Jean’s POVThe whispers had began as faint as a sigh. At first, I thought they were memories, fragments of dreams that hadn't faded. But lately, they’ve grown louder, threading through my thoughts .They don’t shout or command. They… suggest. Softly. Patiently. Like a voice that knows it will be heard, sooner or later.Some mornings, when I wake and it's still dark, I catch the remnants of a melody I don’t remember singing. It seemed as though I was awake long before I woke up. The melodies hovered around the edges of my mind, hauntingly sweet, like something was trying to remember itself through me.The classroom had become my sanctuary, though even that word feels fragile now. The children’s laughter fills the walls with light, and I cling to that sound, to their innocence. It keeps the darkness at bay, if only for a while.“Miss Jean, can I draw the moon again?” Nia asked one afternoon, her hands already smudged with ink. “Of course, darling,” I said with a smile, kneeling besid
Jax’s POVAfter the first day I met Serena, I found myself returning to that same spot more often than I’d ever admit. I told myself it was just for the air, or maybe the quiet, but deep down, I knew I just wanted to see her again.The garden where she worked always smelled sweet with the beautiful scents of flowers. Birds scattered when I approached, and I’d hear her hum softly before she even noticed me. Sometimes, she’d glance up and give me a cute small, guarded smile. “Back again, already?” she teased one afternoon without looking up.“Maybe,” I replied. “You always have interesting company.”“Company?” she said, finally turning her gaze toward me. “You mean the flowers or the herbs?”I chuckled. “Yeah. They seem more talkative than you.”That earned me a quiet laugh, one that came and went quickly, but it was enough to keep me coming back.Over time, she stopped being distant. I started helping her gather herbs, even though I had no idea what most of them were. She’d correct
Sophia’s POVThe mornings had begun to feel even more quiet lately. Manny had been busy with his usual schedule and leading the pack. The compound no longer hummed with the chaos of planning or rebuilding, it had settled and was now calmer.And that calm left me restless.I would often find myself wandering through the garden or sitting by the window in my room, watching the few pack members who passed through the courtyard below. Then, there was Danny, bright, curious Danny, with his easy smile and unshaken eagerness to please everyone. He was light-hearted yet slightly naïve.I hadn’t intended to grow fond of him. Truly, I hadn’t. But fondness crept in quietly. When everyone left for work, kids in their classroom, he kept me company, but never a really proper conversation. One morning Manny told him to come to the office.“Danny, I need you with me today,” he said in a tone that was neither a request nor a command. “We have to go through the produce inventory. Might take the whol
Danny’s POVThe gates of the Red Fang Pack looked smaller than I remembered. Maybe it was me, maybe two and a half years away had changed something in how I saw this world. I stood at the entrance for a while, just staring, breathing in the air. It was home. It felt strange to call it that again. But I was glad to be back. I slung my bag over my shoulder and started walking in.Two guards stood by the gatehouse, their eyes following me curiously. One of them squinted, then blinked as recognition dawned.“Danny?” he said uncertainly.I grinned, throwing my arms wide. “In the flesh.”“Danny, Kiran’s brother?”“Still the same one,” I said, though his tone made me pause for half a second. “Why do you sound like I came back from the dead?”The two exchanged a quick look before forcing small smiles. “It’s been a while,” one of them said. “Didn’t expect you back.”“I didn’t expect to be gone this long either,” I admitted. “Academy life is... not for the fainthearted.”They laughed politely
Jean’s POVThe mornings had begun to mean something again. The first sunlight that filtered through my apartment window no longer felt like a stranger’s intrusion but an invitation, a quiet reminder that I had a reason to get up. Teaching the children. Their laughter filled the classroom like a soft wind through open fields. Somehow, that had become my safe space. When Lexi left, I didn’t realize how much I’d miss her until I walked into the packhouse the next morning and she was not there to welcome me. The kids were quieter too, especially Nia, who kept looking at the door as if expecting Lexi to walk back in at any moment. I told her she’d gone on an important mission and would return soon, and Nia nodded. “Will she bring me something?” she asked, twisting her fingers together.I smiled and knelt beside her. “I’m sure she will. Maybe a pretty stone from Rogue Haven?”Nia’s eyes brightened immediately. “Can I give her one too when she comes back?”“Of course,” I said softly. “W
Lexi’s POVThe sound of the ringing phone startled me, because it just sliced through a perfectly quiet room. It came faintly at first, a distant hum somewhere beyond the splash of water hitting the tiles. I froze, mid-rinse, blinking the soap from my eyes. The phone kept ringing.“Who on earth is calling this early?” I muttered under my breath, a little irritated, rushing through the last bit of my bath. The water was warm, soothing, but the sound outside had already ruined the calm. I turned off the tap, grabbed a towel, and stepped out, leaving faint wet footprints on the tiled floor as I hurried to my room.By the time I reached the table where my phone lay, the screen was still glowing… “Kayden.” He was someone I knew from my rogue haven. My chest lifted slightly with surprise. It had been weeks since I’d heard from any of them. Too many things had been happening here, the attacks, the kids, the new arrangements for the children, and I had almost forgotten how chaotic things u