登入The moon had risen higher by the time Skylar found her. Amanda stood at the far end of the balcony, her figure carved in silver light, her arms folded around herself as if to hold something in. The air was cool and restless, wind brushing through her hair, carrying the faint hum of voices from below where the conference was finally dispersing for the night. For a long moment, he simply stood in the doorway, watching her. She looked distant, unreachable, simply a fragment of light and shadow against the night. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, cautious. "You shouldn’t be out here alone." Amanda didn’t turn. "You shouldn’t be here at all", she replied. Skylar swallowed, stepping closer. The marble floor creaked beneath his boots. "I heard about what Cedric did in there. He was pushing my father again", he said quietly. She said nothing. The silence stretched between them, full of all the things neither of them knew how to say. "I’m sorry", he said at last. The words came
The conference hall of Moonridge was colder than it had been the night before. The torches burned lower, their flames flickering in shallow pools of gold that did nothing to ease the tension stretching through the chamber. After Alpha Rufus’s explosive exit, silence had become a rare thing. Every creak of the old floorboards, every rustle of fine suits and shifting chairs, seemed magnified by the weight of unspoken thoughts. Samuel sat at the head of the long table, shoulders squared and expression carefully carved into composure. Yet beneath the steady mask, the strain showed: the twitch in his jaw, the faint pulse at his temple, the way his hands rested too tightly on the arms of his chair. "Shall we proceed?", Cedric Moonslayer’s voice cut through the quiet like silk drawn over a blade. He lounged in his seat across the table, one brow raised, a smirk ghosting his lips. "I imagine we’ve all had time to… process Alpha Rufus’s departure." There was a murmur of uneasy agreement f
The Blackthorne estate had never felt so tense. Whispers clung to the halls like a disease, slipping between stone pillars and echoing down vaulted corridors. Alphas’ voices rose in clusters as they spoke in hurried, hushed tones, glancing over their shoulders as though the walls themselves were listening. "Reckless", one Alpha muttered, his voice sharp with disdain. "Breaking a bond to Rufus… Samuel has signed his own death warrant." "Not reckless, honorable", countered another, older and softer in tone. "He refused to shackle his son to a loveless union. That takes strength", he added. "Strength?", a third scoffed, lowering his voice as Samuel passed at the end of the corridor, his black cloak swirling. "He couldn’t even control his own heir. If Skylar can defy him, what does that say about his leadership?", he asked. The alphas nodded grimly, each interpreting the fallout to suit their own ambitions. But the poison of their words did not stay contained within council chambers
The storm at the Blackthorne estate hadn’t quieted since Skylar’s outburst at the conference. If anything, it had only grown. For three days, Samuel tried every method at his disposal to pull his son back into line. The punishments were harsh at first. Skylar’s training was stripped away, his privileges revoked. Guards were posted outside his chambers, the windows were sealed, and his movements monitored as though he were a prisoner in his own home but confinement only sharpened Skylar’s defiance. He paced like a caged beast, shoulders squared, golden eyes unyielding whenever Samuel entered. "You will undo this shame. You will go before the conference, before Rufus, and you will take back what you said", Samuel said on the second night. "No, I won't", Skylar’s voice was steady, and stronger for its lack of volume. "You think this is about you?", Samuel snapped, his voice edged. "Do you think your desires outweigh the needs of this pack? Moonridge’s survival depends on alliances lik
The oak doors slammed shut behind them, rattling the sconces along the corridor. The noise from the council chamber still echoed faintly through the stone, a low roar of chaos and disbelief. Samuel didn’t stop walking until they were deep in the private wing of the estate, his hand iron-strong on Skylar’s arm as he dragged him along. "Father—", Skylar tried to speak but, "Not a word!", Samuel barked, his voice reverberating off the walls. His grip tightened until Skylar winced, but he didn’t try to pull away. His father’s wolf was prowling close to the surface, and Skylar could feel the hot, suffocating weight of his fury pressing against him like a storm. When they reached the solitude of Samuel’s office, Samuel shoved him inside. The door slammed, the lock clicking with finality. For a long moment, Samuel only stood there, his chest heaving, his eyes like molten gold. "What in the name of the goddess were you thinking? In front of every Alpha, every eye that mattered, what posse
The corridor outside Samuel’s chambers rattled with hurried footsteps, the scent of sweat and panic thick in the air. Bang. Bang. Bang. Marco knocked on the door heavily. Samuel opened the door swiftly. "Alpha. It's Skylar, He's–", Marco, said quickly, his chest heaving from exertion. The rest of the words fell in a rush as he told Samuel what happened at the training grounds. Samuel’s blood ran cold and in an instant he surged forward, his robe whipping around his legs as he followed Marco down the hall. His wolf was already awake, hackles raised, even before the words registered fully. Skylar had fought Cassian Graveson, fought him savagely. By the time Samuel reached the training yard, the guards had already dragged both boys apart. The scent of blood lingered heavy, copper sharp, thick as fog. Skylar’s shirt was torn, crimson smeared across his lip and cheek, his chest still rising and falling violently as he strained against the guards. Cassian, though pinned against the oppo
Dinner at the Blackthorne estate was usually a stiff, awkward formal affair, but tonight the tension could have split the long mahogany table in two. The chandelier overhead gleamed, servants moved like shadows pouring wine and setting silver trays, but none of that polished elegance could disguise
Dinner at the Blackthorne estate was like a formal affair. The long mahogany table stretched down the center of the grand dining hall polished so clean it gleamed in the candlelight. The chandelier above flickered with golden fire and servants in muted tones moved like ghosts between courses. Amand
By the end of her third day at Moonridge High, Amanda knew exactly where she stood, beneath everyone. It didn't matter that her new stepfather was practically the richest man in Moonridge. It didn't matter that she wore the same uniform or walked the same polished halls, she sat alone at lunch, eve
The road twisted through a tunnel of low-hanging trees, their bare branches clawing at the sky like crooked fingers. Amanda leaned her forehead against the glass and exhaled, fogging it slightly. Beyond the mist, the forest seemed alive, like it was watching their car ride by."Almost there", her m







