Mag-log inMeredithI left Nessa’s home feeling unsettled by everything she’d told me. The medicine had been marked delivered, but the storehouse claimed nothing had arrived. Someone was lying, and I didn’t have enough proof to figure out who yet.My head felt light as I walked back toward the main packhouse, the dizziness pressing at the edges of my vision. I focused on putting one foot in front of the other without drawing attention to how unsteady I was. The path between the lower family quarters and the packhouse felt longer than it had on the way here, and I could feel my wolf’s weakness like a weight pulling at me from the inside.I’d barely made it twenty steps when I heard voices behind me.“Nessa?” A man’s voice, polite and calm. “I need a moment of your time.”I stopped and turned back.Tobin’s clerk stood near Nessa’s doorway, his posture relaxed but his presence deliberate. The same man I’d seen watching me earlier, the one who’d turned away too quickly when I’d noticed him. He wore
MeredithI stood at the window in the east family room, staring out at the darkening forest beyond Silverthorn’s walls. The records couldn’t give me the truth. Not when someone else controlled what they said.I needed to talk to Nessa directly.I turned from the window, and the room tilted slightly. I grabbed the edge of the dresser to steady myself, waiting for the dizziness to pass. My wolf stirred weakly in the back of my mind, too quiet and distant.Before I could move toward the door, my phone rang.Hayley’s name lit up the screen.Guilt hit me immediately. I’d promised to call her as soon as I reached Silverthorn, and I’d completely forgotten.I answered. “Hey.”“Hey?” Hayley’s voice came through sharp. “That’s what you’re starting with? I’ve been waiting two days for you to call, and all I get is ‘hey’?”“I’m sorry,” I said. “Everything’s been… a lot.”“You….?!” Hayley’s tone softened slightly. “How are you feeling? Your body, your wolf. Don’t lie to me.”I wanted to say I was
MeredithMira went completely still beside me, her hand slipping away from the ledger so fast it was like the book had burned her.I turned slowly, already knowing what I’d find.Tobin Marr stood in the doorway with his arms crossed loosely in front of him. He was older than I’d expected, maybe mid-fifties, with graying hair cut short and steady eyes that didn’t give away much.“Is there a reason you’re in my records?” he asked again, his voice perfectly calm.Mira’s face had gone pale, her fingers trembling where they’d fallen to her side. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.Tobin stepped into the small office, closing the door behind him with a soft click that made the space feel even smaller. His attention settled on Mira first, not me, and I saw her shrink slightly under his gaze.“You opened steward records without permission,” he said. Not a question but a statement.“I was helping—” Mira’s voice came out barely above a whisper.“The proper procedure,” Tobin int
MeredithI woke in the east family room with the woman earlier and her sick son still on my mind.I had no authority in Silverthorn yet, but pretending I hadn’t seen the issue felt wrong. The way the table had moved on so easily after she’d been dismissed kept replaying in my thoughts. The woman’s son had looked tired and pale standing beside her, and her voice when she’d asked for medicine had carried the kind of desperation that came from watching someone you loved suffer.When Mira came in with breakfast, I waited until she’d set the tray down before speaking.“The woman from dinner last night,” I said carefully. “How do medicine requests usually work here?”Mira’s hands stilled slightly on the tray. “Most requests go through the supply steward who handles allocations.”“Does it usually take long?”“Not usually,” Mira said. “Silverthorn records everything carefully. If something’s delayed, there’s supposed to be a reason.”I picked up the tea she’d brought and took a sip, keeping
MeredithI stood in front of the mirror in the east family room, trying to decide if I was ready to face the pack for dinner.Yara’s examination and warning still sat heavy in my mind. My wolf might eventually need Kieran’s mark. The thought made my skin feel tight, like I was walking toward something I couldn’t control. I didn’t want to attend dinner while feeling this exposed, but staying hidden would only make me look weaker.I smoothed down my dress and forced myself to take a breath.A knock came at the door, and Mira appeared when I opened it.“The Alpha asked me to escort you to dinner,” she said quietly.“How do meals usually work here?” I asked as we walked.Mira glanced at me, surprised by the question. “The Alpha eats with senior pack members and trusted wolves. Conversation is allowed, but people don’t speak over the Alpha or waste his time with small talk.”“So it’s formal.”“More like efficient,” Mira said. “Silverthorn doesn’t do anything without purpose.”We reached t
MeredithI waited in the east family room after Kieran left to call the healer, anger and embarrassment mixing together in my chest. My weakness was no longer private. Soon someone else would examine me and give Silverthorn one more reason to wonder whether I belonged here at all.A knock came at the door, followed by a woman’s calm voice.“Meredith? I’m Yara, the pack healer.”“Come in,” I said, forcing myself to stand.The woman who entered was older than me, maybe in her early forties, with dark hair pulled back and steady gray eyes. She carried a leather bag and moved with the kind of calm professionalism that came from years of experience. She gave me a small nod, respectful but guarded, like she was treating me as both a patient and a political complication.Kieran stood near the window, his arms crossed, watching.Yara set her bag down on the table and turned to me. “I’ll need to examine you properly. May I?”“Yes,” I said.Yara glanced at Kieran, then back at me. “Would you p







