LOGINAlaria:Spring came late that year.The last of the snow had just melted from the rooftops, leaving the air sharp and clean, filled with the scent of rain and pine. The pack house had been rebuilt, stronger, quieter. No more echoes of command or threat, just the soft hum of life beginning again.From my bed, I could see the mountains through the window. Morning light spilled across the sheets, warm and golden, carrying the sound of laughter from outside, Anastasia’s voice, chasing one of the gamma’s son through the courtyard. For the first time in what felt like years, it was laughter that didn’t sound like a defense.Liam stood near the cradle, shoulders relaxed, hair a mess from sleepless nights. He looked down at the small bundle in his arms like the world had just given him something he didn’t quite believe he deserved.I smiled, my voice still hoarse. “He already has your eyes. And he already has your stubborn demeanor.”Liam looked up, and the rare, quiet smile that only I ever
Alaria:The snow fell quietly that morning, soft, white, and endless.It covered everything: the charred soil, the broken weapons, the blood. By sunrise, the battlefield was gone, buried under a blanket of silence that almost felt merciful.We buried Darius at the edge of the valley, where the pines grew thick and the mountains cast long shadows across the frozen earth.Bianca stood a few paces away, her arm wrapped protectively around Riley, who clung to her side in quiet confusion. The child didn’t cry; she only stared at the simple wooden marker standing over the grave, her small hand twisting the hem of her coat.There were no prayers. No words that could make sense of what he’d done or what we’d lost.Just the wind.And the memory of a man who had once wanted to change the world before the world changed him.Bianca stepped forward first, her movements slow, deliberate. She placed a single pine branch on the mound of snow that covered her brother’s body. Her voice was barely a whi
Liam:For a heartbeat, the world stopped breathing.I held my breath as I allowed myself to process the moment.The gunshot cracked through the smoke and flame, echoing like thunder over the valley.Darius jerked back, his grip on Alaria breaking instantly. Blood sprayed across the snow, dark against the white. His weapon slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a hollow clatter.Alaria stumbled forward, free but frozen. She didn’t scream, she couldn’t. The sound had been ripped from her before it could form.I was already moving, catching her before she fell. Her body was shaking, shock making her weightless in my arms.Darius collapsed to his knees, one hand clutching the wound spreading crimson down his chest. His eyes lifted, wild at first… then softening in disbelief.He looked past me.And for a second, I thought he was staring at nothing.Then I saw him…A man standing at the ridge above the burning trucks, rifle still raised, smoke curling from the barrel.Gray hair. Hard
Alaria:Smoke and fire painted the morning red.And though I was fighting, though I wanted nothing more than to end all of this, this war, this rage and this fear, I knew that something in me told me that this was wrong.The field that had once been forest was now a ruin of blackened trucks and blood-soaked snow. Wolves in human form fought through the haze, gunfire echoing like thunder against the mountains. The air stank of smoke and iron, of fury and loss.And between it all, two men.Liam and Darius.The two brothers who had forgotten that they were once brothers.They faced each other across the broken field, their bodies heaving, guns raised, eyes locked with the kind of hate that only once had been love.I ran before I could think. The wind burned my lungs as I stumbled through the smoke, ignoring Kai’s shout behind me. My boots slipped on blood and ice. I didn’t care. I needed to stop this before they finished what the world had started.“Stop!” I screamed, my voice breaking.
LiamThe horns began before dawn, low, guttural, echoing through the valley like the growl of something ancient awakening.By the time the last one faded, the forest outside our stronghold was alive with movement. Torches like stars. The rhythmic thunder of thousands of boots. The metallic hiss of drawn steel.War had come.I stood on the ridge overlooking the field, the snow beneath my boots melting under the heat of preparation. Kai approached from behind, his breath misting in the cold.“They’ve surrounded the east and the south,” he said. “Scouts say Darius is leading the front line himself. And that bitch is dead. You don't need to worry about her. Her head was hung for those who will see and try to betray again.”“Of course he is,” I muttered, not bothering about Selene. “He wouldn’t send someone else to do what he believes only he can finish. He knows what he wants to deal with and he's not going to stop until he dies. Because I know him, even if he wins, he's going to keep dig
Alaria:The knock at dawn was desperate, three sharp raps that broke the fragile silence of the camp.Liam was already awake, standing by the map table when one of the guards burst in. “Alpha! There’s someone at the northern border. She’s injured, she asked for you. She said that she will speak to no one else but you.”I was beside him before he could respond. “Bring her in.”“Alaria, she could be dangerous.”“I doubt that she would be, given the fact that she is going to be surrounded by men who want to kill her.” I said, raising an eyebrow.They carried her between them, mud-splattered, trembling, her face pale as snow. The scent of blood followed her inside. When they set her down, I recognized her immediately.Nina.She had been one of the maids in Darius’s house. Quiet. Always watching. The kind who blended into the background until now, until she’d crawled through hell to reach us.“Luna, I am sorry I came here. But I had no other options.”“Nina,” I whispered, kneeling beside h







