LOGINWarren’s POVEamon had the unsettling habit of speaking like time wasn’t pressing down on all of us.He moved slowly around the table, adjusting the stones that held the map flat as though he were arranging something ceremonial rather than tactical. Every instinct in me bristled at the delay. Lana’s fear still echoed faintly through the bond, not sharp anymore, but persistent—like a held breath that never fully released.“Start talking,” I said, voice tight. “Now.”Eamon didn’t look offended. He didn’t even look surprised. He simply folded his hands and leaned his weight back against the table.“Callen is not searching randomly,” he said. “He’s following fault lines.”Rowan frowned. “Geographic?”“Historical,” Eamon corrected. “Territorial scars. Places where authority changed hands violently. Places wh
Warren’s POVThe path narrowed as we climbed, stone giving way to packed earth and old roots that broke the surface like knuckles. I remembered this region only in fragments—a bend in the land, a familiar slope—but not enough to anchor it to a name or a pack. That unsettled me more than I liked to admit.Dark Silver’s territory should have been burned into my memory.Instead, it felt like a blank space where something vital had been ripped out.Rowan walked ahead of me, unhurried as always, staff tapping lightly against the ground. He had insisted on leading, claiming the terrain shifted more than maps ever admitted. I didn’t argue. My focus was already split.“This seer,” I said after a while, breaking the silence, “how accurate is he?”Rowan glanced back. “Accurate enough to still be alive.”“That doesn’t answer the question.”&l
Lana’s POVMoonbathing, I learned quickly, was less mystical ritual and more deliberate stillness.The clearing sat just beyond the houses, a gentle slope of pale grass surrounded by low stone markers that hummed faintly with old magic. Nothing dramatic happened when we arrived. No chanting. No sudden surges of power. Just the moon above us, full and steady, washing everything in silver light that felt oddly intimate, as though it were paying attention.Mara dropped onto the grass first with a satisfied sigh. “I forgot how much I missed this,” she said, stretching her arms over her head. “Actual rest without someone asking me to justify my existence.”Kael sat a little more carefully, folding his long legs and leaning back on his hands. “You say that like it happens often.”“It happens constantly,” Mara replied. “You just aren’t around for most of it.”I lo
Warren’s POVDistance was easier when the road demanded attention.I focused on the terrain, the shift of earth beneath my boots, the way the trees thinned and thickened as I moved farther from home. The farther I got, the quieter everything became—no pack chatter, no overlapping scents, no Lana watching me like she was waiting for something I didn’t know how to give.Traveling alone used to feel natural.Now it felt deliberate.My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless and alert, not agitated but watchful in a way that reminded me of old instincts resurfacing. Leadership instincts. Protection. The kind that didn’t ask permission before settling into your bones.Alpha.The word still felt heavy, even after everything began to make sense again.I stopped at a clearing just before dusk, the sky bruised with the promise of night. The elder I was meeting had chosen the location deliberately&mda
Lana’s POVI found Warren near the stables, already half-packed and tightening the straps on his travel bag like he was afraid standing still might give something away. His movements were precise, efficient—too efficient.The kind of focus people used when they didn’t want to think.“Warren,” I said, slowing my steps as I approached.He didn’t look up right away. “I’m heading out.”My chest sank anyway. “Out where?”“One of the elders sent word,” he replied. “They want to speak to me privately. About Callen.”That name landed between us like a dropped blade.“How long will you be gone?” I asked.“Not long.” He finally turned toward me, his expression carefully neutral. “A f
Lana’s POVI found Warren near the training grounds just before dusk, standing at the edge of the clearing with his sleeves rolled up and his posture locked tight, like he was bracing for something that never came.The air around him felt colder than the rest of the park, sharper, almost clipped.For a moment, I just watched him.He wasn’t doing anything—no sparring, no pacing—but his presence filled the space in a way that made it hard to breathe.Alpha energy, my wolf whispered, faint but insistent.It was strange how obvious it felt now, like my instincts had been quietly catching up to something everyone else already knew.I cleared my throat.“Warren?”He turned slowly. His eyes flicked over me, paused for half a second too long, then shif
Eva's POVThe idea of walking back into that house, into that suffocating atmosphere where every glance carried judgment and every word felt like a test I had already failed in their eyes, made something in me tighten in a way that had nothing to do with f
Eva's POV I didn’t waste time after leaving the meeting.Three days sounded like a lot when spoken out loud in a calm room filled with people who weren’t the ones being accused, but the moment I stepped back into reality, into the noise and the pressure and the speed at which everything was alread
Eva's POV The moment I stepped away from the crowd, away from the cameras and the noise and the suffocating weight of everyone’s opinions, I didn’t slow down, didn’t pause, didn’t even allow myself the luxury of breathing properly, because I knew this wasn’t over, not even close, and whatever came
Eva's POV That night I didn’t sleep. Not because I couldn’t, but because there was no point pretending rest would come when my mind was already too sharp, too aware, too busy pulling everything apart and putting it back together again, searching for the flaw, the gap, the moment where this had bee







