After The Ashes
Blythe's POV
At Blythe's private study—twilight hours.
The wind rustled against the cracked windowpane. Blythe stood silent, staring out at the horizon—lost in memory too loud to silence.
Aria (her inner wolf):
"You're doing it again."
Blythe:
"Doing what?"
Aria:
"Staring out there like you'll find the past in the trees."
Ghosts Of The PastBlythe's POV"Alpha Vito asked of you a few minutes earlier, My Lady," Helena reported, her voice loyal as ever. She heard but didn't turn."Where are you going, My Luna? Do you want my company?""No," Blythe replied instantly."Just want to be left alone…"Blythe wandered the winding paths alone through the royal gardens, arms wrapped tight around herself.
TENSION IN THE SHADOWSBlythe's POVThe whispers had returned.They drifted like smoke through the corridors, curling beneath doors and slipping through cracks in the walls. She heard them in the pauses of conversations, in the quick, nervous glances of maids, and in the sudden silence when she entered a room."She's not the same since the feast," a voice whispered behind the silk tapestry."She talks to herself, they say." "Since the celebration, she's changed. Colder. Stranger." "
Buried in StoneBlythe’s POVAria (her inner wolf, gently):“You’re leaving before sunrise again.”Blythe (wrapping her cloak tightly):“They’ll manage without me for an hour.”Aria:“You didn’t tell Helena.”Blythe (stepping outside):“I didn’t need to.”
CollisionFull Moon Gathering. Heat. Glances. A fall that was never quite an accident.Blythe's POVFull moon night. The park is buzzing with celebration. Wolves howl in the distance. Bonfires crackle—music pulses. And somewhere on the edge of the hilltop, everything is about to change."You're wearing that?" Helena tilted her head as she entered my chambers, eyes fixed on the dark sapphire gown I had chosen."Is there a problem with it?" I asked, adjusting the shoulder clasp."No, no. It's just... different. You look like you're go
Growing SuspicionVito's POVThe council chamber pulsed with unease.The air was thick with the scent of ink, steel polish, and barely concealed tension.Elder Thorne cleared his throat, his fingers drumming an uneven rhythm on the lacquered wood. "The southern border remains volatile," he said. "Two rogue attacks in the last moon cycle. The patrols are stretched thin."Elder Rowan scoffed. "That's because the western patrols were reassigned to escort Luna Blythe during her private retreats—retreats none of us have been briefed on."
FORBIDDEN FLAMESBlythe's POV"There used to be a place," I said, my voice low, eyes fixed on the map splayed across my desk. "Overgrown now. Hidden behind the eastern orchard, past the stone arch with the broken keystone. My mother's private greenhouse."Helena shifted near the door. "No one's stepped foot in that part of the grounds in years, my lady. Not since...""I know. That's why I want it restored. Quietly. No overseers. No guards. Just him."Helena hesitated. "Xavier?"I met her eyes. "You said he's been reassigned to the northern fields. Can you get w
Blythe’s POV “Have you seen the Alpha?” I inquired, my voice tinged with irritation as an omega servant came from Alpha Vito’s apartments. I had come to advise him that the guests were awaiting him—the welcome address had just began. The omega bowed deeply before saying, “I have no idea, My Lady.” I narrowed my eyes. “Then why were you in my husband’s chambers?” She wasn’t carrying a laundry basket or cleaning goods, so what precisely had she been doing in there? “I was sent to summon the Alpha to the gathering, so I thought he might be here,” she stated. I watched her for a while, then dismissed her with a flick of my wrist. She scurried away. Vito wasn’t in his chambers, the courtroom, or the gathering. Where might he be? A rendezvous with his daughter, Ceres, perhaps? Today was Ceres’ eighteenth birthday, a milestone she had been anxiously anticipating. Likewise, her father and I. We anticipated her to find her fated mate—I was intrigued to meet my f
Blythe’s POV I pulled myself out of Ceres’ rooms, my steps slow and timid. I hadn’t realized how long I’d been looking into his eyes until he coughed—his careful, almost sorry effort to break the link. Xavier. He was lovely, the type of beauty that seemed wrong in the omega class. How could someone so beautiful be an everyday stable hand? For the first time in years, I felt… thrilled. Like an infatuated adolescent. Ceres rejected this? The selfish brat had everything—wealth, rank, a privileged life. Yet, she tossed away a partner promised by the Moon Goddess as if he were nothing. I shook my head at her childishness and headed toward the east wing of the house. Maybe Vito was there, enjoying the fresh wind. The guy had a habit of leaving without notice. It was nothing new. But even as I went, my thoughts wandered back to Xavier. A kid like him didn’t fit in the shades of slavery. He handled himself with a calm grandeur that didn’t matc
FORBIDDEN FLAMESBlythe's POV"There used to be a place," I said, my voice low, eyes fixed on the map splayed across my desk. "Overgrown now. Hidden behind the eastern orchard, past the stone arch with the broken keystone. My mother's private greenhouse."Helena shifted near the door. "No one's stepped foot in that part of the grounds in years, my lady. Not since...""I know. That's why I want it restored. Quietly. No overseers. No guards. Just him."Helena hesitated. "Xavier?"I met her eyes. "You said he's been reassigned to the northern fields. Can you get w
Growing SuspicionVito's POVThe council chamber pulsed with unease.The air was thick with the scent of ink, steel polish, and barely concealed tension.Elder Thorne cleared his throat, his fingers drumming an uneven rhythm on the lacquered wood. "The southern border remains volatile," he said. "Two rogue attacks in the last moon cycle. The patrols are stretched thin."Elder Rowan scoffed. "That's because the western patrols were reassigned to escort Luna Blythe during her private retreats—retreats none of us have been briefed on."
