Malrick’s POV The smell hit me first—burning fur, blood, and rage. I shoved through the underbrush, shifting fully into my wolf form, claws extended, senses heightened. The screams ahead made my heart pound, but not out of fear. Out of fury."Move!" I barked at the guards flanking me. "Circle the east wing. Don’t let any of those bastards slip through!"They growled in unison, taking off toward the dense trees where the rogue scent was thickest.I launched myself onto the ridge overlooking the eastern wall. Chaos below. Smoke curled into the dawn sky, and wolves clashed in frenzied combat. Elders ran, children shrieked. The rogues were coordinated—too coordinated for mindless beasts.“What the hell…” I muttered, eyes narrowing.A large wolf slammed into one of our guards below, snapping its neck in one move. I growled and lunged from the ridge, landing hard beside the corpse.“Bastards!” I grunted. I tore into the rogue’s side, claws raking deep, fangs locking into its throat. It di
Malrick’s POVI summoned the guards and we all went out in search of Sage. The fabric was torn, muddied, half-buried beneath a bed of leaves. But I’d know that scent anywhere.“Sage,” I muttered.The guards behind me caught the scent too. Joran shifted closer, sniffing the air. “It’s fresh. Hours old, maybe.”I crouched, my fingers brushed the darkened cloak. It was soaked—part blood, part mud. But what caught me was the claw marks—deep, violent tears across the chest. He was injured. Badly.“Fan out,” I ordered, rising. “Stay in your wolf forms. Follow the blood. He’s close.”We shifted almost in unison, the crack of bones and stretch of limbs swallowed by the night. My wolf surged beneath my skin, hungry for the scent. Betrayal stung like acid in my gut. Sage, my Alpha, my friend once. But that creature he’d become? It wasn’t him anymore. He needed to be stopped.We moved in silence through the trees, the scent trail sharp now. Blood. Sweat. Burnt flesh.“He’s slowing,” Laren’s vo
Malrick’s POVLuthor began. “You believe Sage is a threat.”“I do.”“Yet you brought him back alive.”“Because we’re not killers. We give every wolf a chance to defend himself.”Mireya folded her arms. “So defend your position.”I laid it out: the beast form, the attack on my guards, the rogue-like behavior, the erratic aura Sage had been radiating for weeks.“This isn’t the wolf we trained with,” I said. “He’s something else. Maybe cursed, maybe bitten by something we don’t understand. But if we wait until he loses control inside the pack house, we’ll all regret it.”“Do you suggest exile?” Brannic asked.“No,” I said. “Containment.”Their eyes shifted.“You’d make a prisoner of your Alpha?”“He’s no Alpha,” I said firmly. “Not anymore.”The room fell silent. Then Mireya nodded slowly. “We’ll see what he says tonight.”“He won’t talk,” I muttered.“Then that will speak for him.”The meeting ended at dusk. I walked back to the basement with a grin that wouldn’t leave my face.This was
Bella’s POV“Are you sure you’ve got everything?” June asked, holding the shelter door open with her hip.I nodded, hoisting the strap of my worn duffel bag higher onto my shoulder. “Yeah… this is all I’ve got.”“Well, come on then.” She grinned, stepping out into the morning light. “Let’s go.”The air was chilly, and the sky was pale gray, like it hadn’t decided what kind of day it wanted to be yet. I followed her down the steps, heart pounding. This was it. No more shelter. No more freezing in alleys or hiding who I was. Maybe. Hopefully.We walked to the bus stop in silence. My wolf stirred in the back of my mind, restless. “Are you sure about this?”“We talked about this," I replied telepathically.” We agreed to trust her.”“ I still don’t like how easy she trusts humans.” “ Then be ready if it turns south, I told her. I doubt she knows what I really am so we cannot assume. But let’s not sabotage this before it begins.” June nudged me when the bus pulled up. “Come on. Two seats
Bella’s POV I didn’t know if it was Harper’s presence or just this damn silence that made my skin itch.June dropped our bags in one of the guest rooms. “Make yourself comfortable,” she said. “I’m gonna grab us something to eat.”I nodded and walked back into the living room where Harper sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, sipping from a glass of red wine. Her sharp eyes flicked up at me the second I stepped into the room.“You’re quiet,” she said, her voice smooth. “June told me a bit about you. You’re...interesting.”“I try not to be,” I replied, trying to make my tone light, but it came out colder than I wanted.Harper smiled faintly. “Where are you from, Bella?”“Up north,” I muttered.“That’s vague.”“Yeah, it is.”She tilted her head, watching me like she was trying to peel back layers with just her stare. I held mine firm, refusing to look away. I couldn’t risk letting anything slip.“I don’t mean to pry,” Harper said after a pause. “You just...carry yourself lik
Bella’s POV After breakfast, I thanked June and Harper and then went up to take my bath. After a hot bath, I pull on a soft flannel shirt and some jeans and make my way down.Breakfast is surprisingly peaceful. We talk about everything and nothing. June lights up when Harper talks about renovating her art studio in the city, and I can’t help but notice how her eyes sparkle. It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her.I told them I want to take a walk. June offers to join me, but I insist I want some alone time to think. She doesn’t push, thankfully.The woods behind the lake house are breathtaking. Pines stretch toward the sky, their limbs tangled amazingly. Sunlight cuts through the canopy in scattered beams, and birds chirp with a rhythm only nature understands.But something feels off.I slow down, my boots crunched dead leaves as I step over a fallen log. The scent hits me first—metallic, sharp. Blood. My wolf shifts inside me, restless.I crouch by a patch of disturbed earth. The gras
