로그인Kai POVThe last couple of days have passed in a relentless blur—pack runs at dawn that leave my muscles burning, endless training drills under a merciless sun, and hours locked in the office drowning in reports that grow more troubling with every page. The air in here hangs heavy with Liora’s wildflower scent, sweet and intoxicating, wrapping around me like invisible chains. Atlas claws at my insides, fur rippling in a frenzy of need, his low growl constant and hungry. All I want is to clear the desk with one sweep, pin her against the wood, claim her lips, her body, her soul—the mate bond roaring like a storm I can barely contain. Aria’s presence calls to him, freer since the ruins, a siren song that makes my pulse thunder and my hands itch to tangle in her auburn braid, to feel her tremble beneath me as I mark her as mine.But the oracle’s words chain me tighter than any silver cuff. Claim your throne without a true mate’s bond, and the shadow beast awakens. The blood moon ritual i
Liora POVThe pantry door still swings from Kael and Dax’s chaotic escape, their muffled laughter echoing down the hall, chased by Miss Ophelia’s sharp, fond scolding: “You two think my kitchen’s a love nest? Moon Goddess help me; I’ll tan your hides with this spoon!”I bite back a grin, stirring a pot of simmering beef stew, the rich aroma of herbs and slow-cooked meat wrapping around me like the warmest blanket. The familiar clatter of pots, the crackle of the hearth fire…this is where the world feels small and safe, even after everything.Kai steps through the doorway, and the air shifts. Aria stirs instantly, a low, eager rumble in my chest. He’s still in his training clothes, sleeves rolled to the elbows, dark hair slightly damp from the yard. His grey eyes find me instantly, softening in a way that makes my stomach flip. “Liora,” he says, voice soft but carrying the unmistakable edge of Alpha authority, “you’re not kitchen staff anymore. Your new job is in my office, remember?
Kael POVThe Blood Moon Pack’s training yard no longer feels like a prison yard with a bullseye painted on my back. It’s starting to feel dangerously close to a playground—and I’m the rogue who’s finally allowed to play.Sweat drips down my spine, leather gear creaking with every sharp pivot. My hair’s yanked into a high, tight knot, and Veyra is practically humming under my skin, itching to prove to these pampered pack wolves exactly what a Whispering Pines orphan can do. My body still screams from the ruins—bruises blooming purple across my ribs, thighs burning—but pain is an old friend. I use it like fuel.Dax stalks the edge of the sparring circle, arms crossed, barking corrections like he was born with a whistle in his mouth. His scent keeps crashing into me—stormy cedar and that dark, possessive edge that makes my knees want to buckle. The mate bond is a live wire strung between us, and every time our eyes lock, it sparks.“Faster, rogue girl!” he calls, smirk sharp enough to cu
Liora POVThe journey back to the SUVs are just as merciless and unforgiving, each step a jagged reminder of what we’ve survived…and what still waits ahead. My legs tremble from the fight, muscles screaming with every stride, but I keep moving. The Silver Dagger clutched tight in my hand. Its warmth pulses against my palm, steady and alive, like a second heartbeat synced to mine. The ruby glows faintly, a soft crimson light that cuts through the mist, and every time the light touches my skin, Aria stirs – stronger now, her growl no longer a distant whisper but a deep, resonant force clawing closer to the surface. The suppression serum still holds her back, but the dagger’s power is eroding it, thread by thread.The rogues’ screams still echo in my ears. Their bodies reduced to ash at my feet, the smell of charred fur and silver still lingering. The dagger isn’t just a relic; it’s a weapon, tied to my blood. I glance down at it, the wolf-carved handle fitting my grip perfectly, runes e
Kai POVThe rogues hit like a storm unleashed from the very fog itself. Dozens of them, lean and feral, bursting from the treeline with silver-tipped claws glinting in the dying light. Their eyes glow an unnatural crimson, pupils slit like serpents, dilated with a hunger that’s more curse than instinct. They move with horrifying coordination, darting in pairs and threes, cutting through the mist like arrows aimed straight for Liora. Atlas roars inside me, the sound tearing out of my throat as I shift mid-stride, bones snapping and reforming in a blaze of silver-tipped black fur. I launch myself at the lead rogue, jaws clamping around its throat with bone-crushing force. Hot blood sprays across my muzzle, metallic and foul, but these bastards don’t falter. They’re not mindless; they’re driven, organized, and they want her…the dagger, her blood, her legacy.Dax is beside me in an instant, Rune a massive blur of storm-grey fur, tearing into a rogue with a snarl that shakes the clearing.
Liora POVThe ruins spit us out into a fog-choked clearing like a beast coughing up bones, the sudden rush of cold, damp air hitting my face as we stumble through a collapsed archway. My lungs burn from the sprint through the collapsing tunnels, legs trembling from the strain, but the dagger clutched in my hand pulses warm and steady, its ruby glowing faintly against my skin like a living ember. The visions still echo in my skull—Elowen’s fierce howls echoing across ancient mountains, Thorne’s proud voice naming me heir, Elora’s gentle warning about the true mate who would anchor me. The weight of centuries presses on my chest, heavy and exhilarating all at once. Aria is stronger now, no longer a distant whisper but a steady, vibrant rumble, her presence coiling through my veins like liquid fire, clawing closer to the surface with every heartbeat.Kai’s hand is still locked around mine, fingers interlaced, his grip unyielding even as we burst into the open. His ocean-mist scent floods







