Mag-log in🕷️ Vaerion POV I did not need screams right now. Not here, at least. And it would be suspicious to take her to my wing. “So you questioned her for me?” I asked him before he reached the handle. “Of course, my lord.” “Show me.” He turned around and came back. Not eager. Not reluctant either. He knew the pain that would follow. He did not hesitate. I had somehow started tolerating that pet. He had strength, ruthlessness, and decisiveness. More than most of the wolves I had met. At times, more than the king himself. And he knew his place perfectly well. Marking that trash was his first real mistake. Arria Crestwood, I reminded myself. If she was the heir, as I now suspected, then I had misjudged one thing at the time. I had been searching for someone strong. Someone who had probably displayed power already. Not a weakling. I placed two fingers against his temple. I could do it from a short distance once my plant was well rooted. But I would have to sift through
🕷️VaerionPOVThethrone room smelled of polished stone, old banners, and fear carefully hidden beneathceremony.King Edric sat where kings were supposed to sit.Straight-backed.Crowned.Dressed in dark blue and silver, withthegolden wolf of his line resting heavily over his chest.
🍃 Arria POVSilence followed.Not the sharp silenceFenrircreated.Not the frightened one Alaric pulled from people without trying.This one was heavier.“You don’t have to choose now,” I told them. “You can ask all your questions first. Greg and Stone will answer truthfully. Then you’ll have three more days before the official vote.”
🍃 Arria POVA few minutes later, I was standing beside Fenrir on a wool blanket.Stone had organizedthespace perfectly. We were part ofthegathering circle, butthere was enough space around usso Alaric would not become overwhelmed.We received greetings, and as usual, everyone acted calmly, but no one met Fenrir’s gaze directly for more than two seconds.I positioned myself betweenhislong
🍃 Arria POVI had finished my morning training session an hour ago, and now,freshand physically spent, I was going through the pile of documents I had postponed for the last two days.The housing arrangements were moving swiftly, and all families in the gathering already had their own place. So now I was prioritizing which building should come next—a new school, a packhouse, three more one-family houses, or an actual healing house instead of home visits.A loud knock startled me.
🌘 Fenrir POV Arria was shocked. She needed time to think it through, so I pulled away from her and started moving around the kitchen, preparing the table and reheating the food. It gave my hands something to do. “This can’t be part of the curse,” Arria said eventually. “Alaric had a mate back then, right?” “Yes,” I confirmed. “A chosen mate.” “Chosen or not, it doesn’t matter if he wasn’t forced to take her. And the king’s Beta being forced is out of the question.” “You are right. He wasn’t.” I set a plate on the table. “They had been friends from a young age. Neither he nor she had found their fated mate by twenty-five, so they had decided to try courting for a while. Eight months later, they had been officially mated.”“That doesn’t sound bad,” she said slowly.Uncertain.“No. It had been good. She had always been respectful, understanding, and soft around him, and the Beta had reciprocated her feelings and actions.”I took a moment.“In time, they had grown affectionate wit
5 days later When I arrived, the yard was empty. The laughter that usually greeted me was gone. Inside, the children were sitting in rows behind desks while an instructor stood in front of the room. “Extra lessons,” one of the caretakers explained when she noticed me standing by the door. “The
In the days that followed, changes began to appear everywhere. Patrols along the borders doubled. Training sessions started earlier and ended later. Warriors who had once joked with one another in the yard now moved with a sharper focus. At first the pack welcomed it. Strength always brings comfo
The pack was left in the hands of the Beta family. Again. And I was left to think about what to do from now on. There was a huge possibility that I would never be truly a werewolf. In fact, according to our history 18th was the last threshold. My parents' obsession with believing I had a wolf w
A year later. Sixteen. The age when a wolf answers. The clearing was filled once again. Torches circled the altar. Warriors lined the perimeter. Children were lifted onto shoulders. My father’s voice carried across the gathering. “Tonight, our future steps fully into her power.” Cheers erupte







