LOGINThird Person's POV The first thing Hannah noticed was the silence. The settlement lay ahead, its buildings standing beneath the fading afternoon light. A few vehicles remained near the entrance, but the warriors who had gathered to defend the pack were nowhere to be seen. She slowed. “They're hiding,” one of the Veil warriors muttered. Hannah studied the empty road. The pack had received Persephone's ultimatum. They knew what would happen if they refused to submit. Yet, instead of preparing a proper defense, they had seemingly abandoned their positions. Something about it bothered her. She couldn't explain why. Beside her, Elena surveyed the settlement with cold determination. “They're waiting for us to lower our guard,” she said. “Don't give them the chance.” Hannah nodded. The familiar uneasiness returned, but she pushed it aside. Persephone had ordered them to attack. That was all that mattered. She raised her hand, signaling the Veil warriors to advance. They move
Hannah’s POV The road stretched ahead of us, lined with buildings that grew smaller as we moved farther into the outskirts of Los Angeles. I sat inside one of the vehicles with Elena beside me and several Veil warriors opposite us. None of them spoke much. They didn't need to. Everyone knew where we were going, and everyone understood what was expected of us. We were going to make an example of a pack that had refused to submit to Persephone. They were enemies. That was what I knew. That was what I had been told. And yet, as I watched the city pass through the window, an uncomfortable feeling settled in my chest. Something wasn't right. I shifted in my seat. Elena glanced at me. “What is it?” I looked at her. For a moment, I couldn't remember what I had wanted to say. “Nothing.” She studied me briefly before turning back toward the window. “Stay focused. We have a mission.” A mission. The word should have been enough to settle me. Instead, it stirre
Third Person's POV The command room had barely settled after the Sentinel's report when Atreus pushed away from the table. “We move tonight.” No one argued. There was no time left for hesitation. Across the room, Eric checked the weapons laid out before him while Devon helped distribute blades and ammunition to the remaining warriors. Anton moved between the guards, checking their equipment and quietly correcting anything he thought might slow them down. Kaia stood near the doorway, watching everything. She knew what it meant when an enemy stopped hiding. It meant they were confident. And Persephone was very confident. The remaining Sentinels began filing into the courtyard. One by one, surviving wolf warriors arrived from the surrounding packs, answering the call without asking how dangerous the fight would be. Some came alone. Others arrived in groups. They carried weapons, wore battle gear, and moved with the quiet focus of people who knew they might n
Eric’s POV The room had gone silent. Not the comfortable kind of silence that came after a long conversation. This one felt wrong. Heavy. Everyone stood around the large table in the temporary command room, staring at the screen mounted against the wall. Persephone’s face filled it. Beautiful. Calm. Almost serene. There was no rage in her expression. No sign of the woman who had spent centuries imprisoned beneath an ancient temple. She looked completely certain of herself. Behind her stood members of the Veil. And between them Hannah. Elena. My chest tightened. Persephone's voice continued through the speakers. “Every pack and every clan has a choice. Stand with me, or stand against me.” The message was short. There was no negotiation in it. No request. It was a warning. When the screen went black, nobody spoke. I kept staring at it. I couldn't move. I'd spent days telling myself that Elena was still in there. That whatever Perse
Angus's POV No guards stood on the walls. No patrols moved through the streets. Even from where I stood on the hill overlooking the settlement, I could feel the fear hanging in the air. The pack had refused Persephone's ultimatum. Now they were about to pay for it. Beside me, Persephone watched without saying a word. Her purple eyes were fixed on the settlement below. Hannah and Elena stood at the front of the army. They looked nothing like themselves. Hannah's face was expressionless. Elena stood beside her, her hands relaxed at her sides. Both were waiting for the order. I looked at Persephone. "Are you sure about this?" She didn't look at me. "They made their choice." "They refused to submit." "They chose against me." "They don't know you." That finally made her turn. "They know enough." I shook my head. "They've never met you." "They know what the Council did." "And they still chose not to stand with you." Her voice was cold. "Then
Third Person's POV The room was silent except for the faint hum of the lights. Persephone stood in front of the tall windows, looking down at the city. Los Angeles stretched beneath her, bright and restless even this late at night. Cars moved along the streets like streams of light. Buildings rose into the darkness, filled with people who had no idea that their world was about to change. For centuries, Persephone had existed beneath the earth. Now she was standing above it. Free. And she had no intention of wasting another moment. Behind her, Hannah and Elena stood perfectly still. Their eyes were open, but something about them was different. The warmth that usually lived in Hannah's expression was gone. So was Elena's familiar spark. They were still there. Somewhere beneath the compulsion. But Persephone had buried those parts beneath layers of commands, distorted memories, and carefully chosen emotions. She hadn't erased them. She had simply changed what they believ
Cora’s POV The dining hall had never felt so large. It was ridiculous, really. I had eaten here a hundred times before. Laughed here. Fought here. Thrown bread at Hannah here. Sat across from Eric while he pretended not to watch me like I was the only person in the room. But tonight it felt li
Cora's POV The sun had just begun to dip below the jagged peaks surrounding Frostbite, throwing long shadows across the training yard. My boots crunched softly against the frozen ground, but my mind was louder than anything outside. My heartbeat hammered in my ears, echoing the remnants of yes
Cain's POV The sting on my cheek hadn’t faded. Not the physical one. That one was nothing. I’d taken blows harder than Cora’s slap in training sessions when I was barely a teenager. Wolves healed fast. Flesh repaired itself. But pride? Pride didn’t. And whatever she had struck across my
Cora's POV The morning light slanted through the tall windows of Frostbite, painting the snow-covered courtyard in shades of silver and gray. I had expected relief, warmth, after the night’s chaos. The rogues had been repelled, Cain had disappeared, and for a moment, the world should have felt







