Nathaniel's POVThe council chamber was quiet, except for the steady crackling of the fire in the hearth. The warmth barely reached where I sat at the head of the long wooden table. My fingers tapped against the armrest of my chair, the sound faint but steady, the only other movement in the room.I was waiting.A sharp knock echoed through the chamber before the heavy wooden doors creaked open. Elias stepped inside, moving with the measured confidence he was known for. He was one of my most trusted council members, a man who never wasted words or acted without thought. His loyalty was unwavering, but more importantly, his judgment was sound.He took a seat across from me, his expression serious."Alpha," he greeted with a respectful nod.I returned the nod but didn’t bother with pleasantries. "You have news?"Elias placed a rolled parchment on the table but didn’t immediately open it. His eyes met mine, his expression grave. "We’ve received new reports from our scouts regarding Glassf
Duncan’s POVSomething had changed.I noticed it during the last few days. It was hard to miss. Stephanie and Antonio were speaking more than usual. I’d walk into a room, and they’d both go quiet. Sometimes their talks looked serious. Sometimes they looked too casual. Either way, I didn’t like it.I didn’t say anything at first. I watched. I listened. I let them think I wasn’t paying attention. But today, I couldn’t hold back.I found Antonio in the hallway, near the council room. He was reading a paper, leaning against the wall like he had nothing to worry about. When he saw me coming, he lowered the paper slowly, like he had all the time in the world.“Alpha,” he said with a small nod.I stopped in front of him and kept my voice steady. “You’ve been talking to Stephanie a lot lately.”He raised an eyebrow, but his face stayed calm. “She’s your wife. It would be strange if I wasn’t polite to her.”“I didn’t say you were being polite,” I replied. “I said you’ve been talking.”He shrug
Nathaniel’s POVI stood in front of the wooden dresser, pulling out the clothes I would need. A dark shirt, plain trousers, my old boots. I placed them one by one on the bed, trying to stay focused. My sword was already cleaned and resting against the wall. My travel bag was half full. I had packed it the night before, but I wasn’t done.I had waited long enough.Alexander was still out there and his silence had started to unsettle me. He was too quiet.I didn’t trust the silence.Behind me, I could hear Phoebe’s slow breathing. She was sitting in the chair near the window. She hadn’t spoken much since I started packing again. She just watched. I could feel her eyes on me as I folded another shirt and placed it in the bag.“You’re really going,” she said at last.I didn’t turn to look at her. “Yes.”She stood up slowly. I heard her footsteps before I saw her. She came to stand beside the bed, just watching me as I pulled the laces tight on the pack.“You don’t even know where he is,”
Duncan’s POVI sat at my desk, my fingers tapping slowly on the wooden surface. The room was quiet except for the soft ticking of the old clock on the wall. I had been staring at the same report for ten minutes, but the words no longer made sense to me. My thoughts were somewhere else.A knock came at the door. It wasn’t loud, but it was firm.“Come in,” I said.One of my warriors stepped inside. He bowed quickly and held out a folded piece of paper.“This just came in, Alpha. A messenger brought it. He said it’s from Alexander of the Moonhowl Pack.”I frowned. “Alexander?”“Yes, Alpha. He asked that you read it yourself. He didn’t say anything else.”I stood up and took the message from his hand. I waited until the warrior left the room before opening it.The paper was short. Neat handwriting. Alexander had written that he wanted to meet with me, that there were serious matters to talk about. He asked if he could come to the Glassfur Pack.I read it twice, then again. I sat down slow
Duncan’s POVAlexander was coming to the Glassfur pack. Since I started to have the altercations with his pack over Phoebe, there wasn't a time I hadn't thought of doing nasty things to one of them to send a message to Nathaniel. But from what I had learned, it was pointless to try to use him to get to Nathaniel. He didn't care about the brother, and he was a rebel. Alexander was simply chasing his own interests while his brother chased his own interests. But outright rebellion was what I had not seen coming. How could Phoebe be in the midst of such chaos? How could she claim to be happy in a pack where the brothers were at war and probably didn't give a shit about whatever was happening with her?Granted, she was fierce and could help herself through the chaos, but wasn't there more peace here for her?Here, she would be in the councils and discuss how to run the pack with me. She would have a voice here and her opinions would be heard. What if she wasn't even given that opportuni
Duncan's POV I didn't get a response from Alexander when the tension in the room started to grow even worse. I looked around and saw that Antonio had a bewildered expression on his face. Alexander simply looked unmoved by what I had said. Stephanie had her mouth hanging open.But before I could speak, Stephanie rose from her seat, her hands pressed flat against the table.“You can’t be serious,” she snapped, her voice sharp. “You want to join hands with this man just to take back a woman? Of all the women, Phoebe? The same Phoebe?”I didn’t look at her. “Sit down, Stephanie,” I commanded. My voice carried an authority that I usually exercised when I spoke to her and she wasn't complying.“No,” she said quickly. “This is madness. You’ve lost focus. You don’t want to lead, you want revenge. You want a woman who clearly wants nothing to do with you. A woman who's been taken by another man and is now working for and with him. Heck. I even learned they're mates!”Antonio stood up and rais
Nathaniel’s POVThe sun had already started going down when we finally reached the gates of the Star-Rain Pack. The air was cool, and the sky was streaked with orange and pale gold. I had sent word ahead that I would be arriving, but I didn’t expect the gates to be wide open and a small group waiting right at the entrance.Alpha Winston stood in the center. His back was straight, and his eyes were sharp, even though he looked to be around my father’s age. His hair was more white than gray, and his beard was trimmed neatly. Beside him stood a few of his elders and warriors, all dressed in formal clothing. They made a line behind their alpha, their heads slightly bowed as we approached.I brought my horse to a stop and dismounted. Winston stepped forward and gave me a firm handshake, both his hands gripping mine.“Alpha Nathaniel,” he said with a smile, “your visit honors us more than you know.”“Thank you,” I replied, keeping my voice steady. “It means a lot to be received so openly.”
