Night had fully fallen, cloaking the world in deep shadows and streaks of moonlight. Aurora stood at the edge of Kaweka territory, her wolf senses stretched to their furthest reach. Sam was prowling in her mind, coiled and eager for a fight.
Behind her, twenty of the Midnight Pack’s best warriors shifted anxiously, claws flexing, their breath steaming in the cold air. They were family, cousins, old allies, wolves who would fight for her without question.
Aurora lifted her head, inhaling the scents on the breeze. Sweat. Iron. Wolves. Jason. Her heart stuttered at the faint trace of him, tinged with pain and exhaustion.
We are close, Sam growled, hackles raised.
Aurora nodded, a single determined movement. “No mercy,” she whispered to the warriors behind her. “But do not kill if you can help it. I want Rawiri alive.”
They surged forward, paws silent on the forest floor. The Kaweka sentries didn’t even know what hit
Night had fully fallen, cloaking the world in deep shadows and streaks of moonlight. Aurora stood at the edge of Kaweka territory, her wolf senses stretched to their furthest reach. Sam was prowling in her mind, coiled and eager for a fight.Behind her, twenty of the Midnight Pack’s best warriors shifted anxiously, claws flexing, their breath steaming in the cold air. They were family, cousins, old allies, wolves who would fight for her without question.Aurora lifted her head, inhaling the scents on the breeze. Sweat. Iron. Wolves. Jason. Her heart stuttered at the faint trace of him, tinged with pain and exhaustion.We are close, Sam growled, hackles raised.Aurora nodded, a single determined movement. “No mercy,” she whispered to the warriors behind her. “But do not kill if you can help it. I want Rawiri alive.”They surged forward, paws silent on the forest floor. The Kaweka sentries didn’t even know what hit
Jason woke with a metallic tang on his tongue and the searing bite of silver shackles burning into his wrists. His head throbbed with a heavy, poisonous fog, the aftereffects of wolfsbane making his wolf sluggish and his mind dull. As his vision steadied, he took in the dim stone chamber around him. Water dripped somewhere, echoing against rough walls darkened by damp.He tried to shift, to call on Jack, but the silver shackles sent shockwaves of agony through every nerve. He gritted his teeth, sweat breaking across his brow. The chains rattled, biting deeper, until he was forced to still himself and breathe shallowly.Footsteps approached, measured, and confident. The scent hit him first, pine, iron, and something sour that set his hackles on edge. Rawiri stepped into view, flanked by two of his warriors. The Kaweka Alpha looked every inch the predator, his grin sharp and cruel.“Good morning, Alpha,” Rawiri sneered. “Or shall I
Morning light poured through the guesthouse window, a warm golden glow that felt almost out of place given the unease brewing around Jason and Aurora.Jason stepped out onto the porch, scanning the village square. Midnight Pack wolves were already gathering in small knots, speaking in low tones. Some nodded politely when they saw him, but others turned away, unwilling to meet his eye.Aurora joined him, her fiery hair catching the sun, Malcolm bundled on her hip. She looked tired, as though her sleep had been haunted by the same dark worries that weighed on Jason.“Something’s changing,” she murmured. “I can feel it.”Jason nodded, jaw tight. “It’s more than fear. There’s anger here, too.”As they moved through the village that day, they tried to settle back into familiar rhythms. Aurora visited with old friends, accepting congratulations for Malcolm and warm embraces from the women who had once
The days that followed Rawiri’s visit were uneasy. The once celebratory feel of Jason and Aurora’s arrival had evaporated, leaving behind an anxious hush that weighed on every conversation.Aurora kept Malcolm close, unwilling to let her son out of her sight, while Jason continued working with her father to strengthen the Midnight Pack’s patrols and reinforce border defenses.At night, Aurora lay awake, listening to Jason breathe beside her, haunted by Rawiri’s words. The vow he demanded had felt like a leash, and her refusal still echoed in the village.On the fifth night after the Kaweka Pack’s visit, the danger finally struck.Jason had been exhausted from a day of working with the border warriors and fell into a deep sleep beside Aurora and Malcolm. The night was quiet, moonlight pouring through the window, the lull of crickets in the distance.Aurora, half dozing, jolted awake to a sudden shift in th
The dawn broke misty and pale, sunlight slanting through the ancient forests that surrounded the Midnight Pack’s lands. The air smelled of damp earth and pine, and a hush seemed to cling to the trees as Jason and Aurora stepped out onto the guesthouse porch, Malcolm bundled against the morning chill.Jason breathed deeply, his senses stretched thin. Even with the quiet beauty of this place, his instincts remained on edge. The shadow he’d glimpsed at the forest’s edge the night before still haunted him.“Did you sleep?” Aurora asked, her voice gentle.“Not much,” Jason admitted. “Something feels... off.”Aurora glanced down at their son, who slept peacefully, unaware of the storm brewing beyond his parents’ gaze. “I feel it too,” she confessed. “Like we’re being watched.”The day passed in a blur of reunions and formalities. The Midnight Pack elde
The tang of salt and sea air wrapped around them as the ferry pulled into port, carrying Jason, Aurora, and their son Malcolm across the final stretch of water to New Zealand. The land of Aurora’s birth rose ahead, green hills soft against the sky, dotted with dark, tangled forests. It felt at once familiar and foreign, as if Aurora had been away for centuries rather than just a year.She clutched Malcolm closer, breathing in the baby's sweet scent of his hair, while Jason stood beside her, one protective arm wrapped around her shoulders. His Arctic blue eyes scanned the docks, catching every subtle movement, the warrior in him never fully resting.“Home,” Aurora whispered, half to herself, half to her son.Jason looked down at her with a quiet smile. “You ready?”She nodded, though a ripple of nerves twisted in her stomach. “I think so.”They disembarked to the calls of seagulls and the rhyth