로그인Amber’s POVThe first kick hit the front door hard enough to shake dust from the rafters.Wood groaned.Another crash followed.The iron latch screamed beneath the force.“Hurry,” Kael barked.I dropped farther into the narrow tunnel, the lantern swinging wildly in my hand as dirt and loose stone crunched beneath my boots. The passage was barely wide enough for one person, its rough walls damp with decades of moisture and thick roots twisting through the ceiling. The air smelled of wet earth, old stone, and the herbs my grandmother had once stored here.Behind me, Lyra climbed down carrying our packs while Rowan lowered himself into the opening with a grunt that sounded like it had been ripped straight out of his chest.“I’ve got him,” Cassian said.“You’ve got shit,” Rowan muttered through clenched teeth. “I’m still walking.”“You keep saying that like it’ll magically make it true.”“I’m walking.”Kael looked ready to argue until another deafening crack echoed through the cabin overh
Amber’s POVThe horn ripped through my sleep.I jerked upright before I was even fully awake, my pulse hammering as another blast rolled across the forest.Long.Low.Ancient.The sound seemed to vibrate through the floorboards beneath me.For one terrifying second, I thought I was back inside Star Pack’s estate.Back inside those suffocating stone walls.Back where every horn meant Richard was summoning someone to kneel.I sucked in a shaky breath and looked around the dim cabin instead.The little healer’s lodge.The fire had burned down to glowing embers, leaving the room washed in pale gray morning light filtering through cracks in the shutters.My blanket slid from my shoulders as I swung my feet onto the floor.Another horn answered in the distance.Then another.Not close.Not yet.But close enough that every tiny hair on the back of my neck stood up.Across the room, Rowan groaned in his sleep.I crossed to him immediately.The fever had finally broken sometime before dawn, le
Alpha Richard’s POVCaptain Ellis’s words settled over the council chamber like smoke.Someone close to me.For several seconds, I stared at him across the table, waiting for the rest of the room to react. No one did. The scouts kept their heads lowered, while the councilmen seemed fascinated by the maps beneath their hands. Even the guards near the doors refused to meet my gaze.Cowards.Every one of them.They were already searching their memories, wondering which conversation might condemn them and whether I had noticed every nervous glance exchanged across my table. I had. Grief had not dulled my instincts, despite what some whispered when they thought I was too far away to hear. I knew when fear entered a room, and I could smell guilt beneath all that mud, sweat, and polished leather.“Close to me in what way?” I asked.Ellis’s throat moved before he answered. “Someone with access to patrol rotations, private roads, and the restricted routes surrounding the northern estate.”“Hal
Alpha Richard’s POV Lucian’s room was the only place in Star Pack where time had stopped. I had forbidden anyone from touching it after his death. Not the servants. Not the cleaners. Not even my closest advisors who believed keeping a dead wolf’s belongings untouched was a weakness. They were wrong. Weakness was forgetting. Weakness was pretending losing my son was something I could simply accept and move beyond. I refused to do either. His cloak still hung over the chair near the window, exactly where he had thrown it after returning from training one evening. His maps remained spread across his desk, covered in his handwriting and battle strategies he would never have the chance to use. The sword he carried since his eighteenth birthday rested against the wall, polished and ready despite the fact its owner would never pick it up again. Everyone else had moved on. They had returned to their duties. They had returned to their families. They had returned to pretending Star Pac
Lyra’s POVI stayed beside Rowan’s bed while Amber worked, even when she told me twice to move so she had more room.I ignored her both times.She noticed.She always noticed.“Lyra,” she said without looking up, “if you’re going to stand there, at least make yourself useful.”I folded my arms.“I am being useful.”“You’re glaring at him.”“I’m making sure he knows he isn’t allowed to die.”Amber finally looked up at me, pushing her glasses higher on her nose.“That is not how medicine works.”“It should be.”A tired smile tugged at her mouth before she turned back to Rowan.That was the first time since she arrived that I saw even a little bit of the Amber I knew.The rest of her focus was on him.On every small detail.The way he breathed.The temperature of his skin.The wound she was trying to keep from getting worse.She had barely stopped moving since she walked through the door.“Tell me exactly what happened,” she said.Mara stepped forward.“He was injured while we were escap
Commander Rourke’s POVPain dragged me back to consciousness.Again.A sharp throb pulsed behind my eyes, somehow worse than before. My skull felt like someone had driven a spike straight through it, and every heartbeat sent another wave of agony crashing through my temples. My mouth was dry enough to crack, and my shoulders screamed from being forced into the same position for what had to be hours… or days.I had no idea anymore.There was no sunlight beneath Aurelia’s deepest dungeon.No windows.No sense of time.Only darkness, cold stone, and the slow drip of water echoing somewhere beyond the bars.I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling.How long had I been here?A day?Two?Longer?Seraphine had made sure I couldn’t tell.That realization settled heavily in my chest.She hadn’t simply imprisoned me.She had erased time itself.I shifted, immediately regretting it as the iron shackles bit into my wrists. The skin beneath them had long since rubbed raw. Every movement sent fre
Lyra’s POV“Holy fuck, Lyra,” Rowan screamed at me as he grabbed me in a death grip and dragged me towards the window. Sticking both our heads out the window, he whisper-screamed in my ear, “Alpha Fucking Richard came with half his fucking Army! He said he’s not leaving until he finds out about Luc
Alpha Leon’s POVThe phone fell from my hand, clattering onto my bedside table. It was super early in the morning, and Lucian had to be in bed. Right? Right! He had to be because at this point, unless I wanted Alpha Academy invaded by the Star Pack’s foot soldiers and possibly my imminent death, th
Alpha Richard’s POV Sitting out on my balcony, I watched as the snow surrounded me, chilling my tumbler of whiskey. I missed my wife so damn much, and no matter how much whiskey I consumed, it never dulled the ache I felt. I'd spoken to Lucian earlier, listening to his ravings on the humans and t
Amber’s POV Those imbeciles! They never knew when to let things be or let other people enjoy themselves. We’d been having a great time, and from the looks of Lyra and Rowan, probably the first time they’ve ever been able to let loose a bit. But now it’s as if the chocolate cro







