FAZER LOGIN“She wants us there.”Iris’s voice is low, almost a whisper, but sharp enough to cut through the tension in the strategy room. The room is dim, maps spread across tables, flickering candlelight reflecting off the edges of parchment, shadows stretching long on the walls. Every pair of eyes in the room is on her, waiting.Donovan leans against the wall, arms crossed, observing. He does not speak. He knows better than to interrupt. He waits until she has processed it, the way she always does fast, precise, like a predator sizing up her prey.“She picked it on purpose,” he finally says, voice quiet, measured.“I know,” Iris answers, eyes sweeping the map again. A pause. Then: “Good.” The single word carries weight, finality, and focus. She does not allow panic to touch her face, though the memory of Greymoon gnaws at her from the back of her mind.Donovan steps closer, scent faint in t
“We cannot accept her terms.”The words leave Iris’s mouth sharp and clear. The Council chamber, quiet at first, reacts immediately. Half the elders exchange uneasy glances, murmurs rising. Candles flicker on the walls, shadows stretching across the faces of men and women in robes, the scent of burning tallow thick in the air.One of the elders, a tall man with streaks of gray in his hair, leans forward. “You are letting personal history cloud judgment, Iris. Morgana has chosen a location. If we refuse, we risk losing control entirely.” His voice carries authority, the kind that commands attention even in tense disagreement.Donovan stands behind Iris, shoulders straight, hands loosely at his sides. He breathes slowly, observing, waiting. She feels the pressure of his presence, steady, silent, protective. Normally, he would speak before anyone else, a force to back her up, but now he does not. He lets her handle it. Sh
“We cannot rely on the bond. Not this time.”Iris’s voice is sharp, echoing in the training hall. Donovan stops mid-step, eyes narrowing. He breathes in slowly, smelling the dust and sweat in the air, hearing the scrape of boots on wood. The bond between them hums faintly, strained, awkward, like a tether being tested.“You mean we fight without it?” Donovan asks. He flexes his fingers, feeling the muscle memory of their coordinated attacks, the way they usually move as one. Now it is gone. Silent. Separate. Vulnerable.“Yes,” Iris says, voice steady. “We adapt. We fight by sight, by instinct. Every call must be spoken. Every move must be watched. We cannot assume.”Donovan exhales and nods. He steps back, scanning her stance, the subtle tension in her shoulders, the set of her jaw. Iris mirrors him, muscles coiled, eyes bright and focused. They circle each other in silence, every step de
“We cannot wait any longer. We have to be ready.”Iris’s voice is steady, carrying through the war room at Moonshadow. Donovan leans over the large map spread across the table, tracing possible attack routes with a careful finger. The candlelight flickers across the parchment, highlighting mountains, forests, and streams. The air is heavy with anticipation, the smell of wax and wood thick.“Every allied pack knows their role,” Donovan says. His tone is low, deliberate, precise. “Communication lines are secure. Perimeters reinforced. Supplies stocked. We are ready.”Iris presses her palms to the table, fingers brushing over the contours of the landscape. “It is never enough. She is patient. She watches. She waits.”Donovan does not respond immediately. His gaze meets hers, and she feels the bond hum between them, a quiet current of shared understanding. She knows he feels the same tension,
“Enough talk. It is time to vote.”The gavel strikes lightly against the polished wood of the Council podium, echoing across the chamber. Iris stands straight behind it, feeling the weight of all eyes on her. The room smells faintly of old wood, ink, and candle wax. She can hear the shuffle of robes, the quiet murmur of anticipation, the scrape of feet against stone floors.Her gaze sweeps the assembly, catching the eyes of those who oppose and those who support. Today’s vote is close. The legislation she has worked on for months, the first major reform since taking her place as leader, is on the line. Omega rights. The Council has resisted for decades. Today, she asks them to see reason.“I ask you to consider the pack as a whole,” she says, voice steady, deliberate, carrying to every corner of the chamber. “Every wolf has value. Every wolf has a voice. We cannot claim strength while allowing inequality to persi
“Fenwick, open the door. Now.”The voice is calm. Controlled. Not a threat, but not an invitation either.Iris stands at the edge of the cabin clearing, the forest dark behind her. Donovan’s hand rests lightly on her back, steady, a silent reinforcement. They have tracked the third conspirator here, Elder Fenwick, who until now has been peripheral. Tonight, he is everything.The door creaks open. Fenwick appears, wide-eyed, disheveled, hands trembling. His robe is torn, dust from the forest floor clinging to the hem. He looks at them, hesitates, then nods, recognizing that resistance is useless.“I…I didn’t expect…” he starts, but Iris cuts him off.“You knew we were coming,” she says softly, not a shout, but there is steel behind it. “You knew this was coming, Fenwick. Sit. Now.”He steps inside, trembling, eyes darting between Donovan and Iris. The cabi
"Are you sure about this color?"Rejection ceremonies are ancient, brutal, and designed to humiliate. Perfect.I spend the first day in the pack library. The west wing has one. Small and dusty and full of books no one reads anymore. Old pack histories. Ceremony protocols. Laws written centuries ago
"I brought you real food."Three days I spend in that hospital bed, and not one person visits except Octavia.The machines beep constantly. Monitoring. Recording. Making sure my baby's heartbeat stays strong and steady. It does. Defiant little thing. Holding on despite everything Clarissa tried to
"Week four is about making sure we don't die," Sage says, spreading a map across the breakfast table like the eggs and toast aren't even there.Nobody argues with her.One week until Summit. Seven days to close every gap the conspirators might find and use against us. The map shows the convention ce
"Do you need anything?"Nine months pregnant, and I've never felt more alive or more terrified.I look up from the rocking chair the pack carpenter made for me. Donovan stands in the doorway of the nursery with that expression he's worn for the past week. Concerned. Protective. Hovering."You've as







