Talia's POVI pace the storage room, my mind tangled in thoughts. I can't even say this is what I'm thinking about because a series of it flashes across my head. Should I give in to these feelings now or face the battle ahead? I don't know who I am at this moment as that voice refuses to leave my head. Am I meant for another Pack? Am I in the wrong place right now?The wooden walls of the storage room feel tighter now that I'm stuck in here with Bran, and the fact that I almost lean into whatever is about to happen between us doesn't help my nerves.Bran is watching me, leaning on a stack of crates, his lips curled in amusement. "You're going to wear a hole in the floor at this rate."I pause, just enough to stare at him before continuing my pacing. "I'm thinking, Bran.""So am I." He smirks.I narrow my eyes, moving to his side, "And what, exactly, are you thinking about?"He straightens, stretching his arms before resting them on his hips. "That we need to unite the Misfits and the
Talia's POVThe Starlight Pack is throwing a party for us.This action lifted my eyebrows. Lanterns swing from above the trees, filling the lawn with bright light. Long tables are loaded with delicious cuisine-roasted meats, hot bread, and fruits that look almost too good to be true. A bonfire pops in the middle; fire kindles up into midnight while wolves from the Starlight Pack and the Misfits stick together.It's like a dream.I used to get teased, overlooked and turned away here. Now? Everyone's pushing and trying to sneak a peek at me."Is that her?""She's different," another murmured in awe.I keep my expression neutral, but inside, my wolf Tiara snorts. "They're acting like you grew another head.""They never expected me to survive," I reply silently.Bran keeps pace with me, his presence grounding as we walk together. He stays quiet, but I can sense his eyes on me as we navigate the crowd. He's tense. I can tell."His wolf won't stop pacing," Tiara notes with amusement. "He's
Talia's POV"Are you seriously blindfolding me?""Yes," Bran says.I cross my arms as Bran leads me to whatever he calls the surprise. I just hope it is worth it. "Bran, if this is another one of your pranks, I swear-""It's not," he chuckles; he places his hands gently, adjusting the fabric over my eyes. "Trust me, Talia."Trust.I huff, but I allow him to lead me on. his hand is warm around mine as we walk. The air is crisp, and I can perceive sweet smells all around- jasmine, maybe. The party has calmed down, leaving the murmur of the Pack Members settling in for bed.Bran moves slowly, making sure I don't trip, but it's not like I can't sense where I am. The ground shifts from dirt to smooth stone, and then the air around us feels... different, like I'm in an open area now."Almost there," Bran murmurs in anticipation.Tiara stirs in my mind. "He's nervous."Bran? Nervous? That's a rare sight.Whatever this is, it's important to him, she muses. Let's not make him suffer too much.
Talia's POVMy palace balcony is peaceful under the moonlight shining on the garden. I spread my arms wide, eyes shut, savoring the fresh breeze on my skin. Months of battles and quests have passed. I'm at the Starlight Pack and need some fresh air to relax before deciding my next move.My mind is racing with thoughts about the Misfits starting anew here, and I need to help them find jobs for their survival. I'll put those worries aside and enjoy the fresh air now. A new day awaits tomorrow.I rest on the stone railing, gazing at the landscape. The Misfits finally have a home. I finally have a home.Yet, my chest is tight.Because despite all of this, surviving, rejection, leading an entire pack, winning battles, and proving my worth-there's still one thing unresolved.Bran.Tiara hums softly in my mind. "You're thinking about him again."No, I'm not, I lie, my fingers tightening on the railing.Tiara huffs in amusement. "You forget that I can feel everything you do."I exhale, raking
Talia's POVGolden sunlight streams in, filtering through the curtains and illuminating the floor. I wake up slowly, stretching on the soft sheets.Then realization dawns on me.I'm at Bran's palace.Last night's memories make my heart race. The talk and the kiss made me stay when feelings became overwhelming. Not that anything else happened. Bran frustratingly remained respectful, saying goodnight after our intense moment.I feel both grateful and frustrated. He should have escorted me back home, but he didn't and I know he wants me around. We felt so emotional that after saying goodbye to each other last night, we strolled to the gate where I was supposed to go back, but we were lost in talks till I followed him to his chambers.Timid person.Tiara laughs in my thoughts. He's being patient because he values you. That, or he enjoys torturing himself.I grunt while flipping onto my stomach. I'm unsure if I should be impressed or annoyed.A knock interrupts my thoughts, and Bran's deep
Talia's POVThe air hums in anticipation as the Starfit Pack is preparing for the Moon Festival. Yes, Starfit, that is the name I and Bran agreed on to name the two Packs. We figured since we've merged, we should start seeing ourselves as one and it's only right we answer a unique name as a symbol of our unity.Lanterns float in the sky, glowing orbs of soft silver, mimicking the full moon that watches over us. The Starlight Pack's annual Moon Festival is in full swing, and for the first time, the Misfits are part of it in a normal Pack.Laughter fills the courtyard as wolves from both packs come together, bringing the aroma of roasted meats, wines, and sweet pastries. The festival celebrates unity and honours the Moon Goddess, allowing wolves to momentarily escape their struggles.I should be excited.But instead, I'm trapped in my chambers as Lyric will not let me go. I shouldn't have agreed when they volunteered to pick my dress; I agree I'm awful when it comes to picking outfits o
