LOGINCHAPTER 94KILLIAN'S POVPeople like to imagine guilt as a sharp thing. A knife, a bullet or single wound that changes everything. They are wrong. Real guilt is quieter. It is a pebble slipped into your boot by someone you trusted. You keep walking because you have no choice, and with every mile the stone rubs the skin raw until pain becomes so familiar that you mistake it for part of yourself.I have been walking with mine for twenty-three years. The abandoned watchtower overlooks the entire valley, its upper platform open to the wind and the fading light of evening. Once, scouts had stood here to warn of invading armies.Now only crows keep watch.I climb the worn spiral staircase carrying a small wooden box tucked beneath one arm.No one knows about the box. Not Cassian, not Jason, not even Beatrice.Some burdens become so old that sharing them feels impossible. At the top, I set it on the cracked stone ledge and open the lid. Inside lie a bundle of letters tied with faded blue th
CHAPTER 93 BEATRICE'S POVThe eastern cliffs have always concealed more than stone. Most wolves know them only as jagged walls overlooking the sea, battered by relentless wind and salt spray. Hunters avoid the area because the paths are narrow and treacherous. Children are warned away with stories of collapsing ledges and wandering spirits.The stories serve their purpose. They keep curious people from finding what lies beneath.I carry the lantern ahead of me, its warm glow painting shifting patterns across the tunnel walls.Nova follows in silence.She has not asked where I am taking her. After what we hear about the coalition going into the pack, this is what is best for her. To prick her curiosity. Perhaps she has grown accustomed to discovering that every answer in her life lives underground. Behind us, the hidden entrance seals with a muted click.Stone meets stone. The world outside vanishes. For several minutes, the only sounds are our footsteps and the distant rush of waves
CHAPTER 92CASSIAN'S POV As dawn creeps over the road leading away from the riverside shrine, the woods seem to hold their breath.Then riders emerge. Not dozens. They are in hundreds.Gray cloaks drape over armor bearing the crests of allied packs, their banners furled but unmistakable. They advance in disciplined columns until the narrow forest road disappears beneath a wall of horses, motorcycles, and armed escorts.No battle cry announces them.No arrows fly. Their confidence is its own weapon. They believe they will not need to fight.Jason exhales slowly. "This is coordinated."Killian's hand rests near the hilt of his blade but does not draw it. "They're here to negotiate."Beatrice says nothing. She simply counts.One envoy, three scribes, twelve elite guards, forty outriders hidden among the trees.She is always counting and calculating The lead envoy dismounts and approaches with measured dignity, carrying a scroll bound in crimson ribbon.He bows. He doesn't bow deeply th
CHAPTER 91NOVA'S POVHundreds of motorcycles stand in perfect formation beneath the silver wash of the moon. Their engines are silent. Their headlights remain dark.Not a single rider shifts in the saddle or turns to whisper to the person beside them. They look less like soldiers waiting for orders and more like statues carved from patience itself.Rows upon rows of black leather jackets stretch across the riverbank, each marked with the same silver insignia over the heart.No banners or campfires. No unnecessary movement. The silence unsettles me more than shouting ever could.Beside me, Jason mutters, "I've seen armies with less discipline."Beatrice's gaze narrows. "They're not trying to intimidate us.""No," Cassian replies quietly."They're trying to show us they don't need to."The woman still has her eyes fixed on me. Moonlight spills across pale hair touched with silver and eyes that reflect the river like polished steel.I brace myself for hatred or accusation. Instead, I fi
CHAPTER 90CASSIAN'S POVThe first thing to disappear is certainty. The second is air.At first, the change is subtle enough to dismiss. The lantern flames grow sluggish, their edges soft instead of sharp. My breaths come a fraction deeper than before, as if my lungs have begun bargaining for something they have always received freely. Within minutes, bargaining becomes desperation.Jason has already stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around one fist to cushion repeated blows against the stone wall. The impacts echo uselessly through the vault, accomplishing nothing except bruised knuckles and rising frustration."There has to be another passage," he mutters."There usually is," Killian replies while examining a row of ancient shelves. "The people who build places like this believe in escape routes.""They also believe in keeping secrets." Beatrice backs him. I can see why they are perfect for each other. "Which is exactly why there should be one."Beatrice nods. She has dropped
CHAPTER 89NOVA'S POV"Has it always been like this?" I ask Cassian, as I look at the building in front of us. The abandoned shrine does not look like the sort of place that can change history.It looks forgotten.Its roof sags beneath years of creeping vines. Moss swallows the stone steps leading to the entrance. The old river that probably flowed proudly beside it has shifted its course over time, leaving behind a bed of polished rocks and whispering reeds. Birds nest in the cracked statues of long-forgotten guardians. It feels almost good to be back at the pack. But we have barely rested. We are back at some kind of shrine that Jason has found. It is very similar to the temple that they played in as children. Jason unfolds my mother's letter we have, and compares its faded symbols to the carvings above the shrine's doorway."This is it," he murmurs. "The markings match."Beatrice's hand drifts unconsciously to the necklace around her throat. She has always touched it, and I want
CHAPTER 65CASSIAN'S POVThere is no way I am changing towards Nova after what she tells me. I want to have her around me all the fucking time. I want to make sure that nobody is taking her away. I could have her chained to me if I had my way.But then, she is Nova. She wants her freedom. And I am
CHAPTER 62Nova's POV I can't stay in Nate's room forever, even if I badly want to do that. As he falls asleep on my thigh, I gently push him away, tucking him into bed.My feet are heavy by the time I walk into the room that Cassian and I share. Cassian is sitting on the bed, and he looks over at
CHAPTER 61NOVA'S POVHow am I supposed to react to someone telling me that I am not supposed to exist?I don't know, I am just standing there, unable to say a word.“Tell us everything that is stated there,” Cassian says, and Killian shoots him a look.“You don't have to boss him around,” I say ca
CHAPTER 60NOVA'S POV“What kind of bonds?” I ask. I am waiting for Killian to lose his mind and tell me to shut the fuck up any moment if I don't understand anything. But he doesn't.He is more than patient. A part of me figures out that I might have actually found that one trait that both brother







