LOGINCade walked into the upper council courtyard five minutes later, sliding his brass flare launcher back into his leather belt. Brecken, Lucian, Soren, and I met him near the central fountain steps."The secondary warship locked its catapults," Cade reported directly, stopping in front of us. "Captain Vane pulled the fleet three miles out into the deep channel. They aren't firing on the lower city."*We won the harbor fight, but something feels off,* I thought, looking past Cade down the empty stone street. *High Enforcer Hale gave up his command deck too easily. A man who spent twenty years building a private legion doesn't just put his sword away because a captain reads a paper scroll.*"Did Hale jump ship or stay on board?" Brecken asked Cade, his broadswords still resting in his hands."He stayed on the quarterdeck," Cade replied. "He didn't fight Captain Vane, and he didn't try to take a rowboat to shore.""That makes no sense," Lucian said, narrowing his eyes as he leaned against
The heavy wooden gates of Winter’s Edge opened early in the morning, letting our riding column pass through into the thick fog.We didn't travel with a full army. A big war band marching south would look like an invasion, giving Duke Vane an excuse to call the southern packs into an open war before we were ready. Instead, Valerius picked fifty of his best northern vanguard riders, led by Commander Kael.Every man was hand-picked, silent, and dressed in plain black iron armor without bright banners.I rode a broad grey mare near the front of the line, keeping pace beside Valerius’s black stallion. I wore a dark woolen riding coat over my leather gear, with my father’s ancient blackwood knife resting against my hip. The thick leather book containing his original archives was locked inside a iron-bound saddlebag strapped tight behind my seat.Five years ago, I walked these same dirt roads on foot, I thought, looking out over the misty hills as the high snow peaks of the North began to dr
We walked up the wide stone stairs leading to the upper city council building. The large iron double doors at the main entrance were shut tight and locked from the inside.*The judges think an iron lock will save them,* I thought, looking at the solid doors. *They don't realize their army at the harbor is already gone.*Brecken didn't bother knocking. He stepped up to the entrance, raised his heavy boot, and kicked the center of the wooden frame right near the lock. The iron latch snapped with a loud crack, and the double doors swung open into the quiet hallway."Check the side rooms," Brecken told two pack wolves who followed us up the stairs. "Make sure no guards are hiding behind the pillars.""Yes, Alpha," one wolf replied, drawing his sword as he moved down the left corridor.Lucian led the way toward the main council hall at the end of the hall. He kept his right hand on the hilt of his rapier, looking left and right at every closed door."The building is almost empty," Lucian n
High Enforcer Hale slammed his gauntleted hand against the ship rail as his archers' arrows dropped into the sea. "Reload!" Hale's voice carried across the open water. "Prepare the heavy iron grapnels! We force the landing!"The largest warship drifted closer to the main dock timber ramps. Soldiers on the deck raised long iron hooks attached to heavy ropes, swinging them in broad circles to catch the stone archway above our heads.*Hale isn't backing down,* I thought, watching the iron hooks catch the ancient masonry. *He knows if he doesn't secure a foothold on the docks now, his entire fleet will be trapped in the bay.*"Lucian, sever those ropes before the infantry climbs!" I ordered, stepping up beside the stone arch.Lucian moved with swift, direct precision. His blood-forged rapier sliced through three heavy ropes in quick succession, sending six climbing soldiers falling back into the bay waters."More grapnels coming from the port side!" Brecken warned, swinging his twin broa
The three Council judges scrambled out of the vault chamber without saying another word. Thomas and three pack wolves entered the room a moment later, carrying heavy rope to bind Marcus’s wrists behind his back. *Marcus was finally taken down, but the relief didn't come,* I thought. *A captured Alpha doesn't end a war when his father controls the fleet at the docks.*"Take Marcus to the secondary cell beneath the old mill," Brecken commanded Thomas. "Keep six guards on him at all times.""Understood, Alpha," Thomas said. He pulled Marcus up by his coat collar and dragged him toward the hallway.Lucian stepped toward the ruined altar, kicking a piece of the shattered silver basin aside. "If High Enforcer Hale is at the harbor with the coastal fleet, he will advance on the city the moment his scout ship reports Marcus’s capture," Lucian said, looking at me. "We have less than an hour before his iron warships enter the river channel.""We need to reach the harbor gates before his fron
Thomas and the pack wolves came down from the ridge to disarm Vance’s surviving guards. They tied the enforcers together with heavy iron chains and loaded them into the back of a pack wagon.Brecken shifted back into human form, pulling a coat from the rear of the lead transport. He walked over to Vance, who was standing against the rock wall with his arms behind his back."Where is Marcus taking the vault key?" Brecken demanded, his voice hard.Vance looked at Brecken without any fear in his eyes. "He doesn't need to take it anywhere. The ancestral vault sits under the central court building in the upper city. He went there an hour ago with six Tribunal judges.""He's going to trigger the suppression ward from the central altar," Soren said, stepping down from the stone ledge. "If he completes the blood ritual in that vault, he can send the cursemark through the whole region's boundary stones. It will lock up every shifter and witch in the territory."Cade came down the ridge, his he
I had passed out on the floor after the three natures tried to tear me apart. When I woke up, I was back on the bed. My heart was beating too fast. It would not slow down. I felt like I had an extra heart. The sunlight was already up and my clothes were different from the previous day. I lifted the
Hearing about the rumours in the pack makes me feel like I will never belong anywhere. Why does Alpha Brecken look at me with so much compassion in his eyes? Something inside me wanted him so badly I could have kissed him right there and then. But then I remembered. I just got rejected and my Tribr
I lay there in the big bed staring at the ceiling for a long time after Brecken left. The t-shirt he gave me smelled like him. Pine and storm and something warm that made my stomach feel weird. I pulled the blanket up higher and tried to ignore it. My body still felt weak. Like I had run a maratho
I know everyone says omegas are weak, well we actually are. and personally my case is different my name is Aria Frost and i am about to let you in my world. I am what you call a Tribrid. Rejected and now four alphas would do anything to claim me. *** I stood there in the middle of the ballroom w







