MasukThey all looked at me, and I hated it.Not the fear.Not the doubt.The distance.It spread through the room like a quiet wall, even though we stood only a few steps apart.“Say something,” Darian muttered under his breath.I heard him.Of course I did.But I didn’t answer right away.Because every word I spoke now carried weight.Too much weight.“They’re not attacking yet,” Rowan said, trying to steady the room.“Not yet,” Mira added.That word sat heavy.Not yet.Kael stood beside me, close enough to feel, far enough to respect the space I had chosen.“They’re waiting for her,” someone whispered from the back.Not quietly enough.Not far enough.I turned slightly.“Say it louder.”The elder froze.Then straightened.“They’re waiting for you,” he repeated.“Why?” another voice cut in. “What does she have that calls them?”More whispers.More eyes.All on me.Always on me.I stepped forward.The room shifted.Not back.But not closer either.“I don’t know,” I said.Truth.Clear.No c
The blade slipped from his grip, and the younger warrior knocked him flat.A few laughs broke out around the training ring.Kael hit the ground hard, breath pushed from his chest. Dust clung to his clothes as he stared up at the sky for a second.He didn’t move.Didn’t snap.Didn’t command.“Get up,” the young warrior said, offering a hand. “Or are you done already?”Kael took the hand.Pulled himself up.“I’m not done.”The circle tightened.Eyes watched him.Not as an Alpha.Not as a leader.Just another fighter.Rowan leaned against the fence, arms crossed. “You’re slower today.”Kael rolled his shoulder. “I noticed.”Darian chuckled. “You used to bark orders instead of taking hits.”“I deserved that one,” Kael said.The young warrior smirked. “Then come again.”Kael nodded.No pride.No anger.Just focus.They circled.This time, Kael moved first.Faster.Cleaner.He blocked, stepped in, and struck low.The young warrior stumbled but recovered quickly.“Better,” Rowan muttered.Dar
He laughed, and it cut deeper than any wound.I hadn’t heard that sound from Kael in days.Not in the middle of tension. Not after everything that had shifted between us.But there it was.Soft. Real.Unaware.I stood at the edge of the upper balcony, hidden in shadow, watching him below.He was with Rowan and Darian, speaking low, relaxed for once.Mira sat nearby, listening, her eyes moving between them.Normal.It looked almost normal.And I stayed where I was.Far enough not to disturb it.Far enough not to belong to it.“Still hiding?”I didn’t turn.“I’m not hiding.”Lysa stepped beside me anyway.“You’ve been up here a while.”“I prefer quiet.”She followed my gaze downward.“To watch him?”Her tone held no judgment.Just truth.I didn’t answer.Because she was right.Kael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, saying something that made Darian scoff and Rowan shake his head.Mira smiled.A simple moment.And I wasn’t part of it.“You made your choice,” Lysa said gently.“I kno
The silence felt wrong.No roar. No impact. No shaking walls.Just stillness.Rowan stood at the gate, blade raised. “Why did they stop?”Darian didn’t lower his weapon. “I don’t trust it.”“Neither do I,” I said.The doors stood closed again. Reinforced. Guarded.But the pressure from outside had vanished.Mira stepped closer to the threshold, eyes focused beyond the wood. “They’re still there.”“How many?” Kael asked.“Enough.”That wasn’t comforting.I moved beside her. “Are they waiting?”She hesitated. “Not like before.”“What does that mean?”“They’re not trying to break in.” She frowned slightly. “They’re… watching.”Darian let out a dry laugh. “Great. Now they think.”Rowan shot him a look. “They always thought. We just didn’t notice.”I placed my hand against the gate.Cold.But steady.No force pushing back.“They felt what happened,” I said.Kael crossed his arms. “You forcing the last one down.”“Yes.”“They learned from it.”“Everything learns,” I said.Rowan lowered his
The arguing started before the blood dried.“You don’t get to decide this alone!”A chair scraped hard across stone as an elder stood.“We follow order, not fear,” another snapped.“And what you saw out there was not order.”I stood at the center of the hall, silent.Let them speak.Let them show themselves.The council chamber of Frostveil felt smaller than usual. Too many leaders. Too much tension. The air held the weight of what they had witnessed outside.Power.Mine.And they didn’t know where they stood with it.Rowan leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. Watching.Darian stood near the doors, blocking any quick exit. Also watching.Mira sat quietly beside him.Listening.Learning.Kael stood apart from the main circle.Not at my side.Not among the elders.Somewhere in between.That alone told them everything.Elder Varik slammed his fist against the table.“We cannot allow one person to hold this much control!”A murmur spread.Agreement.Fear.Support.All mixed.Another eld
The second creature didn’t hesitate.It burst through the broken ground and slammed into the outer wall before anyone could react.“Positions!” Rowan roared.The impact shook the tower beneath my feet.“More coming,” Mira said, her voice tight.I didn’t look away from the ridge.Shapes moved under the snow.Fast.Too many.Kael stepped beside me. “We can’t hold this line if they all surface at once.”“We don’t let them,” I said.Darian barked from below, “Gate team ready!”I turned. “Open halfway. Funnel them in. Same formation.”Rowan glanced up at me. “Again?”“Yes.”“That worked once.”“It will work again.”Kael’s jaw tightened. “You’re risking yourself every time you step into that lane.”“I know.”“That’s not a plan.”“It’s the only one that gives us control.”The gate creaked open.A second creature lunged forward immediately.Faster than the first.Sharper.It didn’t pause at the threshold.“Brace!” Rowan shouted.Spears met its charge.It slammed into them, snapping two shafts
The moon dragged her awake like a hand around her spine.Elara gasped, fingers digging into the blanket as a sharp pulse rolled through her body. Not pain. Not exactly. It felt like pressure building beneath her skin, tight and restless, as if something inside her had finally grown tired of being q
The first sign came with blood on the messenger’s boots.He barely made it through Frostveil’s inner gate before collapsing to one knee, chest heaving, eyes wild. The guards hauled him upright, but he shook them off, gaze locking straight onto Rowan.“Silver Fang is breaking,” he rasped.Elara felt
Elara scrubbed blood from the stone floor until her hands burned.No one had ordered her to do it.That was the point.The training hall was empty except for her and the echoes of morning drills still hanging in the air. Sweat, iron, effort. It reminded her of home. Not the place. The feeling.Earn
The snow was stained red.Rowan Frostveil saw it first, cutting through white like a warning the land itself had carved. He slowed his horse, eyes narrowing, instincts sharpening.“No,” he muttered. “That’s fresh.”He dismounted before the animal fully stopped, boots crunching softly as he followed







