LOGINRoland.I stood in the center of the torchlit Conclave chamber, letting the silver blade rest against my open palm. My father knelt on the cold stone floor right in front of me, his trench coat stained dark with his own blood.Every elder in the surrounding circle watched us in tense, expectant silence, waiting to see whether I would act as a king or a son tonight. The metal felt cold against my skin, but the heat from my torn stitches served as a constant reminder of the violence we had already survived upstairs.Adrian did not cower. Despite his injuries, he kept his spine straight, raising his chin to look at me instead of the weapon.“I do not expect you to spare me, Roland,” Adrian said, his voice echoing off the stone walls with a strange, resigned calm. “I took a Council seat for the survival of our pack. I killed anyone who threatened to take it away. I made choices you despise to keep us fed and powerful.”“You aligned yourself with monsters,” I reminded him, tightening my gr
Aurora.I sat on the edge of the infirmary cot, holding Lila's burning hand. Gold lines crawled up my sister's pale throat like creeping vines, illuminating her skin from within.“One hundred and forty beats per minute,” Nora announced.The paramedic pressed two fingers against Lila's wrist, watching the wall clock above the sink. “Her core temperature is spiking again. Her mortal body cannot take much more of this heat without suffering permanent neurological damage.”Kai paced across the narrow doorway, rubbing his bandaged forehead. “Can we pack her in ice?”“Ice will just shock her system and stop her heart,” Margot answered.The older woman moved to the foot of the cot, gripping the metal railing.“There is only one way to anchor an awakening this violent, Aurora.”“Tell me what to do,” I said, ready to tear the stadium apart if it meant saving her life.“She needs Moonborn blood,” Margot explained, watching Lila thrash against the white sheets. “It has to be freely given to pull
Roland.I carried Lila through the concrete corridors of the stadium and kicked the infirmary door open with my boot. The torn stitches in my side burned with every step and fresh blood soaked the waistband of my uniform, but I ignored the pain and laid the thrashing teenager onto the nearest examination cot.“Step back and give me room,” Nora ordered.The human paramedic snapped on a pair of latex gloves and pushed past me to check Lila's dilated pupils. She moved with a calm that settled the frantic energy in the room, grabbing a penlight and a blood pressure cuff from a metal tray.“She is burning up,” Kai pointed out. He hovered near the head of the bed, reaching for Lila's trembling shoulder. “Her skin feels like a furnace, Nora.”“I do not need an enforcer crowding my workspace,” Nora snapped. She swatted Kai's hand away without looking up from her patient. “Go stand against the wall, Kai. Let me count her breaths and get an IV started before she seizes.”“Will fluids actually h
Aurora's POV I watched the arena's joy curdle around me as the elder Alpha's words settled over the ice. Sixty thousand fans continued screaming for the championship goal, waving their foam fingers and banging against the glass, while the VIP tier stood in a silent, ancient wall of disapproval.The man holding the microphone lowered it, his scarred face unreadable under the bright stadium lights. His name was Garrick Thorne. I knew his reputation from the files we had recovered, recognizing him as the architect of the old laws that kept the packs segregated and afraid. He stated the Conclave's law without raising his voice, yet the sound carried a sharp edge that bypassed the cheering and reached us clearly.“No Alpha King assumes the throne without completing the three Trials of Succession,” Garrick declared, resting his hands on the railing of the luxury box. “These trials must be finished before the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.”Garrick paused, scanning the ice
Roland.I skated toward the center circle with the silver still burning a jagged line across my ribs. Every breath felt like a knife dragging against my lungs, forcing me to clench my jaw to hide the grimace. I planted my skates on the rubber mats near the faceoff dot. The entire stadium rose to its feet in a deafening, unified roar. Sixty thousand people had just watched me die on this exact spot minutes ago. Now, they watched me return to finish the period.“I am right here, Roland,” Aurora promised through our bond. Her voice wrapped around my mind, steady and warm, pushing back the lingering cold of the silver. “I will carry whatever you cannot carry yourself. Just lean on me.”“Keep my heart beating for eleven seconds,” I answered over the private link, adjusting my grip on the composite stick. “That is all I need.”Jackson lined up on my left, tapping his blade against the ice with frantic energy. “Let's win a hockey game before you bleed out, Vance. I am not carrying your gian
Aurora.I lunged forward and caught Adrian before his head struck the ice. My bare hands slipped against the dark fabric of his coat, coming away slick with warm blood that wasn't mine. It stained my skin red as his weight dragged us both onto the frozen surface.Roland dropped to his knees beside me so quickly that his own wound tore open again. He winced, pressing his forearm against his ribs as he fought through the sudden agony to reach his dying father.“We have you,” Roland promised, gripping Adrian's shoulder to keep him steady.A few yards away, Gideon and three Wolves tackled Magnus, dragging the disgraced Alpha onto the rink and pinning his arms behind his back.Through the stadium speakers, the magistrates declared the Council's seat vacant. Their voices echoed across the massive arena, but I barely registered the administrative announcement.Adrian was looking at me instead of his son. His pale face carried a faint, terrible humility I never expected to see in a man who ha