Talia's POV The fresh morning air buzzes with energy. The Royal Hunt, a long-standing tradition of the Starlight Pack, is starting soon. Now that the Starlight Pack is now the Starfit, it only means we'll participate too. My warriors are ready and so are Bran's. I stand at the hunting grounds' edge, inhaling pine and fresh earth. Warriors from the Starlight Pack and Misfits assemble, stretching, sharpening weapons, or shifting in anticipation. Bran and I will co-lead our first official event today as Alphas. And I'm going to win. I don't know why I'm so sure of winning, something tells me I will. Tiara sparks within me, I think we're on the same page on this. "We are going to crush them." I chuckle to myself. "Absolutely, we are." I sense a warm presence behind me and instantly recognize it. That's the one who wouldn't leave my side for once. "Try not to look too excited, Talia," Bran's voice purrs, amusement in his tone. "You'll scare the prey away." I glance over my shoulde
Talia's POV"Alpha!" Serena's voice rings from behind me which distracts me from my routine. What could be the issue? My friends know how much I don't like my routine distracted, so for Serena to push that aside, it only means whatever this is, is worth it."Serena, I'm busy and you know that." I try to remind her."Trust me, Alpha, this is worth your time because it's your sworn duty." She replies grinning like she just won a lottery. Something is fishy, I know it the moment Serena drags me away from my training routine, claiming there's an "urgent meeting" I need to attend."What kind of meeting?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her as she hauls me through the palace halls.She shrugs dramatically. "Important Alpha stuff. You wouldn't understand."I stop walking. "Serena, I am the Alpha."Serena grins innocently. "Then you need to be there."Before I can argue, Lyric and Luna appear, blocking my path with matching mischievous expressions."What are you two up to?" I ask because the exp
Aunt Merle The cup is warm in my hands, though my fingers have started to shake a little. From remembering too much and too fast. I promised myself not to recollect those sad days again. But the moment Talia mentions it, that old steady part of me takes over again. The part that always knew when to hold on and when to speak. I set the cup down gently on the side table and turned to her face. She sits quietly across from me, her eyes narrowed enough to show she's trying to piece together things faster than I'm revealing them. And maybe she is. She's always been quick. Elara would have called it "moon-wit," the gift of seeing through what's unspoken. That's part of her awakening anyway. I sigh. "The first thing she made," I begin again, smoothing my palm across my knee, "was what she called the Enchanted Stew of Plenty." Talia's head lifts a little. Her lips part. I see the memory hit her instantly. "Wait," she says slowly, "I-I made that. When I left the Starlight Pack. I was on
Merle's POV The sky is pale when I leave my house, a faint blush of pink stretching above the rooftops like an apology for the cold. I pull my shawl tighter around my shoulders, fingers stiff with age and something else I won't name yet. Something tugging at my heart, low and slow, like a warning hum in the bones. I dreamed of Elara last night. My sister, as she was and as she no longer is-or shouldn't be. She stood at the edge of a field I didn't recognize, surrounded by a stillnes so deep it felt unnatural. She didn't speak with her mouth. Her lips didn't move. But I heard her voice all the same, soft and clear as spring wind. She flowed in the air like she was some kind of liquid and then took someone else's form again before standing and backing me. Free me. It wasn't like a plea when she said it. It was a command. And I-I woke with my throat raw from unshed cries, sweat clinging to the back of my neck. But it wasn't fear I felt. It was certainty. Certain that something w
Talia's POV The ache in my chest has nothing to do with the trials. Not this time. It starts the moment I open my eyes and realize I'm still hearing her voice, not in echoes or memory, but as if she's still speaking to me through something beyond the veil. Free me. It won't stop circling in my head, curling into corners of my mind, I thought were hardened by now. But the softness is still there-the part of me that remembers how her arms felt, how her laugh sounded when I got my first shift wrong and ended up stuck halfway for a full hour. And since then, I couldn't shift again till I suddenly didn't see her again. I had believed my mother when she said we were relocating for good, and because I was being laughed at for not being able to shift. What if our relocation was because of threats or something? I heard of Grandma's demise shortly after our relocation, and I never got the chance to say goodbye properly to her. Could this be what I'm thinking? I sit up, slowly. The palac