CollisionFull Moon Gathering. Heat. Glances. A fall that was never quite an accident.Blythe's POVFull moon night. The park is buzzing with celebration. Wolves howl in the distance. Bonfires crackle—music pulses. And somewhere on the edge of the hilltop, everything is about to change."You're wearing that?" Helena tilted her head as she entered my chambers, eyes fixed on the dark sapphire gown I had chosen."Is there a problem with it?" I asked, adjusting the shoulder clasp."No, no. It's just... different. You look like you're go
Buried in StoneBlythe’s POVAria (her inner wolf, gently):“You’re leaving before sunrise again.”Blythe (wrapping her cloak tightly):“They’ll manage without me for an hour.”Aria:“You didn’t tell Helena.”Blythe (stepping outside):“I didn’t need to.”
TENSION IN THE SHADOWSBlythe's POVThe whispers had returned.They drifted like smoke through the corridors, curling beneath doors and slipping through cracks in the walls. She heard them in the pauses of conversations, in the quick, nervous glances of maids, and in the sudden silence when she entered a room."She's not the same since the feast," a voice whispered behind the silk tapestry."She talks to herself, they say." "Since the celebration, she's changed. Colder. Stranger." "
Ghosts Of The PastBlythe's POV"Alpha Vito asked of you a few minutes earlier, My Lady," Helena reported, her voice loyal as ever. She heard but didn't turn."Where are you going, My Luna? Do you want my company?""No," Blythe replied instantly."Just want to be left alone…"Blythe wandered the winding paths alone through the royal gardens, arms wrapped tight around herself.
After The AshesBlythe's POVAt Blythe's private study—twilight hours.The wind rustled against the cracked windowpane. Blythe stood silent, staring out at the horizon—lost in memory too loud to silence.Aria (her inner wolf):"You're doing it again."Blythe:"Doing what?"Aria:"Staring out there like you'll find the past in the trees."
"A Dangerous Decision"The storm rolled in with no warning.Thunder grew above Fresh Meadows as grey clouds pressed low over the treetops. Rain whispered on the rooftops, then escalated into a steady rhythm that blurred the horizon.But inside the Queen's solar, the rain did not stir chaos. It was the war inside Blythe.She paced.The crackle of logs in the hearth did nothing to warm her skin. Her palms were clammy. Her heart hadn't slowed since she'd returned from the gardens—where Xavier had held her gaze a moment too long, spoken her name like a promise, then disappeared again.
After the StormThe evening sun had long since dipped beneath the horizon by the time Blythe returned to her chambers. The quiet hush of twilight settled over the estate, but a storm still howled inside her chest.She paced.She went back and forth across the marble floor, her slippers whispering with each step.She hadn't dared to look back after the scene in the gardens. The guards had been too distracted, the ruse too well played—but one wrong move and Xavier would have been caught.Now, she didn't know where he was. If he were safe, if he even understood the message she'd risked everything to send.Her palms were still stung with phantom thorns. She'd pressed herself into the rosebush deliberately, letting the brambles bite into her skin for realism. A small sacrifice. A necessary wound.A knock shattered the quiet like a slap.Blythe's head snapped up from where she stood, frozen by the hearth, her breath catching in her throat. Her heart thundered against her ribs, wild and unce