ADAM“FIND THEM!”Tyler’s voice echoed like a curse through the trees, but I didn’t slow down.Branches snapped against my shoulders. The wind tore past my ears. Each breath burned, but I held her tighter.Selena.Her weight in my arms light, too light reminded me of everything I’d lost and everything I had to protect now. Her hair fluttered across my forearm like silk, her skin cold against mine.I ran faster.The moon blinked behind the clouds as I crossed the border into my territory. Tyler wouldn't dare follow. Not here. Not into the land ruled by a man his brother betrayed and one my father still ruled with an iron grudge.I pushed through the heavy wooden door of my hidden cabin, one only I used. My chest heaved as I gently placed her on the bed, the old mattress creaking beneath her still form. Her lips were pale. Her lashes rested like shadows on her cheeks. She didn’t stir."Selena..." I whispered, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. Her skin was clammy. Lifeless.
SELENASomething felt off the moment I opened my eyes.My chest ached, like a warning. My limbs trembled, but it wasn’t from the cold. Strength coursed through me too much, too fast yet beneath it all, I was crumbling. My body buzzed, overwhelmed, but my vision… My vision was fading.I blinked, trying to focus on the wavering shapes around me, but the world looked like it had been dipped in mist. A smear of colors, shadows without faces. And then, I saw it hanging above the tent’s opening like an omen. The half moon.No. Not tonight.A chill slipped down my spine.I wasn’t safe.“You okay?” Stephen’s voice cut through the haze like a lifeline. His presence was steady, his gaze heavy with concern as he crouched in front of me.“I don’t know,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I tried to meet his eyes but all I saw was a blur of his silhouette, and the way the moonlight glossed the edges of his figure like silver fire.I squeezed my eyes shut.“I can hardly see you,” I confessed, gripp
ADAMThe air in Alpha Tyler’s war tent crackled with tension. The scent of blood and iron clung to the canvas walls, thick as smoke. I stood beside him, pretending to scan the battle maps spread across the table, pretending not to notice the way he kept his body angled just enough to shield me from his private thoughts.He didn’t trust me not completely. And that was fine.Because I didn’t trust him either.He and Julia had grown too close. Whispered conversations late into the night. Glances that held more than they should. I acted oblivious, played the loyal guest and ally. But I heard things—things they thought I missed.Like their plan to capture the healer wolf.My Selena.The tent flap stirred suddenly, wind fluttering through like a warning. A sharp cry pierced the quiet, and a large black-feathered bird swooped in, landing gracefully on Tyler’s outstretched arm. A small scroll was tied to its leg. His lips curled into a smug smile as he untied it.I didn't need to read the not
JULIA The Witcher didn’t speak at first.Her silence hung between us like a heavy fog, thick and pressing, curling around my lungs until it became hard to breathe. Shadows stretched beneath the canopy of the woods, and the trees around her seemed to lean in, as though they too were waiting for her verdict.Then she laughed.Low. Cracked. Joyless.It wasn’t the laugh of someone amused. It was the sound of something broken, something ancient and bitter, something that had seen too much of the world to find any humor in it anymore.The laugh echoed, bouncing off bark and bone, and with it came the chill of a hundred warnings.“We’ll see,” she rasped at last, her head tilting slightly, that crooked grin cutting across her face like a scar. “We’ll see if you can afford what you’re asking for.”From the folds of her robe, she drew a small glass jar. The contents shimmered faintly liquid silver laced with shadows and she held it out to me with fingers knotted by age and power.“At the first
