you exp
The Strange Voice Nyra's POVI woke up to laughter.Not just any kind of laughter. This one was deep and rough, moving like smoke through the shadows, pushing against my skin like hands I could not see. I sat straight up fast with a sharp gasp, my head was still hurting, even my arms and legs were shaking. The cold cave floor cut into my palms as I tried to stay steady. My eyes were looking everywhere in the dark to see signs of who was out there.But there was no face. Just the voice.A woman speaking.Mean, slow, too sure of herself to be normal.Who is there? My voice came out rough and broken, either from fear or how dry my throat felt. Show yourself!Nothing.Then, again, that laugh. She moved closer now, like she was walking in circles around me.I spun around, my heart was beating so hard, but I did not see anything other than the weak light of the single oil lamp that was still burning on the wall. Shadows went out long and bent. I could not really tell where the walls ended
The Forest That ChangedNyra’s POV I told them I needed some air.That was my excuse. Simple and easy to believe. A midnight walk in the garden was not weird, not when the moon hung low like a watching eye, not when I had been restless all evening. I did not think Draven would ask questions. He had seen how quiet I had become these past few days, and he had not pushed. I think he knows that something inside me has changed, or maybe he was just giving me space to figure things out on my own.But I was not just going for air.I needed answers. Quietly. Carefully. Without making fear show in Draven eyes or making the pack wonder what was going on. I was going to see her again. My old friend. The rogue. The only one who had dared to cross the line between my past life and this one now. She knew something. Something I had not been ready to hear the first time. But now? After the letter, the warning, the whispers that seemed to follow me everywhere?I was ready.I grabbed my old leather ja
Shadows of UncertaintyNyra’s POVThe breeze was warm, the sky was not bothered, and laughters came in through the courtyard as pups tumbled on each other in the grass. The world looked so calm. But inside, it felt like a thread pulled taut, quietly unraveling.Draven and I walked beside each other along the training path that curved past the lower ridge.He took the walk casually. He said it would be good for us to stretch our legs after breakfast, but I had a feeling he noticed something more. I was not hiding things well today. My smile felt tight. My thoughts kept circling the same quiet warnings.I still had not told him about the message. Not the one that slipped into my closet yesterday, hidden under my cloak. Not the mention of Zaria’s name, or the veiled warning that someone had been playing a longer game than any of us thought. And definitely not about what Layla had said, that there were eyes inside this pack that did not belong.My fingers twisted together at my front, and
Rowan's WordNyra's POVThe next morning, after my unexpected visit with Rowan, it had dawned too quietly. The air felt still in a way that made my skin prickle. Not from the cold but from something that was left unsaid.I had not told Draven everything yet.He asked me how I was when I returned. I simply nodded, and kissed his cheek. I sat close to him in our chambers like it was just another evening. He accepted that, sensing that I was not ready. Or maybe, just trust me to speak when I was. That trust made my silence feel heavier somehow.When I woke up this morning, he had gone out. Early patrol, as usual. The empty space beside me still held his warmth, but it felt different now. Like there was something between us that was not there before. Something I was keeping from him.I dressed up slowly, my hands were shaking as I pulled on my boots. The morning routine was feeling strange, like I was going through the motions of being Luna when my mind was somewhere else.Rowan's warning
The Promise and The Old MagicNyra’s POVThe sun was just coming up, sending warm light across our bedroom through the windows. It made everything look soft and golden. Draven was still sleeping right next to me, his breathing was slow and quiet.I just watched him for a bit. This man who had hurt me so badly before, then helped put me back together piece by piece. We still had old stuff between us, but we didn't feel so angry anymore. More like a whisper from far away.I touched the blanket where it met his shoulder. Things are different now. We were different. The pain in my heart had turned into thin white lines, still there, but not bleeding anymore.I got out of bed real quiet, my bare feet touching the warm wood floor. I could hear people moving up and down already. Someone was making breakfast in the kitchen, and I could hear people’s voices in the halls. My first real day as Luna was about to begin, and I became nervous.Lydia was waiting for me in the hallway, her hair was ne