Nathaniel's POVThe dining hall was quiet when I entered. The walls were made of strong stone, and golden lamps hung in neat lines along both sides. Their light was soft and steady. A long table stretched through the center of the room. Only a few seats were filled. Alpha Winston stood up when he saw me. His smile was wide, and he opened his arms as if greeting an old friend."Alpha Nathaniel," he said. "You honor us. Please, sit beside me."I gave him a polite nod. "Thank you for the invitation."He gestured to the seat on his right, and I moved to take it. To his left sat his beta, Daniel. Daniel was tall and thin, with short black hair and a calm face. He nodded at me, and I returned the greeting. A little further down was an elder, his white beard reaching the top of his chest. He sat straight and held a cup with both hands.Winston looked toward the young woman standing beside him. Her hair was a rich brown color, pulled into a clean twist behind her head. She wore a gold dress t
Phoebe's POVI made my way out of the pack house, the cool morning air brushing against my face as I walked toward the training grounds. My thoughts were a tangled mess, but there was one thing I needed to do. I had to talk to Kara. She was still an enigma to me, and there was so much I didn’t understand about her. What I did know was that something wasn’t adding up. She had access to information about Nathaniel’s movements, and that, to me, was far too suspicious to ignore any longer.I had to ask her. I had to know what she was hiding.When I reached the training grounds, Kara was there, practicing with a few of the warriors. Her movements were sharp and precise, every strike a calculated one. I watched her for a moment, not saying anything. She hadn’t noticed me yet, and part of me wasn’t sure if I wanted to interrupt her. There was something about the way she moved, like she wasn’t fully part of the pack, but more like she was doing this because she had to.The sounds of blades hi
Duncan's POVThe light filtering through the curtains barely reached my bed, and the faint, cold touch of morning was already creeping across my skin. My head felt like it was being crushed between two stone walls, the weight of the previous night pressing on me. I groaned, feeling the ache in my skull, the headache so sharp I could barely open my eyes. Slowly, I dragged myself into a sitting position, trying to fight the dizziness that swept over me.The events of last night were still a blur, a combination of frustration, too much alcohol, and anger that I couldn’t seem to shake. Antonio and Stephanie were still nowhere to be found, and the pressure of not knowing where they were or what they were doing felt like a constant weight in my chest.A soft sound caught my attention. I glanced to the side, my eyes finally opening to see the servant girl standing by the door, a tray in her hands. She didn’t say anything, just silently approached me, setting the tray down on the small table
Duncan's POVThe day had stretched long, and the news that came from my warriors only made the time feel heavier. No sign of Antonio. No word of Stephanie. I had expected a different report, maybe even a break in the hunt, but what I got was frustration. Over and over, I heard the same thing: “Nothing yet, Alpha.” It was enough to make my blood boil, but I couldn’t show it. Not yet. I had to keep my calm, had to pretend that it was all still under control.I paced the length of my chambers, my mind working through each possibility, each route they could have taken. Had they gone east? South? Were they hiding under my nose? Nothing made sense, and with every moment that passed, the anger inside me grew.One of my warriors dared to speak up. His voice had a tremor in it, like he knew he was treading on dangerous ground. “Alpha,” he began cautiously. “Perhaps we need better informants. Someone who knows Antonio's habits, his movements. Someone who might know where he’s hiding.”I didn’t
Nathaniel’s POVThe wheels of our vehicles crunched against the uneven ground as we pushed deeper into the neutral territories. The air felt heavier with each passing mile, thick with tension. I had hoped we’d be able to find Alexander by now, but the farther we traveled, the more uncertain the trail became. Every stop we made, we questioned locals and travelers, but the answers we got were always mixed, sometimes contradictory.“Did you see anyone who fits this description?” I asked a man who was sitting near the side of the road, sharpening a blade.He glanced at the sketch in my hand and shook his head. “Can’t say I’ve seen anyone like that. But there’s a lot of strangers passing through these parts.”I thanked him and turned to the others. “Let’s keep moving. We’re not getting any closer here.”We continued on, the air growing drier and the landscape more barren as we ventured into the heart of these lawless lands. I could feel the weight of the mission pressing on me. This wasn’t
