Se connecter~ 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
~ Duncan POV ~I sat on the edge of my desk, the oak wood cool beneath my palm as I swirled the wine in my glass. The deep crimson liquid caught the firelight, glinting like something alive.I took a slow sip.In a week… I would be mated to Iris.My Luna.My destiny.My daughter’s best friend.My daughter’s ex-girlfriend.The thought landed heavier than the wine in my throat.That stung.I leaned back slightly, staring at the ceiling carved with ancestral wolves and crescent moons. Every Alpha before me had stood in this very office, faced war, betrayal, famine, rebellion. But I doubted any of them had faced this particular irony of fate.My daughter was not okay.Alice tried to act indifferent. Tried to hide behind sarcasm, rebellion, fire. But I knew her. I raised her. I knew the subtle shift in her voice, the extra edge in her laughter, the way her eyes hardened when Iris’ name was mentioned.She was hurting.And yet… I could not turn back.An Alpha cannot rule alone.Not truly.St
~ Iris POV ~The pack house buzzed quietly with preparation. The ceremony had been rescheduled, finally set for the full moon next week. Duncan was back,finally.and with him came the usual tension, the aura of command that made every heartbeat in the estate synchronize with his.Alice had returned to her sharp, watchful self. She moved through the house like a shadow, eyes flicking, calculating, assessing,but this time, she didn’t interfere. At least, not openly.Ky and I had carved out our small corner of the world in the midst of the chaos. We were preparing for the ceremony, but also protecting each other from everything else. From whispers, from old wounds, from the unpredictable tides of the pack. She moved through the rooms with a careful grace, always mindful of me, but free enough to make me laugh, even in these heavy days.And then he appeared.Duncan. Alpha. Dominant. Imposing. And yet, tonight, his presence carried a different energy. One that made the air itself shift,a st
~ Iris POV ~The café smelled of roasted coffee beans and old parchment, and for a moment, it felt like a sanctuary. Soft jazz floated over the quiet clinks of porcelain cups and murmured conversations, a gentle rhythm to the chaos that had consumed my life the past few weeks. I sat tucked into a corner booth, sleeves rolled up, tracing the rim of my mug absentmindedly. My hands shook slightly,more from anticipation than nerves,and I found myself replaying every moment from graduation, from Alice’s sharp words to Ky’s hesitant approach.Thorne arrived quietly, almost silently, sliding into the seat across from me. His presence carried the weight of command, that calm authority that made him Duncan’s most trusted knight. Even in a casual café, he exuded control, and it reminded me how little control I had felt lately.“Luna,” he said softly, using the title I wasn’t ready to own, and I didn’t correct him. Not today.“I need to ask you som
~ Iris POV ~In the taxi, everything feels louder.The engine. The city traffic. My thoughts.I press my forehead against the cool window glass and watch the estate gates disappear behind me.I didn’t look back.If I had, I might not have left.The driver doesn’t speak. Good. I don’t think I could handle polite questions right now.My phone buzzes twice.I don’t check it.I already know who it isn’t.It’s not Duncan.It’s not Ky.And it’s definitely not Alice.I let out a slow breath.Maybe Alice was right.Not about everything.But about one thing.Maybe I shouldn’t be standing at an altar when my heart still fractures at the wrong touch.Maybe the Goddess didn’t mean for this to be simple.Or maybe I’m the one complicating what should be clear.I close my eyes.Alice’s face flashes in
~ Ky POV ~Damn.Damn.Damn.Why did I kiss her?I paced the length of my room for what felt like the hundredth time, running both hands through my hair like that would somehow rewind the last twenty-four hours.I knew better.I knew she was conflicted.I knew the ceremony was still hanging over us.I knew Alice was unstable right now.And I still kissed her.God.This is going to complicate everything.Not just emotionally.Politically.Strategically.Dangerously.A knock slammed against my door.Not polite.Not controlled.Slamming.I froze.Only one person knocks like that.I opened the door…And Iris stood there.Crying.Not silent tears.Not composed sadness.Crying.Her hair was messy, eyes red, breathing uneven like she
~EuniceI was flipping through the stack of student files on my desk, routine paperwork that usually bored me to death when Iris Rivera’s folder landed in my hands.I opened it without thinking, and there she was, the passport photo staring back at me.Even in that stiff, official shot she was stun
~IrisThe next morning hit me like a hangover I hadn’t earned from alcohol.I woke up tangled in Alice’s sheets, her arm still slung over my waist, her breath warm against my shoulder. For a second, everything felt almost normal.I slipped out of bed before she stirred, grabbed my clothes, and hea
~DuncanI’d been waiting in the penthouse suite for thirty minutes, scrolling through mindless videos on my phone, clips that were supposed to be funny, but none of them landed. Nothing was funny tonight.8:30.She was late.That little wolf was testing me, and every extra minute she made me wait c
~IrisI walked over to lock my closet, fingers fumbling with the key, when the door swung open behind me.Alice stepped in and closed it with a soft click that somehow sounded louder than a slam. Her skirt was shorter than usual, ridiculously short, riding high enough that I could see the smooth ex







