Silas's point of viewI gave Aurelia every minute I could spare. I let the medics work slowly and gently, ignoring the itch in my joints that wanted us moving like a live thing. Her breaths were quick and shallow at first, then evened out beneath my palm. A line of sweat cooled on her temple. The medics murmured to each other, clipped and efficient—small human rituals that make chaos feel like something you can touch and rearrange.“Keep her warm,” I told the head medic. “No more heavy spells until she rests. Do not let anyone, I mean no one try or put pressure on her.” My voice was rough; I don’t think I’d ever sounded so much like a parent.They nodded and took her from my arms like she was something I might drop. When Aurelia’s eyelids closed, she clenched my hand for a second and then relaxed. That tiny squeeze felt like a promise I could keep.We were back on the move when Dalton’s mind-link cut through the chatter. Silas. Alpha King wants to see you. Now.It took me a second to
Silas's point of viewMy world narrowed to the sound of her breathing and the metallic smell of blood and magic. I had words in my mouth with orders, prayers, bargains but none of them mattered when Aurelia went slack in my arms. Her chest heaved, then stilled, and for a long second I thought the night had taken her.I slammed a mental scream to Dalton to send the medics. It linked like a thread snapping. Dalton, now. I need a medical team, Aurleia is injured.On it, came the clipped reply. They’re assembling at the infirmary. ETA five.Five minutes was a lifetime when your mate lay pale in your arms, pulse thin as thread.I hauled her closer, smelling the singed tang of charred spellwork on her hair. Her lips were grey at the edges. My hands shook when I tried to find her pulse, but it was there, thin and fast. I pressed my face to her hair to steady my breath, and then the tunnel light shifted.He stepped out of shadow like a stain spreading across stone. Draco. Trench coat dark as
Aurleia's point of viewThe wind howled through the ravine as we rode beneath the pale, unforgiving moonlight. The horses’ hooves struck the frozen earth like the ticking of a clock counting down to war. The journal in my satchel pulsed faintly, as if the cursed pages could sense what awaited us ahead.We had found the ledger and Bram’s trail, his network of merchants and blood deals and now there was only one path forward. Silas and I rode at the front, our warriors close behind, the night thick with unspoken tension.“Mara’s location?” I asked, breaking the silence that had stretched thin between us.Silas’s eyes gleamed in the dark, sharp and calculating. “Dalton, report,” he mind-linked, his tone low and commanding.The response came swiftly, echoing through the mental tether that connected us all.“Her trail splits south, Alpha. The tunnels beneath the border hills, old witch caverns. We’ve sent scouts. You’ll want to see this yourself.”Silas’s jaw tightened. “Prepare the second
Silas's point of viewThe road back to Blackfang crawled slower than the run out. Night in the pack lands always smells of damp earth and old smoke, but that night the air tasted thicker, as if it were holding its breath for what was coming. I carried Roderick’s crate like a promise I wished I didn’t have to keep. I had done what had to be done, crossed the line between justice and necessity, and still the cold knot in my gut tightened. There are some tasks that clean nothing. They only move the filth from one place to another.We reached the yard under an honest bruise of moon, horses stamping, men moving like shadows. Dalton met me with the quiet I had come to trust. He didn’t ask questions; we have long since learned that eyes can carry more than words. He took the crate and stowed it away with the rest of the proofs we didn’t want anyone to see unless they needed to.Inside the house the lamps burned low. I expected silence and found Aurelia awake, sitting up, the journal folded o
Silas's point of viewThere are things a leader must do that the heart will never forgive. I told myself that a hundred times as I walked the path to the dungeon, the torchlight throwing long, patient shadows on the stones. The weight of the decision sat in my gut like cold iron. Roderick had been given chances, hands on the ledger, rope on his wrists, time enough to weigh his options. He had chosen, in the end, to be the kind of man who made that choice easy.Dalton met me at the cell, eyes narrowed but steady. He did not wait for me to enter. He already knew the shape of my mind. He always did. We both did what we were bred for: to move where others could not, to make the hard arithmetic of blood and consequence.Roderick sat on the cold floor, shoulders hunched, the same small swagger he had worn on the day he’d first been braided into this mess. “So,” he said when he saw me, voice thin with a coward’s bravado. “You come to finish me like a dog, Alpha? Save yourself the trouble. Yo
Aurelia's point of viewThe chambers felt quieter than ever when we returned. The weight of the day still clung to me like ash. Silas guided me toward the bed, his touch firm but tender, and I sank onto the mattress without protest. He sat on the edge beside me, his expression somewhere between frustration and concern.“You’re burning yourself out,” he said finally, voice low but sharp enough to make my heart twist. “You’re pouring your blood into those damned spells, into that journal, into every curse and prophecy… and for what? You’re saving everyone’s tomorrow while ignoring your own today.”He wasn’t wrong. I wanted to argue, to tell him I was fine, that I was strong enough to handle this, but the exhaustion pressing behind my eyes told another story.“I can’t stop now, Silas,” I whispered. “Draco’s growing stronger every day. If we don’t act first—”He cut me off, his thumb brushing across my cheek. “If you fall, Aurelia, there won’t be a war to fight. Don’t forget that.”The wo