LOGINVALERIAN’S POVCassian delivered the news in the garden while Nyra still stood close enough to hear every word. The thief who stole the Silvercrest records had crossed into Blood Moon territory. I felt no surge of panic. The information settled into place like a piece I had already expected.“Good,” I said.Cassian’s brow furrowed. “Good?”I turned toward the fortress walls that rose behind the gardens. “It is easier to kill prey when it walks into your forest.”The words left no room for argument. I strode inside with Cassian and the nearest commanders trailing behind. Nyra followed at a quieter pace. She did not speak. She simply watched. In the main hall I began issuing orders without raising my voice. Each command came precise and final.“Lock every northern gate. No one leaves. No one enters without my personal seal. Double the patrols along the outer walls and the forest roads. Question every servant who has left the fortress in the last three days. Search every carriage that ap
VALERIAN’S POVCassian delivered the news in the garden while Nyra still stood close enough to hear every word. The thief who stole the Silvercrest records had crossed into Blood Moon territory. I felt no surge of panic. The information settled into place like a piece I had already expected.“Good,” I said.Cassian’s brow furrowed. “Good?”I turned toward the fortress walls that rose behind the gardens. “It is easier to kill prey when it walks into your forest.”The words left no room for argument. I strode inside with Cassian and the nearest commanders trailing behind. Nyra followed at a quieter pace. She did not speak. She simply watched. In the main hall I began issuing orders without raising my voice. Each command came precise and final.“Lock every northern gate. No one leaves. No one enters without my personal seal. Double the patrols along the outer walls and the forest roads. Question every servant who has left the fortress in the last three days. Search every carriage that ap
NYRA’S POVI stood close to Valerian in the council chamber as the weight of the stolen records settled over everyone. He rose from his seat and the entire room seemed to shrink under the force of his presence. Elders and guards fell quiet without a single raised voice. He turned to Alpha Rowan and spoke with calm finality.“Whatever was stolen was stolen before we arrived. There is nothing more to gain by staying.”Rowan bowed his head deeply. Guilt carved new lines into his weathered face. “Silvercrest has failed her again. I failed her. If I had protected the vault better or watched my people more closely none of this would have happened.”I stepped forward before Valerian could answer. My voice stayed soft but carried quiet strength. “You cannot apologize for something someone else chose to do.”The words landed with unexpected weight. Rowan looked at me for a long moment. Then he knelt on the stone floor not as a political gesture but as a man recognizing something deeper. The el
VALERIAN’S POVThe nursery stayed silent after Alpha Rowan’s words. Dust floated in the thin shafts of sunlight that cut through the tall windows. No one moved. No one spoke. Nyra remained pressed against my chest where I held her upright after the memory flash nearly dropped her to the floor. Her breathing stayed uneven. Her eyes locked on the older man as if the title he had given her had stripped her of speech.I studied the room instead of speaking. The elders stood in a tight cluster near the doorway. Their faces showed more than surprise. Fear tightened their mouths and stiffened their shoulders. One older woman gripped the edge of a broken toy shelf until her knuckles turned white. Another man’s eyes flicked toward the exit as if calculating how quickly he could leave. They knew something. They had known it the moment Nyra stepped into this place.I broke the silence with a single cold word. “Explain.”Every spine in the room straightened. Alpha Rowan Silvercrest lifted his hea
NYRA’S POVI sat beside Valerian in the car as the fortress gates faded behind us. The engine hummed steadily while the road stretched ahead toward lands I had never visited. Cassian rode in the front seat and spoke in low tones about what little they knew of Silvercrest. Silence filled most of the journey.I kept my eyes fixed on the passing trees and hills. The name Silvercrest repeated in my head like a half-remembered song. Silvercrest. Silvercrest. Why did it pull at something deep inside my chest? Why did it feel like both a wound and a home at the same time?I pressed my fingers against my temples. Tiny flashes flickered behind my eyes. Fire. Smoke. A woman’s face. They vanished before I could grasp them. The ache remained. Valerian noticed. He reached across the seat without a word and took my hand. His grip felt warm and solid. I squeezed back and drew strength from the simple contact. No questions, no pressure. Just his presence beside me.Cassian turned slightly in his seat
VALERIAN’S POVI stood alone in my study with the raven’s message still clutched in my fist. The parchment carried no signature and no seal. Only those cold words stared back at me. The Moon Heir has awakened. She will not live to remember the rest. I crushed the letter slowly.My fingers tightened until the paper turned to pulp. Someone had just declared war on my wife. Not on my pack, not on my throne. On Nyra. The realization settled over me like a familiar cloak. The monster they all feared stirred beneath my skin.I summoned Cassian with a single sharp call. He entered moments later. One look at my face told him everything. His shoulders squared and his hand moved instinctively toward his weapon. “What happened?”I tossed the crumpled message onto the desk. “Read it.”Cassian smoothed the parchment and scanned the lines. His expression darkened. “They know she touched the bracelet. They know fragments are returning.”I paced to the window and looked out over the fortress grounds.







