FAZER LOGINWhen they returned to the Blackthorn packhouse, Julian expected to find his mother in one of her usual places—the sunroom overlooking the gardens, or the small sitting alcove near the east corridor where she liked to read. She wasn’t there. He checked the parlor. The dining hall. Nothing. A fai
Julian sat at the kitchen table, tension still visible in the tight line of his shoulders as Kaelani moved at the counter, finishing the last touches on their breakfast. “I would have ripped his head clean off his shoulders,” he said quietly, though there was nothing casual about the way he said it
Lyressa’s expression softened, though there was quiet gravity beneath it. “The moment Draevyn fell, the illusion fell with him,” she said. “They saw clearly what they had refused to see. That they turned away from their rightful queen out of fear and ignorance.” Her gaze did not waver. “They were
Surprise flashed across Kaelani’s face as her eyes flicked briefly to Lyressa before returning to Julian. “I had some business to attend to,” she said. “I wasn’t gone that long. I thought you’d still be asleep.” Julian didn’t respond out loud. “You can’t just leave like that,” he said through the
Elara’s crying still echoed through the courtyard when Kaelani lifted her hands. Violet light flared outward from her palms in a sudden, controlled surge, rippling across the pack grounds in expanding waves. The energy arced over rooftops, threaded through the treeline, and sealed overhead in a vas
Kaelani glanced down at her palm, the cut sealing before her eyes. Garrick stepped forward. Slowly, intentionally, he lowered himself to one knee before her and placed his hand over his heart. “I, Garrick Blake, pledge my allegiance to Kaelani Blake of Silveredge. As Alpha. In loyalty. In service
The question alone unraveled something in her. Pulled at strings she wasn’t ready to tug loose. Because the truth was murky. Heavy. Entangled with longing and betrayal, memory and hope. Did she love Julian? Or had the bond just convinced her that she should? Before she could even begin to untangl
“She bends the dreamscape already. Commands it. Not with fear or force… but with will.” Another stepped closer, her voice reverent. “She’s aligning faster than we imagined. She’s nearly mastered what takes others years.” Their eyes turned to Draevyn. “It’s time.” Draevyn’s expression darkened.
Julian didn’t look up. He fed another twig into the fire, watching it catch. “We need to stay sharp,” he murmured. “Lazarus wasn’t exactly sure what happens on the bridge.” He sat back on his heels, eyes narrowing at the thought. “Said not many have made it across… and if they did, they didn’t co
The cold was relentless. Not the kind that nipped at skin and faded with motion—this was the kind that clung, that crept past fur and flesh, embedding itself in the marrow. For days now, Julian and Jace had trekked through a landscape stitched from ice and silence, where wind howled like a starving







