로그인The night air greeted me cool and crisp.
Breathing deep, I filled my lungs until they ached from it. The smell of freedom, autumn, and moonlight. For the last week, all I'd smelled was dust, mold, metallic medicine, and plastic bags.
Moonlight on my skin, wind in my hair, and Arya's triumphant howl in my mind, I surged forward toward the side entrance for the main packhouse, praying that I would run into a trustworthy patrolman or a member of pack leadership who’d listen t
I made it twenty paces back toward the Alpha's study before a set of strong arms wrapped around me from behind and pinned my arms at my sides. Startled, I stiffened, until his scent registered and my stomach fluttered for an entirely different reason. My mate was back."My wildfire, I've missed you," he whispered, squeezing tight. Killian pressed his face into the curve of my neck and he breathed deeply. But instead of his usual growl of relief, a deep, dissatisfied roar rumbled in his chest. "What's this?"He drew in my scent again and again, nuzzling his nose against my shoulder, my cheek, my hair. With every breath, his grip grew more and more crushing. "You smell like someone else. Some... Alpha. Why? Who's touched what's mine in my absence."Leon.Oh, Goddess, help me. "An old friend came to visit," I explained. Or, I tried to. Killian didn't give me the opportunity to. Before I uttered another word, he hoisted me over his shoulder like a sack of flour and marched me down the ha
By the time Alpha Damon recalled the entire, sordid tale of Evangeline, Andromeda, and the twisted web of lies, Leon was vibrating in his seat. His hand clenched around the crystal glass, shattering it instantly. Glass and whiskey sprayed across the rug, and he fumbled, muttering apologies as he dropped to his knees to pick up the glass and dab the spill with his shirt.It was an excuse. A way to conceal the rage in his face and the way his shoulders trembled with barely contained fury.It wasn't effective.Even across the room, sitting on the couch beside my mother, I read his emotions clear as the sky on a cloudless day. If having Killian hunting them down wasn't bad enough, Evangeline and Andromeda were about to have the entire scouting force of Wayfinder on their asses. Headed by the most determined and brutal Alpha I'd ever come across.Puppy dog eyes be damned, when Leon believed his people were threatened, that threat was eliminated—100% of the time."And you said Prince Killia
Leon. Here. In Snow Pointe. In the flesh. And not in chains.It was a miracle.Alpha Damon smiled behind him, arms crossed over his puffed-out, proud chest. A grinning father witnessing his beloved child open his gift at Christmas. He'd done this. He brought Leon here for me. Not for a political arrangement, or a trade agreement. Because I told him I missed Wayfinder and worried about their safety. He brought Leon to soothe my fears.I mouthed the words 'Thank you' over Leon's shoulders and Damon's smile grew broader."Feels like years," Leon said, voice muffled by my shoulder, his grip unrelenting. He didn't want to let me go, and I was the same. I clung to his shirt, burying my face in his neck and breathing in his familiar scent. It was the smell of the wild and of home. This is what I'd missed, the easy comfort of being in his orbit. Safe and protected.It was different than what I felt with Killian and his mercurial nature. Unstable and passionate, being with Leon was like walking
Days passed in a blur.Prince Killian remained a ghost, hunting down Evangeline and everyone else who fled with her and the traitorous Andromeda, six people in total. His absence weighed as heavy as his presence, pregnant with the promise of his return and everything that entailed.Alpha Damon made an official address to all of Snow Pointe, declaring Evangeline an imposter, illegitimate heir, and a usurper of his rightful daughter's place. Against my will and better judgment, I joined my father on the dais and stood by his side as he claimed me as his true daughter and the rightful heir of Snow Pointe. Aurelia Drow. Aurelia Praxis. Aurelia Snow.The pack received the news with mixed reactions. Some gasped audibly, taken aback by the betrayal and the thwarted eradication of Snow Pointe. Others cheered, having had their suspicions against Evangeline and Andromeda for years. A small few seethed, whispering behind their hands, loyal to the liar who sat in my place for twenty-two years. Ev
Luna Alena's request rattled in my mind the rest of the day. She didn't pester or press me into an answer immediately, but the pressure still weighed heavily on my shoulders. I ate, walked the territory paths, even trained with the warriors of Snow Pointe. Anything to clear my head of the spinning thoughts and the terrible three-way split I was being pulled into.The fresh air and exercise did little to help. The hushed whispers, cautious stares, and confused expressions of the warriors and onlookers helped even less. Everywhere I turned, they gawked as word traveled about my true identity and the heinous treason committed by Evangeline and Dr. Andromeda. More reminders that my "rightful" place was in Snow Pointe.I pushed myself hard. Harder than I should have. But I needed The Gauntlet to work. I needed my head clear for just a moment before I fell into a downward spiral and lost all sense of reason."You should rest," Gamma Olivier grunted, waiting for me at the end of the obstacle
I woke a few hours later, hungry and alone in my room. Killian's scent lingered, a memory of his arms around me and the promise of violence declared with unflinching earnestness. He was no doubt out on the hunt, working to fulfill his promise to bring Evangeline and Andromeda to justice. To ensure my safety as his mate.But a small part of me wished he'd waited a little longer and stayed by my side until the next morning.His infuriating, mercurial presence anchored me to reality when I was in the midst of falling apart. My lament was cut short by a knock at my door.I wasn't this in demand as Wayfinder's second-in-command. Every day since I'd returned to Snow Pointe, someone had knocked on my damned door. I was getting sick of answering it. But I knew who it was—the familiar, soft cadence of the knock and the scent that wafted around the cracks.Luna Alena waited on the other side of the door, her eyes filled with unshed tears. Her solemn face gree
It was a small blessing that my seventeenth moon day fell on one of my days off. I don't think I could have survived Delta Hester's displeasure at me taking the entire day off otherwise. Small mercies found me in those days, and I never forgot to thank the Moon Goddess for the reprieve.Bu
Outside Evangeline's room, I finally breathed again, free from the overwhelming stench of her unnaturally heavy vanilla scent. Just another reason I always left from her presence nauseous and dizzy. It clung to my clothes as I returned to the kitchens, burning in my nose until I had to rush to the
Evangeline Snow was not nearly as unconcerned as her parents.The moment I pushed the cart into her quarters, her gaze landed on me, sharp and unyielding. I lowered my head, shrank in on myself as I had in the Gathering Hall, but it returned the opposite result. Where the pack nobility ignored my h
***5 Years Ago***"I need you to lie back for me."Dr. Andromeda's soothing voice washed over me. same as always. I lay back on the infirmary bed, my legs stretched out straight in front of me, eyes trained on the painted ceiling.Once upon a ti