Nathaniel’s POVThe night was quiet, but I was not resting. I sat near the fire, watching the flames move. They made soft popping sounds as the wood burned. My men were nearby. Some were sitting like me, others were checking supplies. No one was speaking much. We were waiting.Then I heard footsteps. One of my scouts walked toward me. He looked serious, not rushed, but I could tell he had something important to say. He stopped a few steps away from me and gave a small nod.“We got something,” he said. His voice was low. He looked around once before speaking again. “It’s from our contact. The one in the west neutral zone.”I stood up slowly. “What did they say?”He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. I took it and opened it with both hands. The words were written in short lines. I read each one carefully, not skipping anything.“Alexander was seen. Not far from the southern ridge. Traveling through the neutral zone. He has a woman and a man with him.”I
Phoebe’s POVWhen I got back to my room, the door creaked a little as I pushed it open. I stepped inside and closed it behind me, turning the lock without thinking. The room was quiet. I could hear a soft hum coming from outside, maybe the wind or some insects still moving around.I stood still for a few seconds, looking around. Everything was just the way I had left it—my bed neatly made, the blankets smooth, the pillow resting where it always did. My boots were near the wall. A glass of water sat untouched on the table beside the bed.I walked over to the bed and sat down slowly. My hands rested on my knees. I looked down at the floor, at the way the wood had little lines and marks from years of use. I had been hoping to rest, maybe even sleep for a bit, but my body didn’t feel tired. My eyes were open wide, and my mind wouldn’t stop moving.The words Kara had said kept playing in my head like they were on a loop. Duncan wasn’t the same. He was getting worse. People were afraid of h
Phoebe’s POVKara and I had another walk when she talked and I listened.As I followed, Kara glanced back at me, then looked forward again. She didn’t smile or frown. Her face was still. We moved toward the trees at the edge of the camp. A few steps more, and we were out of sight from everyone. No guards, no other pack members. Just us.“Is this far enough?” she asked, stopping near a small patch of grass. A few flat stones were nearby.I looked around, then gave a short nod. “Yeah. This is fine.”She sat down first, brushing leaves away from the rock before resting on it. I stayed standing for a moment longer, unsure. I didn’t feel that tightness in my chest like I usually did when she was near. My hands weren’t curled into fists. My thoughts weren’t racing. I slowly sat down on a rock across from her. It was cool and smooth under me.“I didn’t think you’d agree to this,” she said after a long pause. Her voice was low and even.“I almost didn’t,” I replied. “But I guess I’m tired of
Phoebe's POV I stood outside Alpha Darius’s office, my hands by my sides. The hallway was quiet, but my thoughts were not. Someone had come to find me a few minutes earlier, saying the old Alpha wanted to see me. No explanation, no message, just a request to come now. After everything that happened during the attack, I wasn’t sure what this meeting would be about.I knocked once, firm and clear.“Come in,” came his voice from inside, steady as always.I pushed the door open and stepped in.Alpha Darius was standing behind his desk. His face, strong with age but still sharp, looked directly at me. His hair had more grey in it than before, but nothing about him had softened. He didn’t sit down. He stood tall, his arms resting on the desk, like he had been waiting.“Phoebe,” he said, his tone calm.I gave a short nod. “Alpha Darius.”He gestured for me to come closer. “You did well.”I blinked. “Sir?”“During the attack,” he said, folding his arms, “you kept things steady. You helped th
Duncan's POV I couldn’t sit still. I had to move, had to find the answers. The weight of everything pressing down on me was unbearable. Antonio, Stephanie, the sorceress—everything felt like a lie. I needed to confront the source of it all, and for that, I had to find the sorceress.She had been the one who planted the seed in my mind. She had been the one to tell me about Phoebe’s importance. And now, after everything I overheard, I couldn’t let it go. I had to know the truth.I stormed out of my office and made my way through the pack house with hurried steps. The hallway stretched ahead, but nothing felt as familiar anymore. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how little I actually knew. How easily I had been manipulated.I reached the stables quickly, where my horse was kept. I didn’t need anyone’s help; I didn’t care for the usual formalities. I grabbed the reins and mounted with swift movements, the saddle creaking under me. My heart burned with frustration and ang