LOGINLILLIANA’S POVThe building was packed. It seemed everyone had left whatever businesses they had just to be here. The day of Madam Eliza Thorpe’s funeral. It was a closed-casket ceremony, and I could no help but wonder how strange it was that animals like us reverted to our human side when it came to burying the dead. My parents and brother never got to have a funeral, or maybe they did, and I just do not remember, but I doubt that. Perhaps the funeral did hold but the pack decided it was not necessary for the one who caused their deaths to be there. It dawned on me that I also did not know where they were buried. I did not visit them even once, though I probably would not have been able to, given that I hardly had time to breathe back at the Waning Moon pack.The officiant at the ceremony was the newly appointed pack healer and she was blessing the body and praying that Eliza Thorpe’s spirit found rest in the goddess’s embrace.Funerals were quite boring.But after the funeral, now t
KILLIAN’S POVClarke was right, there was no way of knowing for certain whether what Clarissa did to Eliza could not be done to us. The wind whizzed past me as I ran, my feet thudding on the ground loudly in the quiet of the night. It was important that I met with the scientists and discussed this new theory, and told them to figure out how exactly something like that could be avoided.The images of Eliza’s rotting body, filled with pus and boils, her skin a sickly green that seemed to be falling off flashed through my mind, then the image was replaced with Lilliana. Suddenly, it wasn’t Eliza who was on that bed; it was her, pleading with me to end her life. That was not something I wanted to ever happen, so I ran even faster.Surprisingly, and thankfully, the lab was open and there were some of its inhabitants moving around and muttering to themselves with practiced hurry. One of them saw me and stopped short.“Alpha Thorne.” She said with a slight bow, pushing up her glasses with he
Her words left an empty echo in the room as my mind whirled trying to make sense of what she was saying and realizing she was right. There was no way to know for sure that whatever Ckarissa did to Eliza could not be recreated and done to someone else. Clarossa could target anyone in the pack: the warriors, the healers, me, or even Killian.“Oh my goddess, you’re right,” I whispered in realization, afraid that if I was any louder my words would carry more weight than they should.The scientists were still working on the samples they collected from Eloza’s body, and they kept collecting more; that was why the funeral was taking much longer than necessary to happen. They still had nothing, but now I had to discuss with them if it was possible for what happened to her to happen again, and how it could spread. It thankfully wasn’t airborne or through body contact, they had confirmed it that night.“I have to tell Killian,” I said, standing up.“Wait now?” She sat up but remained on the bed
CLARKE’S POVEverything was not okay. At all. My arms were still wrapped around Camille whose breathing had slowed down. Guess she was finally asleep. Why did my wolf come out at that moment? I wondered to myself. Was that how it was always going to be anytime someone mentioned Eliza? That was not good for me.The appearance of my wolf today was a warning sign to my current mental health, I was just glad it liked Camille, else the story would have been different.Should I have told her everything? I found my cousin writhing in agony, her skin covered in blisters and pus, the words she said with difficulty as she felt the stabbing pain in her throat. How she asked me, no, begged me, to end her suffering, her body going limp in my arms as I obliged her. What little light she had in them was gone and there was no difference when she lost her life. I ended her suffering. I really did. There was no question about that, but what was I supposed to do about the overwhelming sense of guilt I n
“Deserve?” He scoffed, “Stop trying to find out things that are only going to put you in harm’s way.” “See, I thought about it, and I know that there is only one of those questions whose answer will put me in harm’s way, so at the end it is up to you to decide which answer you are willing to give.”He sighed deeply, a defeated sigh to be exact. I smiled internally, knowing that I had successfully worn him down and that I would be leaving with some piece of the puzzle solved at least.“You’re lucky I find your antics to be endearing.” He sighed again, “ So here’s the thing, we have four or five packs that have formed an alliance all in the name of taking us down.”I froze. Five packs? “Wait, why is that not a definite number though?”“One of the packs is a really small nameless pack. We’ve been observing them silently. It seems they are weighing their options, they’re still trying to decide whether or not it is smart for them to join the alliance.”“Huh.” I let out a small gasp, it wa
CAMILLE’S POVI took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness. I had assured the girls the day before that I would have no problem talking to Beta Clarke and getting him to answer all the questions we had relating to this war that was on the horizon. But now that I was actually here I found myself hesitating. Not because I couldn’t do it but because I did not feel comfortable with the thought of using him like that.But you’re not using him, a small voice said within me, you just need some things cleared up. There’s nothing wrong with that.The voice was right. There was nothing wrong with me getting some answers out of him, but I sincerely hoped he did not see it as me using him or anything of the sort.Standing in front of his room in the pack house, I looked around nervously then knocked softly.“Who is it?” His voice, gruff, asked from within.“It’s - uh,” My voice cracked, I cleared my throat, “It’s Camille.”I heard no sounds from within despite how desperately I st







