Veyra’s POVI don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here, pressed back against the cold leather of the seat, but I haven’t moved once. My hands are clenched too tightly in my lap, my nails biting into my skin, but I can’t feel the pain. It’s like my body’s gone numb, except for my chest, where every breath burns and every heartbeat feels sharp enough to cut me open.Their voices drift to me through the stillness.Maybe I shouldn’t be able to hear them. The walls should block their words, but I hear them as clearly as if I’m standing inside that house, right there with them. I tell myself it’s just the bond, stretched thin now that the worst of my heat is behind me. Or maybe it’s something else. Something I’ve always ignored. Something in my blood that never fully belonged to this pack or any other.Sethen’s voice cuts through the silence first, it's calm, steady and cold.“She’s her father’s daughter.”The words shouldn’t surprise me. I already know. But hearing them spoken like that,
Rael’s POVI don’t know what I expected when Sethen started speaking, but it wasn’t this. Of all the horrors I imagined tied to Veyra’s past, this… this wasn’t even a possibility. Varric has haunted my nightmares since I was a boy. His name is something that still makes my skin crawl, even now, after all the blood I’ve spilled and all the years that have passed. He’s the shadow I never outran. The fear I never outgrew.And yet, none of this feels real.Varric never wanted women. That was the one constant. The one thing we all knew. He said they disgusted him. He’d sneer at the very idea of touching one. But it is real. It has to be. Because when I think about it now, think about her strength, her power… it’s more than rogue blood. More than the Velhara. She’s something else entirely. She’s something we’ve never seen before.And I never noticed.Not until Sethen said the name.Not until he said it and I thought of her eyes.I see them now, so clearly it hurts. Veyra’s eyes. Sharp and c
Vane’s POVThe moment we step inside, the scent of smoke and old stone hits me like a wall. The air feels too still, too heavy, as if this house has been holding its breath since the last time someone bled here. Sethen walks ahead without looking back at us, his posture too casual for a man who just admitted to enjoying the thought of his daughter dead. He gestures lazily toward the two waiting maids, who appear as if summoned from the shadows, their heads bowed, their movements stiff. Neither looks at us directly as they move to pour drinks, setting glasses on the heavy table between the chairs.Dagen moves first. He strides across the room without hesitation and lowers himself into the chair nearest the fire. His calm is deliberate, calculated. A message, even if Sethen’s too arrogant to read it. Rael takes the seat beside him, his expression as closed as I’ve ever seen it. Maddox stands for a moment longer, jaw clenched, before he drops into the chair opposite Dagen. His knuckles a
Vane POVThe doors open almost in unison. None of us speak as we step out of the car, the weight of what we’re about to do pressing down harder with every step we take. Maddox leads us, his shoulders squared, though I can tell from the stiffness in his movements that he’s barely holding himself together.Dagen walks beside him, calm and collected as always, his expression unreadable. Rael moves just ahead of me, his silence more dangerous than usual. I bring up the rear, every part of me tense as we cross the short stretch of ground toward the house.Sethen is already waiting. He stands near the front steps, not because he expects us, because he’s too arrogant to think he needs to prepare for anything more than whatever small news we might offer him. His stance is casual, his expression smug. He watches us approach like a man waiting for news he already knows will please him.And when he counts us, four without Veyra, his smirk only grows sharper.“Well,” he says, breaking the silence
Vane’s POVThe car rolls to a smooth stop within the familiar grounds of the pack, and beside me, Veyra releases a quiet sigh as she stares out the tinted window.We all stay seated, not moving instantly. Each of us is waiting to see what she intends to do next, giving her space to take control. There's a chance she will act, not speak or ask questions. People outside begin to gather slowly, their curious gazes fixed on the car and it's clear that they are trying to see who is inside but they don't have any success in it. They whisper among themselves, undoubtedly wondering who sits behind the darkened glass.Finally, Veyra turns her head slightly toward us, though her eyes remain locked on the large doorway where Alpha Sethen stands waiting, watching us carefully, suspicion heavy in his expression."I need you to go out there and tell him I'm dead," she says suddenly, her voice calm and steady, so even and composed it shocks me.I turn sharply in my seat, unable to keep the surprise
Maddox’s POVThe quiet around us feels fragile, almost too thin to trust fully, and as I watch Veyra curled into herself, something deep in my chest tightens painfully. She seems smaller somehow, more vulnerable despite everything we have all seen her capable of. The fire inside her, the one that so effortlessly consumes everything in its path, has dimmed now, leaving behind something softer, something uncertain. I want to reach for her, to hold her and tell her it will be alright, but I know words are not enough to chase away shadows this dark. Instead, I push myself off the wall, turning to pick up the clothes I brought earlier, folded neatly and set aside for when she woke.“You might feel better once you're dressed,” I say quietly, handing them to her carefully, keeping my movements gentle. “We have a lot ahead of us, and it’ll be easier to face if you aren’t wrapped in a blanket.”She blinks up at me, her expression wavering between gratitude and uncertainty, before finally reach