LOGINThe morning sun rose sluggishly over the southern border, but it brought no warmth. Its pale light only exposed the raw, ugly scars left on the valley.The clearing, which had been prepared for a peaceful alliance festival, looked like a wasteland. The green grass was torn to pieces, replaced by deep, muddy craters where Malphas’s shadow magic had struck the earth. Thick, gray smoke still drifted from the edges of the forest, carrying the foul, burning stench of silver poison.Dozens of warriors from both the Silver Crescent and the Wayne packs were scattered across the area, limping toward the medical tents. The ground was littered with broken iron arrows and torn leather armor. The victory had been won, but the price was etched into the blood-stained mud.Near the main medical tent, Amora Cortez sat on a wooden crate. A thick wool blanket was draped over her shoulders, but she couldn't stop shivering. Her face was dangerously pale, her striking emerald eyes dull with absolute exhaus
Hundreds of arrows, with their tips bubbling with a sickly green, lethal silver poison, descended toward the place everywhere. Duncan was still pinned on top of Malphas, his claws buried in the giant’s throat. Zach was on his knees at the edge of the ring, panting heavily, his small body completely exhausted after unleashing his royal roar. Heidi stood right behind him, her small hands clutching her brother’s shirt, her eyes wide with fear as the deadly rain fell straight toward them.There was no time for Duncan to move. There was no time for Oscar to swing his blade.But inside Amora’s chest, the ancient maternal instinct did not just spark, it erupted into an all-consuming wildfire.A blinding, snow-white light exploded from her skin, so bright that it completely erased the crimson stain of the blood moon. Her human shape melted instantly, her bones shifting and expanding with a fluid, majestic grace. In less than a second, the elegant woman in the forest-green dress was gone.Sta
On this third morning, the air was freezing. A thin layer of frost coated the ground, but it didn't last long.By the end of the first ten minutes, the frost was entirely melted, replaced by a steaming, violent splash of red.The duel was a bloodbath.Duncan moved with a terrifying, wild speed that shocked everyone watching from the perimeter. He didn't use the clean, elegant martial arts of the royal palace. He didn't waste time trying to form energy shields that would only invite Malphas’s corruption. He was fighting the mountain way low to the earth, using the slippery mud to his advantage, shifting his weight just before the giant's massive fists could connect.But Malphas was way older and stronger, and his raw physical power was catastrophic. Every time his eight-foot frame collided with Duncan, the sound of tearing flesh and bruising muscle echoed across the valley.Duncan’s gray shirt had been completely ripped away. His chest was covered in long, jagged claw marks that drippe
Three days. The number hung over the place like a heavy, dark cloud. The unnatural red tint of the blood moon had faded, but the psychological chill Malphas left behind remained. In seventy-two hours, the duel would begin. If Duncan won, the South would find peace. If he lost, Amora and her children would become the property of a monster.On the first morning of the countdown, the mountain mist was thick and freezing. Down in the mud of the estate’s private training yard, two men stood facing each other.Duncan Alonso had stripped down to a simple black pair of training trousers. The thick white medical bandages around his ribs were tightly bound, but a faint smudge of pink showed that his internal wounds were still bleeding from the strain of his previous exertions. His silver-grey eyes were fixed on the man opposite him.Oscar Wayne stood with his boots planted deep in the damp earth. His massive, rugged arms were crossed over his broad chest, his blue eyes filled with a mixture of
Duncan Alonso stood frozen, his extended claws trembling slightly as the sheer weight of Malphas’s words crashed into his soul. For five years, he had lived in a prison of guilt. He had blamed himself for being blind, for letting Katherine destroy his marriage, and for allowing his family to exile his fated mate. He had believed it was all his failure.But it hadn't been an accident. It had been a grand design. The puppet strings stretched all the way back to the dark northern territory, held firmly in the massive, scarred hands of Alpha Malphas."You..." Duncan’s voice was a low, fractured whisper. The silver light in his eyes flared violently, fighting against the crimson stain of the blood moon. "Every lie Katherine told... every piece of silver poison... it was all you.""Of course it was," Malphas chuckled, the sound vibrating through the dirt beneath their boots. The giant Ancient took a slow step forward, the dry grass crunching under his heavy weight. "Katherine was greedy,
The violent crimson light of the blood moon stained the meadow, turning the joyous festival into a living nightmare. The protective barrier stones at the edge of the Wayne territory did not just crack; instead they exploded into fine white dust, their ancient magic shattered by a raw, overwhelming force.The terrifying, metallic howl faded, leaving behind an eerie, suffocating silence. The music had stopped. The bonfires were nothing but dying blue embers. Hundreds of shifters stood frozen, their breath catching in their throats as a heavy, unnatural pressure dropped over the valley. It felt as if the air itself had turned to lead, making it difficult to even stand.Duncan stood firmly in front of Amora, his claws fully extended, his silver-grey eyes glowing with a lethal brilliance. Even with his chest tightly bound in medical bandages, his Alpha posture was completely unyielding. To her left, Oscar raised his heavy iron hunting blade, his massive chest heaving as his own Alpha aura
“It’s twins!”Susan moved with quick, practiced efficiency. She wiped the newborn baby girl with a warm, damp cloth, wrapping her tenderly in a soft pink fleece blanket. With a gentle smile breaking through her immense exhaustion, Susan walked back to the edge of the bed and carefully laid both infa
Seven months had passed since the night the world watched Amora Alonso die in a horrific hospital fire.High up in the northern territory, far beyond the official borders of the Wayne territory, the winter season had arrived with a brutal vengeance. The Whispering Crags were completely buried under
Two weeks had passed since the night the Silver Crescent Medical Center burned, but inside the master study of the Alonso mansion, the fire had never truly gone out. The heavy room smelled of stale air, cold ash, and the bitter scent of a rotting pack bond.Duncan Alonso sat behind his massive desk
Amora stood trembling by the heavy glass window, her fingers gripping the metal IV pole so tightly her knuckles turned white. Every muscle in her legs throbbed with a fierce, burning pain, a brutal reminder of her fall down the grand marble staircase. She kept one hand pressed flat against her stom







