LOGINMaya's POVSome days, it felt like a lifetime.Other days it felt as though I had blinked, and seven years had slipped through my fingers like moonlit water.I stood on the western balcony of the Lunar Palace as evening settled across the kingdom.The capital stretched beneath me, glowing beneath thousands of lanterns.Music drifted through the streets.Laughter rose from crowded marketplaces.The Lunar Kingdom was alive.Peaceful.Prosperous.Home.The word still surprised me sometimes.For most of my life, home had been something I searched for.Something I chased across kingdoms, battlefields, and broken versions of myself.Something I nearly died trying to find.Now it existed all around me.Not as a place.As people.A familiar pair of arms wrapped around my waist.I smiled before Lucien even spoke."You escaped.""I didn't escape.""You absolutely escaped."I laughed softly."Technically, I delegated.""That's just a queen's way of saying escaped."His chin rested on top of my h
Maya's POVI never expected an entire kingdom to gather for someone small enough to fit in my arms.The thought followed me from the moment I stepped onto the palace balcony.Below, the Lunar Kingdom glittered beneath silver banners and moonstone lanterns. Music drifted through the capital. Laughter echoed from crowded streets.Every corner of the city pulsed with life.The naming ceremony wasn't merely a royal event.It had become something larger.A celebration.Not of crowns.Not of kingdoms.Of life.After everything we had survived, life felt worthy of celebration.A soft sound drew my attention downward.I looked at the bundle resting in my arms.Tiny fingers curled around a blanket stitched with Lunar silver and Blood Moon crimson, as though he already carried both worlds in his grasp.Our son.Even now, the words felt unreal.A knock sounded behind me."Come in."Lucien entered.The moment he saw the baby, every trace of the feared Alpha vanished.It happened every time.The f
Lucien's POVI had faced assassins.Survived wars.Stood before enemies powerful enough to shake kingdoms apart.Yet none of them prepared me for fatherhood.The realization arrived while Maya was asleep.She lay curled beneath the blankets, one hand resting over the curve of her stomach as though she were already protecting someone neither of us had met.Moonlight spilled through the palace windows.The room was quiet.Peaceful. The kind of peace that made me suspicious.I sat beside the bed and watched her breathe.Months.Somehow, months had passed since Ciara had nearly screamed the Lunar Palace apart after discovering Maya's pregnancy.The memory still made me smile.A baby.Not a dream. Not a possibility.Ours.The realization settled into my chest and refused to leave.Beautiful.Terrifying.Heavy in all the ways that mattered.Not because I didn't want this.Because I wanted it so much.“What if they deserve better than me?” I muttered.Maya didn't answer.Mostly because she w
Ciara's POVI knew something had shifted in the universe the moment Maya stole my pastry.Not borrowed. Not shared.Stole. Right off my plate.I stared at her in complete betrayal."Maya."She blinked. "What?""That was mine.""No, it wasn't.""Yes, it was."She looked down at the half-eaten pastry in her hand.Then at me again, as though the pastry might somehow explain itself."Oh."I pointed dramatically. "You ate the evidence."Across the table, Cedric nearly choked on his drink.Lucien looked suspiciously amused.Maya rolled her eyes. "You're both ridiculous.""That is exactly what guilty people say," Cedric informed her.The breakfast chamber of the Lunar Palace filled with laughter.For a moment, it felt nice.Normal.The kind of normal we hadn't had much of lately.No wars.No prophecies.No ancient enemies trying to destroy the world.Just breakfast. And apparently, a crime against sisterhood.I narrowed my eyes at Maya.Something still felt off.Not bad. Just different.I co
Maya's POVFor the first time in years, I woke up in Silver Creek without bracing for disaster.No battles.No prophecies.No enemies waiting beyond the trees.Just a quiet morning, untouched by catastrophe.Sunlight streamed through the guest chamber window, spilling across the wooden floor in bands of gold.Outside, the pack was already awake.Voices drifted through the open window.Laughter. Footsteps.The distant sound of wagons being loaded.The coronation was over.Tobias was officially Alpha of Silver Creek.And somehow, despite everything we had lost to get here, the pack felt alive again.I crossed the room and pushed the window open farther.The crisp morning air greeted me immediately.Below, warriors moved through the training grounds.Children chased one another between cabins.Delegations from distant packs prepared for the journey home.Life. Ordinary. Unremarkable.Somehow, that made it beautiful.The sight pulled an unexpected smile from me.A knock sounded.Before I
Ciara's POVEverybody kept saying it got easier.I wasn't sure who "everybody" was.And I wasn't sure they knew what they were talking about.Because it had been weeks since Garrett died.Weeks since we buried him beneath the old oak tree overlooking Silver Creek.Weeks since the letters.Weeks since Maya became Queen Aelindra.And somehow, I still found myself looking for him.Everywhere.I looked for him at breakfast. I looked for him during training. I looked for him whenever Tobias made that serious face he thought nobody noticed.I even looked for him when Cedric told terrible jokes.Especially then.Because Garrett used to laugh at all of them.Even the bad ones. Maybe mostly the bad ones.The worst part was that life kept going.The sun still rose every morning.People still worked. The pack still moved.Everyone kept saying Silver Creek was healing.Maybe it was.But sometimes healing felt a lot like missing someone in quieter places.That morning, I woke up before everyone el
Sophie's POVThe Alpha’s palace felt different that morning.Heavier.I sat at my usual place in the administration hall, carefully checking supply records. Grain counts from the southern storehouse. Weapon oil from the blacksmiths. Medical herbs delivered before dawn. Every line had to be correct.
Finn's POVBeing Beta was louder than I expected.It weighed more.Every step I took through the Blood Moon pack grounds felt watched. Every order I gave carried meaning. Every mistake would cost more than pride. I had only been Beta for less than two months, but already my shoulders felt tight all
Sophie's POVI didn’t mean to bump into him.I really didn’t.But of course, that’s exactly what happened. My tray of juice drinks wobbled dangerously as I rounded the corner near the training grounds, and BAM! I collided with someone solid.“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” I cried, staring at the dis
Lucien's POVMaverick grinned.“You look terrible,” he added cheerfully.I huffed out a breath that might have been a laugh.“Good to see you too.”“You’re welcome here,” he said, voice firm now. “Always.”Something in my chest loosened at that.I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear it.He le







