Ashton's POV "The girl I was," Novah said, her voice low, "the one who hid in libraries, who flinched at loud voices, who just wanted…" She trailed off, the memory of crushing loneliness in the cold mansion, the desperate, unrequited yearning for Ashton’s attention, the sting of Loveth’s humiliations – it all washed over her. But this time, the wolf didn’t explode in fury. It growled low, a protective rumble deep in her chest, a shield against the remembered vulnerability. "That girl wouldn’t have survived Silas. She wouldn’t have survived… Nick." The name was a cold stone dropped into the room. Meredith’s breath hitched; Torin’s gaze sharpened, though his expression didn’t change. The memory-scent of cheap cologne and predatory intent threatened to rise, but Novah pushed it down, focusing on the solid presence of Torin, the worried love radiating from Meredith. *Pack. Safety. Strength.*"No," Meredith agreed, her voice thick with emotion. "She wouldn’t have. But you did. You survive
Novah's POVThe silence after the shattering crash was different. Thicker, charged. Porcelain dust hung in the weak morning light filtering through the heavy blue drapes, catching on motes like fractured stars. Novah stood amidst the wreckage of the tray, the bowl, the candlestick, her chest heaving. The raw power that had surged through her moments before still thrummed in her veins, a low, insistent vibration beneath her skin, like a plucked bass string. It wasn't just adrenaline; it was *her*. Her wolf, coiled and watchful, its fury momentarily sated by the act of destruction. Not against a person, but against the memory, the helplessness Nick represented.Meredith’s gasp echoed softly in the high-ceilinged room. The older woman stood frozen near the table, one hand still pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide, not just with fear now, but with a dawning, profound apprehension. Torin remained a silent monolith in the doorway, his dark eyes fixed on Novah, assessing, unreadable. The sce
Novah’s POV "Novah, please—""GET OUT!" The roar shattered the fragile silence. It echoed off the stone walls, raw with power and aggression. Novah surged to her feet, the blanket falling away. Her body thrummed with energy, alien and terrifyingly potent. She felt strong. Frighteningly strong. Capable of tearing the door from its hinges. She took a step towards Meredith, not in threat, but driven by the sheer, overwhelming force of the emotions crashing through her.Meredith stumbled back, genuine fear flashing in her eyes for the first time. The door burst open before Novah reached her.Torin filled the doorway, immense and immovable as the mountain he was named for. His scarred face was impassive, but his dark eyes scanned the room, assessing Novah, Meredith, the tension crackling in the air. He didn’t draw a weapon. He simply *was* there. A wall. A silent command for calm."What is the disturbance?" His voice was a deep rumble, like stones grinding together. He looked at Meredith.
Novah's POVThe silence in the room was a heavy, living thing. Not peaceful. Not restful. It pressed in on Novah like damp wool, thick with the unspoken tension radiating from the stones of Moonstone Keep itself. She lay on the wide bed, staring at the intricate carvings on the ceiling beams – wolves chasing stags, moons in phases – details she hadn’t truly *seen* before. Ten years. Ten years stolen, leaving her a stranger in her own skin, in this fortress that hummed with a pulse she felt deep in her marrow.A pulse that was currently a discordant thrum of fear, grief, and a low-burning anger. It vibrated through the mattress, up her spine. *Finn’s pyre burns.* The thought surfaced, unbidden, sharp and cold. She didn’t know Finn. Not consciously. But the collective grief of the pack, sharp as a blade, sliced through the fog in her mind. She felt the echo of a young life extinguished, the raw agony of a mother’s loss emanating from the eastern quarter. It blended sickeningly with the
ASHTON'S POV Silence stretched, thick and charged. The pulse beneath their feet seemed to hold its breath. Bren’s jaw clenched, his knuckles still white, but his gaze flickered towards Ashton, no longer avoiding his eyes. Doric held his stare, the defiance warring with something else – a flicker of understanding, perhaps, or just the ingrained habit of obedience to the Alpha’s will. The scents shifted subtly – less sour fear, more the sharp, clean scent of resolve, like cold steel drawn."And the cost?" Doric pressed, though his voice had lost some of its edge. "Borin’s price? The Nightstalkers? We trade water, blood… our souls?""We trade what we must to *keep* our souls," Ashton countered flatly. "Short of the land itself. Short of handing over our own. Borin remembers Silas’s teeth. So does Lyra. They’ll bleed him for us, and we’ll pay them in the coin of vengeance. It’s the only currency jackals like Silas understand." He looked at Bren. "Your brother’s blood *demands* payment, B
ASHTON'S POVThe predawn air in the courtyard bit like Silvermane teeth, sharp and cold. Ashton stood near the mounting block, the scent of frost, horse sweat, and damp stone thick in his nostrils. The sky was a bruised purple bleeding into grey at the eastern edge. Moonstone Keep loomed behind him, a hulking silhouette against the fading night, its ancient stones humming with the restless pulse of the pack. It wasn't a sound you heard with your ears; it was a vibration felt in the marrow, a discordant thrum of fear, anticipation, exhaustion, and a low-burning anger. Hundreds of hearts, hundreds of breaths, all tangled together in a knot of shared dread. Ten years ago, this pulse had been a steady drumbeat of security. Now, it felt like the frantic flutter of a trapped bird.Rylan materialized from the gloom near the stables, his silhouette solid and scarred against the lantern light. He moved with the quiet certainty of a predator, but the lines around his eyes were deeper in the gre