LOGINKiraThe dream came without warning.One moment I was drifting in darkness, weightless and numb. The next, I was running.My bare feet slapped against cold, wet earth. The forest surrounded me—not the familiar woods of Dark Valley, but something older, darker. The trees were skeletal, their branches reaching toward a moon that hung too low in the sky, bloated and red. A blood moon.My heart hammered against my ribs. My lungs burned. I didn't know what I was running from, only that something was behind me. Something fast. Something hungry.I risked a glance over my shoulder.Red eyes. Pale skin. Fangs gleaming in the crimson light.A vampire.He moved with unnatural speed, his body a blur of shadows and malice. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, and his hands—long-fingered, clawed—reached for me. I could smell him, death and copper and something ancient that made my wolf cower.I ran faster. Branches clawed at my arms, leaving thin lines of fire. Roots caught at my feet, trying to t
Kayla Her words hung in the air between us, heavy and charged. I still couldn’t believe my ears about the old woman being a witch, but I was more concerned about how much she knew about me and my chaotic life. I had heard stories of witches, of course. Every werewolf raised in a pack knew the old tales. The covens had once ruled these lands alongside vampires and werewolves until the great war among all supernatural beings destroyed the peace, and blood magic became outlawed. It was no secret that dark witches still lurked in shadows, waiting to prey on the weak and shake up the peace. But those were stories. Legends. Things that existed in history, not in a cottage in the middle of the forest, and certainly not in the old woman who had just handed me a mug of hot tea and given me dry clothes to wear. And now that I looked closer at the woman, she looked strangely familiar. Like I’d seen her before. Now that I focused on her, she looked like the witch pretending to be a fortune te
KIRA“It’s good to know I didn't completely ruin their family.” Mom sighed heavily, dropping the last pastry box she was working on. The soft thud of the cardboard hitting the wooden table. “Kira, please stop. You were a child. What happened wasn't your fault.” A part of me wanted to say “I know,” but I couldn't bring myself to do so. This blaming exercise was something I thought I'd put behind me. Glad to know I was wrong. I've had years to come to terms with my actions, triggered or not, and I owned up to my mistakes. But that wasn't the end. There was more, and Mom knew it. I owed Kayla the truth. I owed Harper and her family an apology. For taking their sister and child. For ruining a family that would have blossomed if I had not erratically shifted into my wolf and attacked Caroline. “I…” I began to speak, but Mom stopped me. She crouched near me. Her hands reached out to mine… the hand that was in a sling felt colder than the other. “I know it's hard, darling. To live wi
KaylaI stayed two more nights in Hilda's cottage. The first morning, I woke up to the smell of porridge, a bowl waiting for me on the small table by the fire. The storm had stopped, though it looked like there was still more rain stored in the dark clouds. Hilda was in her garden, her hands buried in the soil, and she did not ask if I had made a decision. She simply smiled and said breakfast was getting cold.I ate in silence, staring at the fireplace that warmed my wolf and kept her at bay. The second day, I helped her gather herbs. She showed me which leaves healed and which ones were harmful. The roots could be brewed into tea and were better left in the ground because they were poisonous.She still did not press me for an answer. She did not mention the power, the sacrifice, nor the choice that waited for me like a door half open. She simply let me be, and I found myself grateful for that. Grateful for the silence and a space where no one expected me to be anything other than
KaylaI stayed two more nights in Hilda's cottage. The first morning, I woke up to the smell of porridge, a bowl waiting for me on the small table by the fire. The storm had stopped though it looked like there was still more rain stored in the dark clouds. Hilda was in her garden, her hands buried in the soil, and she did not ask if I had made a decision. She simple smiled and said breakfast was getting cold.I ate in silence, staring at the fireplace that warmed my wolf and kept her at bay. The second day, I helped her gather herbs. She showed me which leaves healed and which ones were harmful. The roots that could be brewed into tea and which were better left in the ground because they were poisonous.She still did not press me for an answer. She did not mention the power, the sacrifice, nor the choice that waited for me like a door half open. She simply let me be, and I found myself grateful for that. Grateful for the silence and a space where no one expected me to be anything
Kayla Her words hung in the air between us, heavy and charged. I still couldn’t believe my ears about the old woman being a witch, but I was more concerned about how much she knew about me and my chaotic life. I had heard stories of witches, of course. Every werewolf raised in a pack knew the old tales. The covens that had once ruled these lands alongside vampires and werewolves until the great war among all supernatural beings destroyed the peace, and blood magic became outlawed. It was no secret that dark witches still lurked in shadows, waiting to prey on the weak and shake up the peace. But those were stories. Legends. Things that existed in history, not in a cottage in the middle of the forest, and certainly not in the old woman who had just handed me a mug of hot tea and given me dry clothes to wear. And now that I looked closer at the woman, she looked strangely familiar. Like I’d seen her before. Now that I focused on her, she looked like the witch pretending to be a fortu
Nick POVThe pack house had finally gone quiet.Not the peaceful kind of quiet that settled over the valley during early mornings when mist clung to the rooftops and the wolves slept peacefully. This silence felt heavy. Unsettled. Like the entire building was holding its breath after the chaos of t
As everyone waited for Nick's response to the question, Esme came to the rescue. “I think it is wise we all depart back to our homes before emotions run too high and things we might regret are said.”The twin's father agreed and stood up first before his wife and Kayla followed. They made their wa
The words landed like stones dropping into a pond, thrown from kilometers away. Hearing it said out loud, Kira desperately wished for the ground to open and swallow her whole, erasing her existence from the earth. The situation was bad. Very bad. And having all these people in the room made it ver
The thin line between love and hate theory was real. What better way to confirm it as Kayla's face twisted in horror as her eyes moved between Nick and me.I had never seen that look in her eyes. Disgust, disappointment, and sadness. All at the same time, and I felt a piece of me break.What had I







