chapter 2:The Three Shadows

The rain didn't feel cold; it felt like a baptism. Behind me, the Silver Crest manor stood like a dying coal in the dark. I could already feel the tether snapping. Every step I took away from the territory, the lush grass beneath my boots began to wither, turning to grey ash.

"They will come for you, My Queen," Thane whispered, his voice like grinding stones. He walked a step behind me, his massive frame a shield against the wind. "Fenris is arrogant, but he is not stupid. He will feel the power draining from the borders soon."

"Let him come," I said, watching the silver moon vanish behind thick, unnatural clouds. "He wanted a mate with no power. Now he has exactly what he asked for."

We reached the Blackwood Ravine, a place forbidden to the Pack. This was where the "Broken" were sent—Betas whose wolves were too violent, too strange, or too silent for the Alpha’s liking.

Two figures emerged from the mist.

The first was Kaelen. He was lean, with eyes the color of toxic moss. Once the Pack’s most brilliant healer, he had been exiled after refusing to let Fenris slaughter a rival pack's pups. In his hands, he held a staff of twisted iron.

"The seal is broken," Kaelen murmured, bowing low. As he approached, the withered plants near my feet didn't die further—they twisted into sharp, thorny briars. "I can taste the decay on the wind. You’ve begun the Deprivation."

"I took back what was mine, Kaelen," I replied. "Are the ley lines prepared?"

"Ready and waiting," a third voice chirped from the shadows.

Jace dropped from a high branch, landing with the grace of a predator. He was the youngest, a scout whose speed was so great it was whispered he could step through shadows. Fenris had labeled him a "freak" and ordered his tongue cut out; Jace had escaped before they could try, though he rarely spoke to anyone but us.

"The perimeter is set," Jace said, his grin showing sharp canines. "The Alpha’s warriors are already wandering in circles. They think the forest is growing thicker. They don't realize the forest is just trying to eat them."

I looked at the three of them—Thane (the Strength), Kaelen (the Alchemist), and Jace (the Ghost).

"Tonight, we don't just hide," I told them, the cold hum in my chest growing into a roar. "We build. While the Silver Crest starves in their own valley, we will turn this ravine into a fortress. Thane, I need the earth moved. Kaelen, I need the water poisoned for any who carry the Silver Crest scent. Jace... go back to the manor. Watch them. I want to know the exact moment Bella realizes that my mother's necklace is beginning to burn her skin."

Thane stepped closer, his hand hovering near my waist, hesitant. I took his hand, pressing it to the mark on my collarbone that was beginning to glow with a pale, ghostly light.

"You are no longer outcasts," I promised, feeling the surge of our four-way bond locking into place. "You are the architects of a new world. And I am the Queen who will lead you there."

Deep in the distance, a long, panicked howl echoed from the manor. The winter had arrived

Thane took a step toward me, the heavy armor of his shadow-guard uniform clanking softly. He reached out, his hand hovering near my waist before he settled for a deep, reverent bow. "The bond is screaming, Elora. I can feel your cold fire through my own veins."

I looked at the three of them—Thane, Kaelen, and Jace. They were the discarded scrap of a society that valued only brute Alpha strength, yet here they stood, the true pillars of my rising throne.

"The Deprivation is not just a punishment," I said, my voice carrying over the rising howl of the wind. "It is a clearing of the path. Kaelen, begin the blight on the eastern orchards. I want every fruit that Bella reaches for to turn to dust in her hand. Jace, stay in the rafters of the Great Hall. I want to hear how Fenris sounds when he realizes his precious Alpha power can't grow a single blade of grass to feed his people."

"And me, My Queen?" Thane asked, his dark eyes burning with a terrifying loyalty.

"You stay by my side," I commanded. "We are going to build a palace out of the ruins they left us. By the time the first snow falls, the Silver Crest Pack will be on their knees, begging the 'nothing' girl for a crust of bread."