تسجيل الدخولAlfredo's POV"That's her," Fred said quietly.I was already kicking my horse forward before the words fully left his mouth.The pre-dawn air was grey and biting cold as I closed the distance. Even from here I could tell it was her — the way she sat that horse, back straight like a queen, chin tilted up, that unshakable certainty in every line of her body. Three years in a bed and she still looked like she owned the damn road.I pulled up beside her.She turned her head and met my eyes."You're faster than I expected," she said, almost amused."You left the charter open to page one hundred and forty-seven," I shot back. "What the hell did you expect?"The corner of her mouth twitched. Almost a smile.I scanned her face, her posture, her hands on the reins. The color was good. Eyes sharp. No shakes. "You alright?""I'm perfectly fine," she said. "I told you I would be.""You told me nothing," I growled. "You left a damn note.""A very thorough note," she corrected, calm as ever.Mabell
Mabella's POV"She's gone."Vida’s voice cut through the door, low and sharp, right before dawn. I jerked up in bed, heart already pounding like it knew before my brain did.Alfredo was half out of the sheets beside me, cursing as he tangled his legs trying to stand."Who?" he barked toward the door."Serena," Vida said. "Room’s empty. Caspian checked an hour ago — she wasn’t there. Shawl gone. Boots gone." She paused like the words hurt. "Nobody saw her slip out."Alfredo was already yanking his jacket on, movements jerky. I scrambled after him, feet cold on the floor, stomach in knots.The corridor hit us like ice. Fred was already planted outside her door by the time we got there, looking washed out, that tight pale thing around his eyes.The room was dead quiet. Bed untouched. No shawl. No boots. Just the charter lying open on the side table and one folded note on top with Alfredo’s name in Serena’s handwriting.I snatched it up and pushed it at him.He ripped it open. Scanned it.
Mabella's POV"We're almost there."Fred rode up next to me, nodding toward the trees where I spotted the old pack territory markers lining the road.“How far?” I asked.“Twenty minutes,” he answered.The markers came closer. Wolflina moved with that warm, certain feeling of home. Something inside me let go, something I hadn’t realized I’d been holding tight the whole two days.“Serena knows we’re coming,” Alfredo said from my other side.“She’s been awake since dawn,” Fred piped up. “Caspian sent word.”I smiled a little. “Of course she has.”We crossed into the territory. Everything felt familiar again—the roads smoother, the land falling back into place. I sat a little taller. Wolflina pushed forward, energized.Home.Twenty minutes later, the gates rose up just as Fred promised. There wasn’t a formal welcome party. Instead, a small crowd stood at the entrance—people who had heard we were on our way and came to see us for themselves.Sera Kade waited at the front.She looked at me,
Alfredo’s POV“She’s sleeping.”Vida’s voice was soft from the doorway, the evening light pouring in behind her. I glanced up from the chair, still holding Fred’s monster of a report—eight pages and counting.“She went down about an hour ago,” Vida said carefully. “The ride is exhausting. The pregnancy makes it all even harder.” She hesitated, like she expected me to argue. “She won’t admit it.”“She never would,” I said.Vida took the seat across from me and folded her hands in her lap, just watching me.“She did well today.”I nodded. “She did.”“No, better than that,” Vida pressed. “What happened in that hall—with Kiran Voss—she didn’t just pull some move or hide behind authority. That was all her. That was character.”I stared at the report for a second, feeling the weight of it.“I know,” I said quietly.“Stella would have done that too,” Vida went on. “She always offered mercy first. Gave people a chance to come back before she had to take it all away. That’s how Ashbornes do it
Mabella's POVYou gave him an escape route,” Renner said as soon as he walked beside me in the hallway outside the council chamber. His voice was low, measured.“I did,” I answered.“Why?” he asked, not letting up. “After everything. The voicemail. The letters. Cael. All of it.” He paused. “You could have left the provision and watched fourteen packs come down on him. He’d have lost everything.”“I know,” I said.“So, why?”I kept walking.“If I ruin him, the Veron pack falls with him,” I said. “There are three thousand people there—none of them had any say in what Kiran Voss did.” I glanced at Renner as we kept moving. “The mandate protects territory. That means all of it, even the parts that were turned against me.”Renner went quiet.“That’s either very wise, or very soft,” he said, watching me.“Neither,” I told him. “It’s practical. Having a destabilized Veron pack at our border is a bigger headache in the long run than a defeated rival under a cooperation agreement.”Renner stud
Mabella's POVHe stopped just two feet from me.Up close, he looked even more exhausted than I’d noticed across the hall. All the composure he kept up started to look thin, like he was running on nerves and adrenaline and had finally noticed the floor was missing under him. His eyes stayed sharp, but the lines on his face were deep, and his jaw was clenched like a man who’s been tense long enough to forget there’s any other way to be.The whole hall was weirdly quiet.Nobody left during the break. Everyone watched."Luna Mabella," he said. His voice barely carried."Claimant," I answered.He studied me for a second."You know my name," he said, cautiously."Kiran," I replied. "Kiran Voss. Thirty-eight. Second son of the Veron Alpha’s senior adviser. You built your own faction in your pack for twelve years before you started working the outside. I know a lot more than your name."Something flickered across his face."You’re thorough," he said."Yeah," I answered. Simple as that.He gla







