登入Alfredo’s POV“Do you think she was right?”Mabella’s question lingered in the quiet of our chambers as she held the photograph of Stella and her newborn like it was both a treasure and a wound. Liora slept soundly in the bassinet beside us, tiny chest rising and falling in perfect rhythm. Three weeks had passed since Collins Argent’s unexpected visit, and the weight of everything—legacy, bloodlines, the doubled mandate—had only grown heavier.I knelt in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “Yeah, Luna. I think Stella was right. You already changed everything. And Liora… she’s going to finish what you started.”Mabella gave me a tired but genuine smile, the silver bracelet from her mother glinting on her wrist. The first week after birth had been brutal, but she was healing stronger every day. Wolflina’s protective fire burned brighter in her eyes now. “Then we make sure the coronation reflects that. No half-measures.”The next three weeks became a storm of logistics and politics t
Mabella’s POV“Let him in. But under guard. If he wants to meet her… he’ll do it on our terms.”The words left my mouth steady, but my pulse raced. Collins Argent. Alfredo’s father. The man whose absence had shaped so much of my mate’s hardened edges. I hadn’t expected him to show up on our doorstep barely a week after Liora’s birth, yet here we were.Alfredo’s jaw was granite. “Fred, escort him to the small receiving hall. No weapons. Two guards stay in the room at all times. Serena, you’re with us.” He turned to me, voice softening as he brushed a thumb across my cheek. “You don’t have to do this right now. You’re still healing.”“I do,” I said, shifting Liora against my shoulder. She was awake but calm for once, her mismatched eyes blinking slowly. “He’s her grandfather. And whatever history he has with you, with Stella… I need to see who he really is.”Serena nodded sharply, falling into step beside us as we made our way down. The corridor offerings had been cleared to one side, b
Mabella’s POV“Then we make sure they both know exactly who she is. Starting now.”I spoke the words with more confidence than I felt, my fingers still wrapped around the glowing split-stone pendant. Alfredo nodded, jaw set, but his eyes softened when they dropped to Liora’s bassinet. The mysterious gift had left us both unsettled, yet it also felt like a challenge we were ready to meet. Or so I told myself as exhaustion already pulled at the edges of my vision.The first week blurred into a cycle I hadn’t been prepared for, even with all the Luna training and the ancient power now humming in my veins.Liora was healthy—Vida confirmed it daily—but gods, she was demanding. She wanted to eat every two hours, sometimes more. Her cries cut through the night like tiny silver blades, fierce and unapologetic. I healed slower than I expected from the early birth, my body tender and aching despite the herbal baths and healing runes Vida applied each morning. Every time I stood, the room tilted
Dual POVMabella’s POV“It’s time we talked about what those eyes mean.”Vida’s voice was soft but carried the weight of centuries. I shifted carefully against the pillows, wincing at the deep ache in my body, and reached for Alfredo’s hand. Our daughter slept soundly against his chest, her tiny face peaceful in the moonlight. Those mismatched eyes were closed now, but the memory of them burned behind my eyelids—one hazel-green like mine, one amber-silver like her father’s.Alfredo’s arm tightened around me. “Speak plainly, Vida. No healer riddles tonight.”Vida nodded, pulling a low stool closer. The glowing orb in her hands pulsed gently. “When she was born, I felt it immediately. The Ashborne markers—the ancient signatures of the old bloodline—run stronger in her than they did in you at birth, Mabella. Much stronger. Your hybrid nature awakened during the Naming, but hers… hers arrived singing. The land itself reacted. I felt the territory bond pulse twice as deep when she drew her
Mabella’s POV“Look at the eyes.”Vida’s words hung in the air like a spell. My body was still trembling from the effort of birth, every muscle aching, but I pushed myself up on weak elbows, heart hammering. Alfredo’s hand tightened around mine, his breath catching audibly.Vida turned our daughter fully toward us and gently peeled back the soft edge of the blanket. A tiny, scrunched face appeared—reddened from the journey into the world, perfectly formed, with a mop of dark hair still damp. But it was her eyes that stole the breath from my lungs.They were open. Wide, alert, and unmistakably aware for a newborn. One eye shimmered with the warm hazel-gold of my own, flecked with the wild green of the forest. The other burned a deep, striking amber flecked with silver—Alfredo’s wolf eyes staring back at us in miniature. They seemed to glow faintly in the low light of the birthing suite, as if Wolflina and Raven were already peering out through her.“She’s… perfect,” I whispered, voice
Alfredo’s POV“Alfredo… I think the baby’s coming.”The words slammed into me with the force of a rogue alpha challenge. My heart seized, then exploded into a frantic rhythm that Raven mirrored inside my chest. For half a second I stood frozen, staring at Mabella as she doubled over, one hand pressed protectively to her rounded belly. Then my body moved on pure instinct.I scooped her into my arms, cradling her against my chest like she was made of spun glass and wildfire. “I’ve got you, Luna. Hold on.” Her breath hitched against my neck as another contraction rippled through her. I could feel it through our mate bond—sharp, tight, unstoppable.“Fred!” I roared, already striding toward the door. “Get Vida! Tell her the pup’s coming—six weeks early. Run!”Fred didn’t hesitate. The beta bolted down the hall, his footsteps echoing like thunder. I carried Mabella through the corridors of the pack house, her weight barely registering against the storm of fear and awe crashing inside me. Si