ADAM“Leave that to me,” she said, my voice low, firm. “I have my ways.”Julia’s voice filtered through the thin canvas of Alpha Tyler’s tent. I stayed hidden, pressed against the shadows just a few feet away, barely breathing. Her words were sharp, her tone too calm like someone sealing a dangerous deal.I shouldn’t be here. Not in enemy territory. But I had no choice. Business, I told myself. That was the excuse. Truth was, I was here for the healer wolf.The moment her powers awakened, the entire realm felt it. It rippled through the earth like a storm, raw and ancient. I remember where I was that night my chest tightening, my wolf howling from within, recognizing something sacred. The Healer Wolf had returned.What I didn’t expect... was her.Selena.My woman. My everything.Why the Moon Goddess chose her for such a burden, I’ll never understand. The role of the healer wasn’t meant for chains or cages. It was meant for freedom, to protect the balance of the realm. But Alpha Tyler
JULIAThe war erupted after Alpha Kingsley’s death. That was the official reason, but I knew better. Beneath the smoke and bloodshed, this was personal Stephen’s rage had set it all in motion.And yet, while everyone played their roles, soldiers dying, Alphas clashing, I saw an opportunity.If the Bloodfang Pack thought they had the upper hand, what would they do if their most dangerous weapon was suddenly turned against them?Selena.I clenched my fists as I paced behind Stephen’s tent. That cursed girl. The moment I saw the mark of the moon flare on her skin, I knew she wasn’t just some naive, fragile wolf. She was the Healer Wolf. The one from stories whispered to pups under full moons. Chosen. Sacred. Powerful.And now, she was nestled safely in our camp. Beside my Stephen.I peeked around the corner of the canvas again, watching as he touched her like she was made of light. His voice was softer with her. His gaze lingered. And that smile tired but full of something I hadn’t seen
JULIAThe academy walls still echoed in my mind as we were forced to leave without warning. Confused and bitter, I returned to the pack grounds, hoping to make sense of it all only to be slapped in the face by the truth. Alpha Kingsley was dead. Stephen’s father. Murdered. And just like that, Stephen was crowned the new Alpha of Bloodfang.I should have been thrilled. I was this close to everything I’d ever wanted. Being Luna. Being his queen. Standing beside him while the world bowed.But something was off.Stephen had changed. Cold. Silent. Distant. He buried himself in war plans and strategy meetings, barely looking at me, barely touching me. I told myself he was grieving, and maybe he was. But grief didn’t explain the way his gaze slid past me like I wasn’t even there.Still, I stayed. Loyal. Devoted. His girlfriend.I followed him to the war front, dressed in armor I didn’t need, hoping to catch his attention again. Maybe if I fought beside him, he’d remember who I was to him. Ma
SELENAI didn’t answer. I couldn’t.My lips parted, but no sound came.Air clung to my lungs like frost, sharp and unrelenting. My chest ached, not from pain but from the weight of something invisible like I’d swallowed stars and they were collapsing in on themselves.Live… but forget him?Forget everything?My fingers curled in on themselves, trembling in my lap. They didn’t feel like mine anymore. Nothing did.“Are you ready for that, child?” the Moon Goddess asked, her voice barely more than a breath in the vastness around us.The realm stilled. No wind, no rustling leaves just the heavy pause of a world waiting for my decision.Was this really the only way?I stared at the ground, my thoughts spiraling. Would I lose everything? My memories? My love? My pain? Was that the cost of peace?Lysara’s words echoed in my mind like a whisper across time. It’s your choice. War or peace. Destruction or sacrifice.Stephen’s face flashed behind my eyes. Not the cruel mask he often wore, but th
SELENAI stared at him, unsure if I should believe what he’d just said or even trust what I was feeling.“But… how?” I whispered.Alpha Kingsley smiled, but it wasn’t the same gentle smile he gave when the warriors returned safely from patrol. This one was older etched with something ancient. His eyes held layers: wisdom carved by battle, faith forged in silence… and a love too deep to measure.“I still have enough strength to open the door,” he said softly. “After that... you must walk through it alone.”I blinked, confused.He’s barely strong enough to sit upright. How can he open a door to the goddess? And even if he does… am I truly strong enough to face her?“You’re still weak,” I said, the words leaving my lips before I could stop them. “You need strength to do that.”He shifted in the bed, straightening slowly but with undeniable purpose. His voice dropped an octave, sharp with pride. “I am Alpha Kingsley of the Bloodfang Pack. You don’t tell your alpha he’s weak.”His expressi