POV: BellaI never planned to return to him, and definitely not here in his so-called chambers where everyone literally runs around when he barks orders. I don't want to be anyone's puppet. Not again. I vowed to rise all by myself and take my rightful position at the top.But life has a way of stripping your pride until all you have left are the bones of survival. And tonight, I walk on those bones-step by step-toward the place I swore I would never crawl back to.Ahead lie the gates of the Dark Council, adorned with ancient carvings and writhing shadows. They recognize me and that's because I don't seem to stay away from here. Even though I tried to stay away, they kept me like a ghost in their halls.I lower my hood. My face is raw from the wind and shame. I walk in freely as always. The guards don't stop me. He must've known I'd come.I walk into the chamber. It hasn't changed. The same looming pillars, carved obsidian thrones, and his suffocating presence cling to my lungs like sm
Marlik's POV (The Head of the Dark Council)They call me the Hand of Silence. The One Who Casts the Longest Shadow. But names lose meaning after centuries. What matters is control and purpose. And keeping chaos chained at the edge of the world.And yet, even now, even with the full strength of the Dark Council bent beneath my voice, my mind lingers elsewhere.Bella.Her name lingers like a thorn in my breath. It's distracting.I remember the first time I saw her. She was clearly broken, but not crushed. That's the type of woman I like. A young woman with fire behind her betrayal. Most who betray their pack run with shame and regret. But she held no regret. Only bitterness, and hunger-for power, recognition and for something more than what the Starlight Pack ever allowed her to be.She was cast out after her deception-the foolish plot to replace Bran's fated mate with a rogue's child in disguise. A gamble as bold as it was stupid. And when it failed, she expected death. Instead, she wa
Author's NarrationTalia stirs beneath her blanket, but her eyes remain shut. She's gone again, not in body, but in spirit.This is the second trance. The next gate is as the Moon Goddess has instructed.She wakes in a place where everything hums. The sky is gold. The ground feels like air. Light moves like water, rising and falling in waves. There's no wind, scent, or sound-just the heavy presence of something waiting.She stands, heart quiet but alert. She knows now not to speak because the Trials don't answer to voice, only to action. The Moonstone glows faintly on her chest, and she grazes it with her fingers. It feels warm and ticking, like her heartbeat.The light around her shifts, pulling itself into a straight path which leads her on as she takes cautious steps.After walking on air for some seconds, the golden air fades, and she finds herself in a clearing ringed by tall glass walls. Each one shows a version of her. In one, she's small again, clutching her mother's scarf. In
POV: The Dark Council Head "You should be scared of the man you're becoming. Despite all the powers and fights, you lack that inner peace you've always wanted. You have no mate, no children and most of all no joy. It's painful because I'm tied to you. And now I cannot even have my fair share of happiness just because you chose the dark part." Fen my wolf purrs. He won't just keep quiet for once. "I am Malrik. This is the life I have chosen, and as a part of me, you deal with it." When I said everyone turned against me when I was a nobody, I mean everyone including my wolf. Don't get this wrong. He was once my ally, but since I chose this part he turned. Fen and I had never agreed since then. At first, I was not happy about it, and I cursed Selene for giving me a wolf who was not always on the same page with me, but not anymore. He can think whatever or say anything. My plan stays. I had once been hidden. But not anymore. Now I shake the ground of every supernatural court. Vampi
POV: The Dark Council HeadI walk down the corridor in silence. The floor beneath my boots is cold, each step I take echoing through the hall. I don't enjoy the silence, but I've grown used to it. These halls remember everything. Every lie. Every betrayal. Every choice I made.She floats beside me, her spirit glowing faintly in the light. Elara. The keeper's grandmother. She was once a powerful wolf. Now, just a spirit. But still dangerous and still strong. I guess that's my mistake. I should have ended her life that night. I shouldn't have locked her spirit up. "You walked without permission," I say. My tone is calm, but it has a warning behind it. "Again."She lets out a dry laugh. "I don't belong to you."We keep walking. The torches along the walls flicker more brightly as she passes. Even fire respects her. That's always been the case."No," I object. "But you are bound here. You should know your boundaries. You can't just keep roaming about any time you feel like, you know; som
POV: The Old Keeper (The New Seer)I was never supposed to hear her voice again. But she never seems to stop calling and coming. The hall glows, a hint of her presence.The old runes on the walls emit a dim shimmer-not bright enough to chase away shadows, but enough to remind me that I'm not alone down here. I sit with my back against the cold stone wall, my legs stretched before me and one foot bouncing softly in rhythm with the whispers in my head. The whispers never stopped since she returned. Or let's say since she had been aware of my presence here.I remember once being brave and knowing who I was. Now I count moments by the number of breaths I can take before my past claws its way into my thoughts.And just like every time before, here she comes.Her voice reaches me before her form does-soft, low, and carried like wind through bone."You remember more than you should."It echoes through the hall like it's soaked in moonlight. Her hunting yet comforting voice. She's closer now