LOGINHey my loves, I know it's been a minute I’ve been away for a while now not because I wanted to, but because I just haven’t been feeling strong enough. Life’s been a lot lately. Thank you for your patience and quiet support. I’m slowly finding my way back, and I’m ready to continue the story. I missed you all. 💛
The moon had risen high above Sulvenis, its light spilling through the ancient towers like pale fire. The castle stood proud upon its mountain spine, its silver-stoned halls echoing with voices and laughter that felt almost foreign after days of blood and escape.Evangeline tried to tell herself the warmth was real. That the scent of roasted venison and the flicker of candles meant safety. But the deeper she breathed, the heavier her chest became. The shadows clung too close to the walls tonight.The procession earlier had been allies from other packs - a false alarm. Soon they were escorted to the main castle in the capital by familiar faces — members of the other Lycan packs who had stayed behind to guard the ancestral grounds. Some bowed as they entered the great hall, others simply stared, relief and disbelief crossing their faces when they saw Xander alive.Cassius clasped hands with the eldest warrior, Kellan, his grin almost genuine. “Didn’t think we’d be drinking again this ce
The night air was sharp with smoke and fear.The shattered gates of the tribunal loomed behind them, wreathed in the dying echoes of battle. Evangeline’s lungs burned as she ran, her pulse pounding in her ears like a war drum. The ground beneath her feet was slick with rain and ash, the forest ahead swallowing their figures one by one as they plunged into its dark embrace.Xander was beside her—always beside her—his stride long, sure, unyielding even as his arm shielded her from the falling debris. Behind them, the twins—Lucien and Lyra—moved like shadows, clearing the path with precise violence whenever the sound of pursuit dared rise again. The youngest, Caspian, darted through the trees with feral speed, his golden eyes flashing in the dark.“Keep moving,” Xander hissed, his voice low but commanding. “We’re almost through the barrier.”Evangeline didn’t need to ask which one. The wards surrounding the tribunal were ancient, designed to trap, to suffocate. But she felt the pulse of
The storm hadn’t broken when they reached the old cathedral. It split open now, directly above them.Thunder cracked, a sound like God’s own fist hitting granite, rattling the remaining stained glass. Rain hammered the stone roof, filling the hollow space with the raw, metallic scent of wet ash and cold iron. Evangeline’s candlelight flickered in gasps, casting their shadows long and grotesque against the broken altar.She finished the last of the blood-and-ink rune, the copper taste of power sharp on her tongue.Xander watched her, still as a statue but coiled like a spring. His expression was a storm she couldn't name: reverence, primal hunger, and a deep-seated fear — not of her, but of the abyss she was willingly stepping into. Of the creature she was allowing herself to become to survive.She opened her mouth, a simple word of thanks already forming - and the wards shattered.Not hers, but theirs.A wave of concussive pressure rolled through the cathedral, sharp and invisible as
Moments later,They fled under a sky braided with rain—the city’s lights streaked into rivulets of gold and blood as the pack ran. Sirens chased them from the edges of the valley to the dark bones of an abandoned cathedral that had once meant sanctuary. Now its stained glass gaped like shuttered eyes, vaults yawning into a ceiling of stone and memory. Statues of saints had been knocked askew, their faces smudged with soot; ivy had braided itself through pews like slow, patient fingers.They slipped inside through a side door - Lucien went first, cat-quick; Cassius covered the rear with the steady vigilance of someone who had memorized danger. Marrow’s boots struck the stone with a metronome of tension. Virex moved like a shadow that obeyed no gravity, his coat brushing sculptures as if to wake them. Emma trailed, pale glow-orbs drifting from her hands; they cast soft, unreliable light that trembled over broken altars and scriptural ash. Selene’s eyes cut the dark into slices, the o
An hour later,The council chamber of the Blackthorn Tribunal was a cathedral of spectacle, not justice. Carved into the volcanic cliffs of Stonevale, its walls breathed smoke and shadow, while spectral flames floated in sconces that never burned out. Chains etched with runes coiled along the stone like serpents waiting to strike. And above the central dais, three colossal horns of judgment hung suspended, relics of a time when verdicts were followed instantly by executions.Xander stood in the ring below.Froststeel cuffs locked his wrists, their runes biting cold into his veins, suppressing every shred of wolf within him. His body bore scars and blood from torture, but his spine remained unbroken, his chin lifted, his eyes sharp with defiance.He was accused of treason, of consorting with outsiders, and protecting her... it was Evangeline they truly feared. But they had him instead.And Evangeline was already here.In the balcony above, seated between a warlock with mirrored eyes
At the same time,Dr. Vela Ainsworth’s dressing room smelled faintly of lavender powder and antiseptic, a chilling blend that carried the cold precision of her profession. The walls were lined with immaculate gray suits, each pressed to perfection, each identical in cut and shade, as if her very clothing was a ritual of order. A sleek vanity sat in the corner, its glass polished to such clarity that the flickering light of the single bulb seemed doubled, giving the impression of two rooms overlapping.It was here that the pack had gathered, though they did not belong in such a space. Cassius’s broad frame leaned against the wardrobe, arms folded like iron bars, eyes burning with impatience. Lucien had pulled out a chair from the vanity, turning it backward to sit with his forearms resting on its back, his expression carved from quiet calculation. Selene stood near the door, her posture deceptively relaxed but her gaze sharp, measuring the lock as if memorizing every angle of its mecha