Bella's POV The moonlight spilled through the slanted window, casting faint silver shadows across the floor of the guest room. I laid still, curled under a soft throw, trying to sleep, but something kept me alert. Maybe it was the leftover tension from earlier—watching Harper disappear into the woods with that cloaked figure. I hadn’t told June yet. Couldn’t. I saw how she smiled with Harper around, I didn't want to ruin their love life. Outside the lake house, the night was quiet, except for the occasional call of crickets and the soft lapping of the lake. June and Harper had gone back down to the beach not too long ago. I’d heard their voices floating through the open window, laughter mixed with low conversation. I had pretended to be asleep.I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, rubbing my arms to chase away the cold. Something kept pulling at me—not my wolf this time, but curiosity. I wasn’t snooping. At least, that’s what I told myself as I stepped out into the
Bella’s POV Days passed and it was over two weeks since we moved tk the pack house. Still, I was uncomfortable. Always looking over my shoulder and feeling as if someone was watching me. Maybe, I was just being paranoid. It was another morning and another day in morning air off the lake carried a soft chill, enough to make me pull my sleeves down as I walked along the wooden deck barefoot. The sun had barely risen, but I couldn't sleep—not after last night. Not after everything Harper had said.The journal. The blood moon. The blood moon whatever prophecy.June stepped out onto the dock behind me, holding two steaming mugs. “Thought you might need this.”I took the cup gratefully. “Thanks.”We sat at the edge of the dock, legs dangling over the water. Mist clung to the lake.She sipped, then nudged my shoulder. “You okay?”“Define okay.”June laughed softly, then leaned her head against mine. “I’m still wrapping my head around it, too. But… you know, I kinda always suspected somethi
Bella’s POV The sky was ash when I found her again—June, leaning against the porch railing, a wool blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders. She didn’t look up when I stepped outside, just sipped from her mug like the world hadn’t tried to break her.“You’re gonna freeze out here,” I said, nudging her lightly.“I like the cold,” she replied.I didn’t have a response for that, so I just stood beside her and let the silence settle between us. Sometimes that was better than pushing. And lately, silence didn’t feel so heavy.Inside, Harper’s laughter drifted from the kitchen. She and Liam were cleaning up after dinner, arguing over who forgot to defrost the chicken. It felt normal. Safe. Like the council hadn’t carved messages into our door or hunted us through ancient forests.But even in that peace, a small ember inside me kept burning—restless, searching, quietly desperate for something more.I didn’t tell them right away.Weeks passed since we decided to stay. Weeks of healing, adj
Bella’s POV We left the house to a hotel to spend a few days and not raise any suspicion. The air in Ålesund felt different the moment we returned. The ferry ride back had been quiet—too quiet. June barely spoke, and Harper’s silence was thick with tension. Even Liam, usually steady, kept glancing over his shoulder like something was breathing down his neck.Now, standing on our front porch again, everything felt wrong.The snow hadn’t fallen naturally. It clung to the trees in odd clumps, too heavy, too still. The ravens had returned in droves, black feathers scattering across the drive like a warning. One perched on the porch railing, staring straight at June until she shooed it away with a flicker of energy that crackled in the air.“Don’t,” Harper said, voice sharp. “They're watching.”“They?” I asked.“Not just the Council. Something older. Something waking up.”Inside, the house was just as we left it, but colder. I could smell unfamiliar scents mixed into our own—cologne, swea
Bella’s POV The pendant flared white-hot. The ground beneath her feet cracked. Trees bent back like something had exhaled violently. Birds scattered from the branches, screaming into the sky.Liam lunged forward, grabbing her shoulders. “June! You have to control it!”“I don’t know how!” she screamed.Wind howled. Real wind. Not the kind from storms, but something summoned—something born.Harper raised her hands, murmuring an incantation. Runes lit beneath her fingers in sharp blue flickers. “Bella, keep her steady!”I rushed forward and grabbed June’s hand. She was trembling violently, her breath coming in gasps.“I don’t want this,” she cried.“But it’s already yours,” I said. “Let it in. Or it will tear you apart.”The pendant cracked down the middle, releasing a pulse of energy that knocked all of us back. I landed hard in the snow. When I sat up, June was on her knees, her chest was heaving—but calm. For now.The snow around her had formed a perfect ring of frost, etched with ru
Bella’s POV The days following the attack were a blur of healing and conversations about the way forward. Harper on her hand, immersed herself in ancient texts, her fingers stained with ink and herbs. One evening, I approached her as she traced a rune onto the floor with a mixture of ash and blood."Harper," I began cautiously, "you're pushing yourself too hard."She didn't look up. "We need stronger protections. The Council won't stop, and neither will what's coming.""What's coming?" I pressed.She finally met my gaze, her eyes momentarily flickering silver. "There are older things than the Council, Bella. Things that have been dormant for centuries."A chill ran down my spine. "And you're waking them?"She returned to her work. "Better to wake them on our terms than theirs."Liam and I stood watch outside, the snow crunching beneath our boots. "She's changed," I murmured.Liam nodded. "Magic that deep always leaves a mark. She's treading dangerous ground.""Can we trust her?
