Mag-log inThey came at dawn.Not the Fae. Not the Vampires. Not the Witches alone.All of them.The horizon was a wall of color and magic and malice. Black Vampire banners with red moons. Green Fae banners that shimmered like leaves in wind. Purple Witch banners marked with silver runes. And in the center, the Arcane Council’s silver sigil. Magister Thorne hadn’t been lying about them mobilizing.I stood on the Citadel walls with Darius, Kade, and Elias at my back. Aria was safe in the deep vaults with Roric and the healers. Elias had fought me on it for 10 minutes until I looked at him and said: “The shield protects the blade. You can’t do that if you’re dead.”He’d hated it. But he’d agreed.“They’re bluffing,” Kade said, but his voice wasn’t sure. “They can’t really attack. Not all at once. Not without starting a war that burns every realm.”“They will if they think the risk is worth it,” Darius said grimly. “Moonblood is worth it to them.”Below us, 5,000 Lycans stood in formation. Our en
We started training at sunrise.No time to waste. Not after the Moonstone’s warning and that vision of darkness. Not after Aria threw a 400-year-old Magister across a room like he weighed nothing.The training grounds were a mess from the battle, so we used the inner courtyard. Stone walls on all sides, healers on standby, and Roric watching from a cot because he refused to miss this even with a broken spine.Aria was in the center, sitting on a blanket with her tiny hands on her knees. She was 3 weeks old now, but she looked bigger somehow. Stronger. Her gold eyes tracked everything with that unsettling focus that made my skin crawl.Elias stood to her left as the shield. Kade stood to her right as the “what not to do” example. Darius and I stood in front of her.“We’re not teaching her to fight,” I said firmly, looking at all of them. “We’re teaching her to control. Moonblood reacts to emotion. So step one is learning to feel without losing control.”Darius nodded and knelt in front
The moment Alpha Kade’s eyes met mine across the pack circle, I knew. I was wrong. Dead wrong to think eighteen years of loyalty, of stitched wounds and midnight patrols, would matter more than the wolf I didn’t have. “Elara of Silverfang,” Kade’s voice boomed, cold as the mountain stone beneath my bare feet. “The Moon Goddess made a mistake.” The crowd of three hundred pack members went silent. Even the wind held its breath. “You are wolf-less. Empty.” He stepped closer, and the bond I’d cherished since we were children went ice-cold in my chest. “I, Alpha Kade of Silverfang, reject you, Elara, as my mate.” Pain isn’t a strong enough word. It was a blade of frozen fire, carving out my ribs, shredding the fragile thread that tied my soul to his. I gasped, knees hitting stone. The pack’s scent—pine, blood, disgust—choked me. His Luna, Mira, smirked from his side. Her wolf, a sleek silver beauty, yipped in triumph. “Finally,” she whispered, loud enough for everyone. “Our Alpha de
His mouth crashed into mine. There was no hesitation, no softness. Darius kissed like he ruled — demanding, scorching, a brand that erased every cold word that Kade had spoken.His hand fisted in my hair, tilting my head exactly where he wanted, and a sound I didn’t recognize tore from my throat. It wasn’t pain, It was relief. For three heartbeats, the world narrowed to heat and silver and the terrifying safety of his arms. His tongue traced my bottom lip, asking, not taking, and Goddess help me, I opened for him. He tasted like winter storms and power. Like coming home to a place I’d never been. The curse. The stories said any woman he kissed would be dead by sunrise. I should have been terrified. Instead, my hands fisted in the black tactical fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer. If I died at dawn, at least I’d die knowing what it felt like to be *wanted*. Darius growled, the sound vibrating from his chest into mine. His other hand spanned my waist, fingers splaying against
The doors slammed open. Kade filled the doorway, and for a second, my heart stuttered. Not with love. With memory. With eighteen years of lookingat that face and thinking *mine*. He looked wrecked. Hair disheveled, eyes bloodshot, Alpha aura crackling like broken glass. Mira clung to his arm, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at me. At my hand in Darius’s. At the mark onmy neck Darius’s mouth had left ten minutes ago — not a bite, just a claim. Yet. “You,” Kade snarled, and the room iced over. His gaze snapped to Darius. “You stole my mate.” Darius didn’t move. Didn’t even tense. He just shifted, putting his body between me and Kade like it was instinct. Like I was his to protect. “I claimed an exiled wolf,” he said, voice bored. “You rejected your Luna. Choose your words carefully, pup.” Pup. Kade, Alpha of the strongest pack in three territories, just got called *pup*. His face went white, then red. “Elara is Silverfang property,” Kade bit out. “Beta’s daughter. Our
“Get up,” Darius said, tossing me folded black clothes. “We’re going to the caves.” It was dawn. I’d slept maybe two hours, tangled in his sheets that smelled like him, while he stood guard at the balcony like a gargoyle. Every time I woke, his silver eyes were on me. Not creepy. Safe. “The caves?” I caught the clothes. Leather pants. Tactical top. Like his. “My curse is tied to this land.” He was already dressed, knives strapped to his thighs, the white curse marks on his forearms stark against his skin. “If it’s really fading because of you, the Sacred Cave will confirm it. And—” his gaze darkened — “it might wake what’s sleeping in you.” My stomach flipped. “My wolf?” “If you have one.” His mouth curved, not quite a smile. “And I think you do, little weapon. I felt her last night when you told Kade off. She’s pissed.” Thirty minutes later we were deep in the Forbidden Territory forest. The trees here were ancient, black-barked, humming with old magic. No birds. No wind. Just







