LOGINKAEL'S POVThree weeks searching, visiting territories, seeing options and yet nothing felt right.First place was the city, in the large pack were thousands of wolves. They offered us an entire district. Mansion. Servants. Seats on their Council."You'd be honored guests," the city Alpha said. Eager. Too eager. "Permanent positions. Respected. Protected."Elara looked uncomfortable. The baby pup fussed. I didn't like the noise. The crowds. The constant attention."We'll consider it," I said. Polite lies.Left the next day.The second location was smaller. Town of maybe five hundred. Still too much. They wanted us to lead. Become their Alphas. Take over their pack."You're heroes," their elder said. "Natural leaders. We need someone like you.""We're not looking to lead," Ronan said. Firm. "Just looking to live."They didn't understand. Keep pushing. Keep offering. Titles. Land. Power.We left.Third place was a village. Hundred people maybe. Quieter. But they treated us like legends.
ELARA'S POVThe final journey took six weeks. Hit twelve remote locations. Each one is different. Each one challenging.The first stop was a mountain village. High peaks. Isolated. Snow everywhere.But the snow wasn't normal. People froze inside it. Not dead. Just suspended. Shadow had merged with ice somehow. Trapped them mid-motion."They're alive," Ronan said. Sensing with his Alpha abilities. "Barely. Heartbeats slow. Almost stopped."Kael circled the frozen villagers. Wolf instinct assessing threat. "How do we thaw them without killing them?"The baby pup reached out. Light pulsed from her tiny hands. Touched the nearest frozen person.The ice melted slowly. Carefully. The person gasped. Collapsed. Alive.We spent three days there. Thawing everyone. Teaching the local pack how to prevent it from happening again. Left light-bearers behind. Established anchors.The second location was worse. Island settlement. Ocean pack. Fishers and traders.The Shadow Blight had corrupted the sea
ELARA'S POVThe morning after the ceremony, the sun was barely up, already people were waiting outside our rooms.Not celebrating anymore, these ones looked desperate, opened the door. A woman stood there. Middle-aged, leaning on a crutch. My left leg ended at the knee."Please," she said. "They said you could heal anything. Can you... can you give me back my leg?"My stomach dropped. "The disease took it?""Shadow corruption. Spread so fast. Healers had to remove it or I'd die." Her eyes pleaded. "But you purified the shadow. Can't you reverse what it did?"I wanted to say yes. I wanted to promise miracles."I can't reverse what's already gone. I'm sorry."Her face crumpled. "But you're the champion. You saved everyone.""I stopped the disease. But what it already took..." Shook my head. "Some things can't be healed."She left crying. Broke something in my chest watching her go.More came throughout the day. Man with chronic pain. A girl who couldn't speak anymore. A boy who lost his
KAEL'S POVThree days on the road to the capital, should've been a grim journey, I expected more deaths. More suffering.It wasn't like that.The first village we passed through had fields. I remembered them from months ago. Barren then. Brown. Dead.Now green shoots pushed through the soil. Small. Fragile. But alive.Farmers worked the land. Smiling. Actually smiling while they planted."Look at that," Elara said. Wonder in her voice."The land's healing," Ronan observed. "Stage three is starting already."The second village was louder. Children playing in the streets. Running. Laughing. A sound I hadn't heard in too long.An older woman sat outside her house. Knitting. Humming."Excuse me," I called to her. "How long have the children been playing again?"She looked up. Face wrinkled but eyes bright. "Week maybe? Fever broke. They got strong enough to run around." Smiled. "Thank the gods. Thought we'd lost them all.""The gods," I repeated. "Right."Moved on. More villages. More si
ELARA'S POVThe morning after the ceremony, the sun was barely up, already people were waiting outside our rooms.Not celebrating anymore, these ones looked desperate, opened the door. A woman stood there. Middle-aged, leaning on a crutch. My left leg ended at the knee."Please," she said. "They said you could heal anything. Can you... can you give me back my leg?"My stomach dropped. "The disease took it?""Shadow corruption. Spread so fast. Healers had to remove it or I'd die." Her eyes pleaded. "But you purified the shadow. Can't you reverse what it did?"I wanted to say yes. I wanted to promise miracles."I can't reverse what's already gone. I'm sorry."Her face crumpled. "But you're the champion. You saved everyone.""I stopped the disease. But what it already took..." Shook my head. "Some things can't be healed."She left crying. Broke something in my chest watching her go.More came throughout the day. Man with chronic pain. A girl who couldn't speak anymore. A boy who lost his
KAEL'S POV Three days on the road to the capital, should've been a grim journey, I expected more deaths. More suffering.It wasn't like that.The first village we passed through had fields. I remembered them from months ago. Barren then. Brown. Dead.Now green shoots pushed through the soil. Small. Fragile. But alive.Farmers worked the land. Smiling. Actually smiling while they planted."Look at that," Elara said. Wonder in her voice."The land's healing," Ronan observed. "Stage three is starting already."The second village was louder. Children playing in the streets. Running. Laughing. A sound I hadn't heard in too long.An older woman sat outside her house. Knitting. Humming."Excuse me," I called to her. "How long have the children been playing again?"She looked up. Face wrinkled but eyes bright. "Week maybe? Fever broke. They got strong enough to run around." Smiled. "Thank the gods. Thought we'd lost them all.""The gods," I repeated. "Right."Moved on. More villages. More si