Bella’s POV We didn’t speak much on the way home. The lantern lights faded behind us, replaced by the hush of falling snow and the quiet thrum of adrenaline. My wrist still pulsed from where Kalen had touched me, like the cold had rooted itself beneath the skin. I kept rubbing it, trying to forget how close I’d come to unraveling.Back at the house, Liam was already waiting at home, pacing by the window. He had left earlier to check if the house was safe before we got home. “He was there,” I said.He didn’t need to ask who.“He got too close,” Harper muttered, locking the door behind us. “Too fast.”June dropped her coat, cheeks flushed. “We’re running out of time, aren’t we?”Harper didn’t answer right away. Instead, she crossed to the fireplace and knelt down, pulling away the base of the stone hearth. I heard the click before I saw the opening—a hidden compartment built into the wall, older than the house itself.She drew out something long and wrapped in thick, cracked leather.
Bella’s POV I swallowed. “Harper told you?”“No.” He glanced at me then, his expression was unreadable. “I felt it. Your energy flared through the wards like a damn flare gun.”“I didn’t use powers. It was just—” I paused. “Instinct.”“Exactly.” He faced me fully now, stepping closer. “Your wolf’s too close to the surface.”I scoffed and dropped my bag by the kitchen table. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”“It is when people start to notice.” His voice was low. “That doctor of yours—Haldren? He’s already talking about it. Calling you some kind of miracle worker. Word spreads, Bella. Fast.”I sat down slowly. The wood beneath me felt cold, grounding. “What do you want me to do? Let someone die next time?”“I want you to control it,” he snapped. “There’s a reason we train to separate instinct from action.”Silence stretched between us. I broke it first. “I’m not just a wolf, Liam. I’m not just a nurse either. I’m… in between. And no one taught me how to be that.”He rubbed his fac
Bella’s POV The morning after the rite, I woke before the sun rose. Everything felt wrong.The wind outside wasn’t louder—but I could hear it now, like a low whisper curled through the house. My heart thudded faster than usual. Every sound—June’s sleepy breathing upstairs, Harper’s footsteps in the kitchen, Liam locking the front door—hit me like thunder.I pressed a hand to my chest, breathing deep. Harper handed me a cup of coffee as I entered the kitchen, her eyes were already on me. “You’re hearing more now, aren’t you?”I nodded slowly. “Footsteps, breathing. Even the streetlamp outside—I can hear it buzz.”“Your instincts are awakening.” She stirred her tea, eyes dark. “They’ll either sharpen or overwhelm you.”I didn’t want to be overwhelmed. Especially not at work. At the hospital, I kept my head down. I tried to focus on charts, patients, and ward rounds. But it was hard. I could hear heartbeats behind closed doors. I knew when someone was lying—even when they didn’t know it
Bella’s POV “Operation Cheer-Up is officially underway,” she announced brightly. “No monsters allowed.”I managed to laugh a little, and Harper smiled tiredly. Even Liam cracked half a grin.June plopped down beside me, bumping my shoulder. “You know what we need? A puppy. A big, slobbery, totally useless puppy that barks at everything and scares the boogeymen away.”I laughed again, a little stronger this time.“We’d probably end up adopting a hellhound by accident.”June gasped. “And name it Snuggles.”Harper snorted into her hot chocolate, and even Liam shook his head, chuckling. For a few minutes, the fear faded. The house was still marked, still haunted by whatever had clawed the walls.Later, when the others drifted off, June was asleep on the floor with a cookie half-eaten in her hand, Harper was snoring softly against the armchair. I on the other hand was awake, staring at the flickering candlelight.Liam was still awake too, sitting by the door, legs stretched out, eyes aler
Bella’s POV The next few days have been going very well. Work had been...ordinary, for weeks. After the beach day, after the puppy dreams and crime show marathons, everything settled into a routine that made my heart feel full.I should’ve known better. It was a Friday afternoon when the call came in the hospital speaker. Trauma admission. Male, critical injuries. ETA three minutes.I tightened the straps of my gloves and adjusted my scrub top as I hurried toward the ER bay. Harper caught my eye from across the hallway, giving me a thumbs-up before disappearing into another room.I joined the team gathering by the trauma doors. Dr. Haldren was already snapping out orders.“We don’t have much on him. Found near the old quarry. No ID, unresponsive. Massive blood loss.”The ambulance screamed up outside, lights flashed too. I braced myself.The doors slammed open and the paramedics rushed in with the stretcher. And the moment I saw him, my heart stumbled in my chest.He was big — bigger