ログインChapter 188– Jacob pov I was inspecting the northern perimeter when the scouts came running back with news that made my blood run cold despite the afternoon sun beating down on the clearing. I had been trying to distract myself from the constant pressure of the network by focusing on concrete, practical tasks. I checked defenses and organized patrols. I chose anything that required attention to physical reality rather than the emotional chaos bleeding through the bonds connecting me to two dozen other wolves. The distraction had been working, marginally, right up until the moment the lead scout appeared through the tree line. She moved at a dead run despite obvious exhaustion. "Sir," the wolf gasped out, skidding to a halt in front of me and bending double to catch her breath. "Northern border. Group approaching under a white flag. They're—" She paused, struggling to find words for something that clearly unsettled her. "They're different. Old. Powerful. They say they've come to '
Faye pov I waited until the tent was empty before I tried what I had avoided for hours: speak directly to my daughter through the echo's shared mental space. Jacob had left after I told him the baby would not let the network dissolve. His face showed betrayal and desperation. It hurt more than any wound. I felt his emotions through the bond as he walked away: anger, fear, exhaustion, and grief for what we were becoming. I could not blame him. I felt the same. The baby lay in her cradle with her eyes closed, breathing steadily. She looked like any infant resting after an effort. The silver glow had faded to a faint shimmer under her skin, but the power was still there, coiled and waiting. I could feel her awareness beneath that calm, vast, and ancient, and far more awake than a newborn should be. I reached out through our bond, not with my hands but with my mind. I let my consciousness sink into the shared space the echo had made between my child and me. The shift disoriented me.
Elara pov Pain dragged me back into consciousness slowly, and the first thing I wanted was to disappear into the darkness again. Every part of my body hurts. My chest felt tight each time I breathed. My left side burned badly, and my arm felt too heavy to move. Even my face ached. I tried opening my eyes, but only one responded properly. The other remained swollen shut. A weak groan escaped my throat before I could stop it. The sounds around me became clearer immediately. Quiet voices stopped talking. Footsteps moved closer. “Easy,” someone said softly beside me. “Do not try to move yet.” I forced my working eye open fully and stared at the blurry shape leaning over me. The medical tent slowly came into focus. Dim lantern light flickered against stained canvas walls. The smell of herbs mixed with blood filled the air heavily. Nearby cots held wounded wolves sleeping or groaning quietly in pain. A young healer crouched beside me, watching carefully. “You’re awake,” she said
Dane pov Something was wrong inside my head, and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, the feeling kept getting worse. At first, I thought the connection would pass. When I stepped into the echo’s light during the battle, I believed I was helping Faye. I believed I was helping the pack survive. Everyone around us had been falling apart, and Faye had been standing there with the baby in her arms while the power around them threatened to destroy everything. I could not leave her alone in that moment. None of us could. Now I wished I had never stepped forward at all. The cold ground pressed against my back while I stared up at the dark sky above the camp. My chest rose unevenly as I struggled to breathe properly. Sweat covered my skin even though the night air was cold. Around me, wolves moved through the damaged clearing carefully, trying to clean up the aftermath of the battle. But I could barely focus on any of it. The voices inside my head would not stop. At first, the c
Faye pov Something was wrong with me. That thought refused to leave my head no matter how many times I tried pushing it away. The battle was over. Korran had fallen. The screaming had stopped outside. Wolves were finally resting after everything we survived. But inside me, nothing felt calm. The medical tent smelled heavily of herbs, blood, and damp earth. Torn cloth covered the openings where the walls had been damaged during the chaos earlier. Healers moved quietly around injured wolves nearby, speaking in low voices while trying not to disturb those resting inside. I sat near the back corner of the tent with my daughter pressed carefully against my chest. Even thinking the word daughter felt strange now. Because she no longer felt like only a baby. She felt aware. Present. Watching. The silver glow beneath her skin had faded into something softer, but it had not disappeared completely. Every few seconds, faint light pulsed through her tiny body like a slow heartbeat. I
Pain was the first thing that came back. Not slowly. All at once. Broken ribs. Shattered left arm. Blood filling the back of my throat with every shallow breath. My skull felt cracked in at least one place, and my vision kept sliding sideways no matter how hard I tried to hold it still. I did not move. I lay in the dirt with my cheek pressed against the cold ground and my eyes barely open, and I listened. Footsteps. Low voices. The quiet groaning of wounded wolves scattered across the clearing. The pack was pulling itself together. I could hear them helping each other, calling names, asking if someone could stand. They thought it was over. I almost wanted to laugh. The pain stopped that quickly enough. I turned my attention inward and ran through the damage. Breathing was difficult but possible. My right hand still worked. My legs were useless for now. None of that mattered. I did not need to stand for what came next. I only needed a few more minutes. Slowly, carefully, I
Jacob’s POV I stood in the middle of the council circle and looked around at the pack. Half the wolves stood on my left with their arms crossed and eyes locked on me. The other half stood on my right and kept glancing at Faye and the baby she held tight against her chest. Tension sat thick in the
Faye’s POV The training ground had become the only place where I felt even a fragment of control over myself. Every morning, I forced my feet to carry me there, my body aching from long days of human exhaustion and my mind heavy with what I had lost. Umfa. My bond. The instinct I had relied on to
Faye povThe garden path blurred under our feet as we ran toward the edge of the property. Jacob’s car was parked in a hidden spot behind thick bushes. It was a sleek black car, low to the ground, with smooth shiny lines that caught the moonlight and looked fast even when standing still. The window
Faye povI stood frozen in the doorway, with tears still streaming down my face, and my chest heaving from the effort of holding everything in while the cheers for Rieka echoed behind me. My legs felt weak, my hands shook, and the small swell under my dress suddenly felt too heavy to carry alone. I







