ログインPerhaps warming up to Phillipe was a mistake. The entire time we walked from the guest quarters to the Great Hall, he talked. Nonstop. On and on and on, until I started getting a headache from his excited rambling.How had I forgotten that part about being his friend? You had a small pool to choose from back in the day. I think you were just happy to have anyone acknowledge your existence in a way that didn't cause lasting physical damage, Arya snickered. I hated that she wasn't wrong. The talking had been endearing when I was a lonely child. Now, I couldn't help wondering what his mate thought about it."You are so different than before, Ari," he stated, pausing briefly before the final stretch into the Great Hall. His expression turned pensive as he glanced at me over his shoulder. He hadn't changed much since he was 17. Still tall. Still lean and a bit gangly. He never quite filled out like the rest of the warriors he trained with."You're strong and healthy. And you've got this a
Phillipe's shoulders slumped at my cold tone, and a sliver of remorse flickered in my mind before I snuffed it out completely. I refused to feel bad about voicing the betrayal I'd harbored since he abandoned me. Still, a small part of me missed my friend and hated to see him sad. I softened, just barely."Thank you, Phillipe. Your apology... helps," I conceded, turning my back to him."No... thank you, Aurelia," he countered, taking a hesitant step forward. "Without you, Snow Pointe is doomed. You know... Evangeline fell sick not long after you left. When we discovered the imposter and the real doctor Andromeda, Evangeline came down with this illness not long after."He sighed, voice heavy from the burden of fear. "Delta Hester thought you might have given it to her, but Andromeda assured everyone that the illness you had wasn't contagious. But it did require constant care. Since she fell ill, Evangeline's been under Andromeda's constant watch. No one has been allowed to be less than
The warrior formation broke off from behind us as we continued our entry into the packhouse."You'll be shown to your guest chambers first. The Alpha and Luna are out on business at the moment, but will receive you shortly," Olivier explained in his usual clipped tone. "You are to want for nothing. The servants know to treat you with the respect due to any honored guest."Our procession stopped just before a set of large double doors; the familiar scent of jasmine hung in the air around it. In another life, I passed by these doors with trays of food and imagined what it would be like to stay as a guest of the Alpha and Luna. Pampered. Every whim catered to. Those fantasies curdled under the reality of what I faced.Olivier opened the door, and a decadent chamber sprawled out before me. More space than a single person would ever need. It surpassed even Evangeline's luxurious bedroom. I should have been impressed and flattered by the finery and promise of extreme comfort. But a bitter st
I'd expected to be dragged into Snow Pointe in chains: ridicule, scorn, hatred. Years of my life wasted in the lowest tier soured my expectations. But when I assented to Olivier's invitation, none of the warriors dared to harm me.There were no insults. No chains. No restraints or condemnation of any kind. Olivier matched my pace, but never strode ahead. The warriors walked behind me, heads lowered. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. Wolves in Snow Pointe knew to keep their heads lowered in the presence of more powerful wolves. That was the training that Leon and Gabe spent months breaking me of in Wayfinder. The thought of Leon's sorrowful eyes made my chest ache.I miss him. I miss them all. I lamented quietly.I know. But Olivier swore that you would come to no harm. You'll see them again. Arya's encouragement soothed the small, fearful part of my mind that refused to be silenced. With her words, I straightened up and squared my shoulders. I would enter Snow Pointe, face th
Of course.There would be no other reason to seek out the "useless omega" unless the precious Evangeline Snow was in peril. The idea that her safety would somehow motivate me to return to Snow Pointe was laughable. Why would I care about the spoiled, cruel, deceitful pack brat that made my life miserable? She was the reason I ended up in the isolation ward. The reason I couldn't go out and run during my seventeenth moonday. She kept me small and frightened.I smirked at the Gamma's grave expression as if his sorrowful eyes could motivate me to do anything."And that's my problem, how?" I asked, arms folded across my chest as I glared down at him. Unfazed by my aloofness, Olivier approached slowly."Lady Evangeline fell sick some time ago. Small spells that locked her away from the public eye for weeks at a time," he explained, gaze darkening with what I assumed was sadness. With his perpetually scowling face, it was hard to tell. "The spells wouldn't last long, but they were frequent.
The familiar scents of the Snow Fork Mountains surrounded me as I charged through the trees. Normally, a run like this would soothe my nerves and invigorate me all at once. They reminded me of my connection to the land and the strength of my own body.But this run did none of that.My mind was too loud to silence. Questions, fears, doubts, all building and compounding until they became a beast too powerful to fend off. What would I find when I reached those coordinates? What did Snow Pointe want with me? And how did they know I was still alive?It doesn't make sense, Arya. My breath came in sharp puffs. To Snow Pointe, I was a weak omega. Sickly. Frail. I shouldn't have survived. The night of your escape, half the territory saw me. They would have known you escaped from the cells after the melee. That... doctor shouted to the warriors that you were a traitor.And they would have no reason not to believe her. She made a good point. But after all the time I'd spent with Wayfinder, this
I shouldn't have agreed with Leon. The following weeks were a nightmare.No, that's not true.They were wonderful. And painful. And exciting. And miserable. I went from leisurely rotating through the various departments of Wayfinder, helping where I could, and learning to be part of a real pack, to
The full moon revelry was just the start. After the run, Leon stuck to my side like a proud uncle who successfully showed their nibbling how to hot wire a car. Every step I took within Wayfinder, he was there asking if I wanted him to help. "You know, I can help you master at will shifting, too," L
Stubbornness be damned. When he said he had me, when he steadied me, my fears melted away. It took all my strength not to hug him. I retained that much of my pride, at least. I didn't want him to think I was a fragile little girl. Even as I let him lead me into the medical tent, I still wanted to be
"Are you sure you don't want me on call? This is your first full moon as a part of Wayfinder, Ankle-Biter," Gabe grumbled, arms folded across his broad chest as he leaned against the support post of the medical tent. "You're still kinda puny to be shifting unsupervised.""I'm much stronger than I w







