LOGIN~ Duncan POV ~The house was quiet again.But not peaceful.There is a difference.Peace is earned.This silence was fragile.I stood alone in my study, hands braced against the desk, staring at nothing. The estate lights glowed faintly beyond the windows. Guards rotated outside. Life continued.Inside these walls, however…Something had shifted.I had seen the mark on Iris’s cheek.Faint.Red.But enough.And I had seen something else too.The look in Alice’s eyes.Not just anger.Something breaking.I closed my eyes briefly.Alpha.Father.The two roles had never felt so violently opposed.A soft knock sounded at the study door.I didn’t need to ask who it was.“Enter.”Alice stepped in.She didn’t look shaken.She didn’t look ashamed.She looked composed.Too composed.She closed the door behind her and stood straight.“You sent for me.”“Yes.”I gestured to the chair across from my desk.“Sit.”She didn’t move.“I’d rather stand.”Of course she would.I straightened slowly.“This
~ Iris POV ~The moment the door slammed behind us, the adrenaline started to fade.And the pain rushed in.Not just the sting on my cheek.Not just the ache in my shoulder where I hit the wall.But the words.I hate you.No.I said that.My chest tightened.Duncan’s arm was firm around my waist as he guided me down the corridor. His steps were controlled, but I could feel the tension in him. The barely restrained anger.At her.At me.At the situation.“Iris,” he said, voice low but sharp, “what were you thinking?”I pulled away from him the moment we entered his room.“What was I thinking?” I turned on him. “What was she thinking?”His jaw flexed. “You went into her room alone.”“Yes.”“You provoked her.”“I did not…”“You shouted.”I froze.Because he wasn’t wrong.I had shouted.“I went to talk,” I said, breath uneven. “She kept twisting everything. Acting like I ruined her life.”His eyes softened slightly when he saw my face.There was a faint red mark along my cheekbone.He st
Chapter 103~ Alice POV ~I knew she was coming before she knocked.I could feel it.Some people knock softly.Some hesitate outside your door.Iris didn’t.Three sharp knocks.Demanding.Like she had every right to stand there.I stared at my reflection for half a second longer before answering. My face was calm. Composed.Perfectly fine.“Come in,” I called.The door opened.She stepped inside like a storm trying to pretend it was sunlight.The door shut behind her.Silence.We just looked at each other.She was tense. Shoulders tight. Jaw clenched.Good.At least I wasn’t the only one unraveling.“What do you want?” I asked casually.Her eyes flashed.“You know what I want.”I leaned against my dresser. “Enlighten me.”“You sent the video.”Not a que
~ Iris POV ~I found Ky near the western training grounds just before sunset.The sky was streaked in gold and fading blue, warriors clearing out after drills, the air thick with dust and sweat and the distant scent of pine. It should’ve felt ordinary.Instead, everything felt sharp.Like glass under skin.Ky stood with her back to me, arms folded as she watched two younger wolves spar. She didn’t turn when I approached.“I heard,” she said quietly.Of course she had.Nothing stayed quiet in this estate.I stopped beside her. “I can’t believe she did that.”Ky finally looked at me. Her expression wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t even angry.It was calculating.“You can’t?” she asked gently.The question hit harder than accusation.“She looked me in the eye this morning,” I said, voice tightening. “She said she was tired of fighting. She smiled.”
~ Duncan POV ~The house had never felt this quiet.Not after war.Not after funerals.Not even the night my mate died.But tonight…The silence was different.It wasn’t grief.It was fracture.I stood outside Alice’s door for a full thirty seconds before knocking.Three slow taps.No answer.I didn’t need one.“Open the door, Alice.”A pause.Then the click of the lock.I stepped inside.Her room was dimly lit, curtains drawn despite the late afternoon sun. She stood by the window, arms crossed, posture rigid.She didn’t turn around.“I suppose this is where you lecture me,” she said flatly.I closed the door behind me.“No.”That made her glance over her shoulder.“No?” she repeated.“No lectures.”I walked further into the room, slow, measured steps
~ Iris POV ~If peace had a smell, it would have been this morning.Fresh bread. Polished oak. Rain from last night still clinging to the stone courtyard.Everything felt… normal.Too normal.Alice sat across from me at breakfast.And she smiled.Not the sharp, sarcastic curl of her lips. Not the fake, venom-laced grin.A soft one.“I’m tired of fighting,” she said, buttering her toast. “It’s exhausting.”Duncan looked relieved. Actually relieved.Ky froze beside the window.I didn’t trust it.But I nodded anyway. “Me too.”Alice looked at me then. Really looked at me. Her gaze held something unreadable.“Maybe we can start over.”Start over.Like we weren’t standing on the ashes of something we once were.Duncan cleared his throat. “That would make this week easier.”This week.The mating ceremony.Alice’s eyes flickered for half a second.Then she smiled again.“Of course, Dad.”Dad.The word sounded deliberate.Carefully placed.After breakfast, she even walked beside me through th
~iris I didn’t sleep again. I thought I could be over it. I lay awake until dawn, staring at the ceiling while the room slowly shifted from black to grey, my chest aching in a way that felt physical,like something had been carved out of me and left hollow. Every time I closed my eyes, the video
~ AliceI didn’t sleep.I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, counting the slow turns of the fan, listening to the quiet hum of a house that felt too big when my father was gone. Every sound echoed,footsteps that weren’t there, doors that didn’t open, a presence that used to ground me now reduced
~iris “Iris?”My heart dropped straight into my stomach.I froze.Slowly, I turned.Alice stood a few steps away, dressed for class, her hair pulled back, her expression shifting from confusion to something sharper the moment she registered where I was coming from. Her eyes flicked past me,to the
~ Eunice pov Alpha Duncan was leaving. That alone was enough to unsettle the entire pack.When word spread that my brother was travelling beyond the borders, preparations began immediately , guards doubled, routes secured, messages sent ahead like prayers wrapped in Protocol. Alpha Duncan didn't







