LOGINThe dungeon beneath Moonridge Estate was cold and dimly lit, its stone walls breathing out the scent of damp earth and fear. The torches flickered as two figures sat chained to opposite pillars: Malik and his younger partner. Hours had passed since their capture and neither of them had spoken a word. The guards had tried growling threats, cold silence, even intimidation tactics, but the men remained stone-faced. Malik stared straight ahead, jaw clenched, his silence defiant. Then Samuel entered. The Alpha’s footsteps echoed across the stone floor, measured and deliberate. His presence alone shifted the air, heavy with power and authority. Behind him came Marco, eyes like flint, and two guards who lingered at the door. Samuel didn’t speak at first. He merely looked at the men, one by one, and when he finally did, his voice was calm, controlled and dangerous. "You’ve been caught within my borders and you’re accused of trespassing, attacking a member of my pack, and abduction. That’s en
The silence that followed Amanda’s words was thick enough to choke on. "Tessa." The name still hung in the air when everything erupted at once. Tessa’s sharp gasp sliced through the stillness. "What?! You can't be serious!", she shrieked, her voice trembling and wild. Amanda didn’t blink. "I heard them say your name. They said ‘Miss Tessa’ gave the order that you wanted me gone." Samuel’s expression hardened instantly, but he didn’t speak. Skylar turned to face Tessa, eyes narrowing into cold slits. Cassian’s jaw clenched beside him. Celeste’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes darting between the two girls. Tessa’s face flushed red as she spun toward Samuel. "Alpha, you can’t believe this! She’s just trying to humiliate me because she’s jealous!", she shouted. "Jealous? You hired men to drug me and drag me into the woods", Amanda said quietly, her tone slicing through the noise. Marco broke the silence, his voice low. "That’s a very serious accusation, Miss Hale", he s
The world was silver at dawn, the kind of cold, shimmering light that blurred the line between dreams and waking. Mist coiled low across the forest floor, wrapping around Amanda's ankles as she stumbled through it, guided by two grim-faced rogue men. They didn’t speak, neither did she. The taller one glanced back at her once, his expression tight. "Our Alpha says this is where we leave you." Amanda’s voice came out hoarse, weak. "You mean my father", she pointed out. He flinched, unsure how to respond, then simply nodded and stepped back. The other man handed her a threadbare cloak. "You might want to cover up. If any patrols spot you first…" Amanda pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders, every muscle aching. "You don’t have to warn me", she said stiffly. The taller rogue hesitated again, looking like he wanted to say something, but then turned away. "Good luck, Silver Wolf", was all he said finally and then they were gone, melting into the trees like shadows that never
The tension in Moonridge had grown so thick, even the air felt brittle. Every breath burned, every second stretched taut between hope and despair. The search had gone on for three days. Warriors returned empty-handed, faces drawn and muddy, their scent of failure thick in the halls of the Blackthorne estate. Amanda was still missing. Skylar stood in the council room, his palms pressed flat against the long oak table, his knuckles white. He hadn’t slept, not truly. His eyes were bloodshot, his shirt crumpled, his jaw unshaven. He looked feral. Samuel sat at the head of the table, face carved from stone. Marco, his second-in-command, and several senior wolves lined the sides, murmuring updates and theories. "…no trace by the river. We found her scent near the south ridge, but it ends abruptly", Marco was saying. Skylar’s voice cut through the air like a blade. "Then it wasn’t an accident." The room stilled. He straightened, his gaze burning with something cold and dangerous. "Amanda
Chaos had a sound, some might think it didn't, but it did. A sound that pulsed through the walls of the Blackthorne estate like a living thing. The sound of hurried footsteps, shouted orders, the faint, choked sobs of a mother who’d run out of tears. In short, Moonridge was in turmoil and rightly so because Amanda Hale was gone. Every hall of the mansion bore the echo of her name, servants calling it softly like a prayer, warriors growling it like a curse. The search had started just after dawn, when Skylar broke into her empty room and raised the alarm. Now, it had expanded far beyond the estate grounds. "Search the east side of the estate again!", Samuel’s voice boomed through the courtyard. The lines on his face were sharper now, his eyes shadowed. "If she’s out there, I want her found before nightfall. Do you hear me? Before nightfall!" "Yes, Alpha!", voices chorused before scattering into the forest. Celeste stood nearby, her hands trembling as she wrung her shawl. Her eyes w
This time the first thing Amanda felt was the damp, earthy air, then, pain. A dull ache spread from her neck down her spine, each breath dragging fire into her lungs. Her eyes fluttered open. The world came into focus slowly, a dimly lit space with wooden walls patched together from mismatched planks. A tent or a shack; she couldn’t tell. The air smelled of smoke and pine sap, and something feral lingered beneath it, the scent of wolves. Her wrists were free now, but her arms were heavy, her skin marked with faint bruises. She tried to move, stumbled, and caught herself on a rickety table. Her head spun. "Where am I?", she thought to herself. The last thing she remembered was claws, laughter, and the swing of a club before the world had gone black. Footsteps approached outside, she froze, heart thudding. The door creaked open. A tall man stepped in, not one of the rogues from before. He looked older, though not frail; his presence filled the small room with quiet authority. His hair
Amanda got ready for school sluggishly, dragging her feet very unwilling to go. If she could stay home without arousing her mother's suspicions she would have done so immediately. She knew everyone would be talking about how she collapsed yesterday, it would be the hot gossip and she was not lookin
The world didn’t just explode, it ignited the moment Amanda’s palm pressed against the rune stone, the glowing carvings burst into blinding light. The once faint gold turned molten silver, lines of fire racing through every rune until the entire stone blazed like a beacon against the twilight sky.
The dream returned again.It began the same way it always did: with silver fog curling around her bare feet, a forest bathed in moonlight and a whisper that wasn't a sound but a sensation crawling under her skin. Then she saw it, the wolf, massive, silver as starlight. Its fur shimmered like frost
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







