I collapsed onto the cold stone floor of the cell, the weight of the chains cutting into my wrists, and the chill of the damp air biting at my skin. My whole body trembled, not just from the cold, but from the crushing reality that I had been both betrayed and rejected.The door to my cell creaked open, and there he stood—my father. His eyes, as cold as ever, met mine. "Why should I even be surprised?" he said, his words like shards of ice. "I am not here to listen to more of your lies, so don't bother spinning them. I am here to tell you the Alpha has declared your fate. At dawn, you will be executed for conspiracy against the pack’s high ranks and for the injuries you inflicted."My heart pounded in my chest. "Executed?" I whispered, my voice weak. "But I didn’t... I didn’t do anything wrong—" I broke out into a cold sweat. I was going to die for a crime that I did not commit."You’re nothing but trouble, Stella." His lip curled in disgust. "Everyone wants your blood. Even your so-c
Five Years Later..."Chin up, Ella. Tilt your head slightly—yes, perfect! Hold that!" The photographer’s voice cut through the air, sharp and fast, as the camera clicked rapidly. The blinding flashes filled the studio, but I was used to it now. My body moved effortlessly, flowing between poses as if on autopilot."Eyes to the left, focus on the light," another command came. I complied, adjusting my posture, my lips curving into the faintest hint of a smile."Beautiful! You’re killing it!" the stylist chimed in, rushing forward to adjust a stray lock of hair. I barely noticed the brush of her fingers as she fixed my curls, my mind laser-focused on the shoot."Ella, darling, give us fierce now," the photographer urged, his tone picking up speed. "Think power, think dominance."I narrowed my eyes, lifting my chin just a bit higher, a fierce, unbreakable expression crossing my face. I heard the camera shutter go off in rapid succession. It was a dance, a rhythm I had perfected over the l
I did not wait; I was making a run for it. They had found me. They would finish what they started all those years ago. I couldn’t go back after how far I had come. I turned the knob of the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The realization sunk in just as I felt Silas’ large frame looming over me. He caged me with his body. "You can't leave just yet, Stella." His hot breath fanned across my neck. I froze, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest. For what felt like a lifetime, we stood like that. I tore myself away from him, my body slamming into the wall as I scrambled to put distance between us. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might burst. "What the hell are you doing here, Silas?" My voice was sharp, trembling with barely controlled panic. How did he find me? How long had he been watching? He didn’t answer right away. His eyes, dark and unreadable, tracked my every movement, calculating. "You already know, Stella." His voice was infuriatingly calm, as if he had all the tim
Blood. So much blood.I jolted awake, gasping for air, my sheets drenched in sweat. The same nightmare, again. Bodies littered across familiar grounds, the pack house engulfed in flames, and screams—endless screams that followed me into consciousness.My hands trembled as I reached for the glass of water by my bedside. Three nights. Three nights of the same visceral dreams since Silas's visit. Each time, they felt more real, more urgent.'They're not just dreams,' Rona's voice echoed in my mind, stronger than she'd been in years. 'You know what they are.'"Shut up," I muttered, pressing my palms against my eyes. The digital clock on my nightstand read 3:33 AM. The witching hour. How fitting.'You can't ignore this forever,' Rona persisted. 'The blood of the pack—'"They're not my pack!" I snarled, throwing off my covers and stalking to the bathroom. The marble counter was cool under my palms as I leaned over the sink, trying to steady my breathing. But when I looked up, I froze.In th
The wolfsbane burned like acid in my hands as I crushed the dried petals. Five years since I'd touched the stuff, since that night—"Here, drink this," Angela said, pushing a cup into my hands. "To calm your nerves before the ceremony."I blinked the memory away, focusing on the task at hand. Silas lay on my couch, his skin burning with fever. The poison was spreading—I could smell it in his blood.My fingers trembled as I flipped through my mother's journal, searching for anything about antidotes. The pages were worn, corners soft from years of handling. Her handwriting flowed across the pages, elegant but hurried, like she knew she was running out of time."Stella?" Silas's voice was rough, delirious. "Where—""Don't move." I pressed him back down when he tried to sit up. "The poison's still spreading."His skin was too hot under my palm. I'd stripped off his shirt to examine the injection site—an angry red welt on his neck, with black lines spreading outward like cracks in glass. T
Three hours into the council meeting, and I still tasted Stella's blood on my tongue. The antidote she'd forced down my throat had worked—I was alive, the poison purged. But the memory lingered: her blood, glowing silver in the moonlight, mixed with herbs that smelled of Andrea."Alpha Silas." Elder Margaret's sharp voice cut through my thoughts. "Are you listening?"I looked up at the faces around the long oak table. Once, this room had housed the most powerful wolves in Blood Moon territory. Now they were just old men and women clinging to positions they couldn't defend without their wolves."I heard you," I said, keeping my voice neutral. "You want me to hand Stella over to Silver Claw.""To buy time," Elder Thomas amended quickly. "Just until we find another solution."I remembered Andrea's voice, soft but firm, as she bandaged my scraped knee when I was ten: "Being Alpha isn't about making easy choices, Silas. It's about making the right ones, even when they hurt.""No." The word
The chains around my wrists were tight enough to break human skin. Silver-lined—they weren't taking chances. I kept my head down, letting my hair fall forward like a curtain as Kane led me through Silver Claw's gates.'Easy,' Rona murmured as another guard yanked my chain. 'Let them think we're weak.'I stumbled, playing my part. Five years of modeling had taught me how to wear masks, how to become whatever others wanted to see. Right now, I was the broken wolf, the curse-bearer, brought low by betrayal. Just as Viktor expected."Careful with the merchandise," Kane growled at the guard, perfectly playing his role as the mercenary selling me out. Behind his scarred exterior, I sensed his tension. One wrong move and we'd all die.The Silver Claw compound sprawled across what had once been a military base. Guards patrolled the walls, armed with both traditional weapons and modern guns. They'd adapted to their weakening wolves better than Blood Moon had.Silas walked several paces behind,
Viktor's office felt smaller in the daylight. I sat across from him, my mother's journal open between us, while Angela lounged by the window. The chains were gone—they didn't need them anymore. Not when they had what they really wanted."Read it," Viktor said, turning the journal toward me. "Page forty-three."My fingers trembled as I touched the paper. The ink was faded, but my mother's handwriting was clear:*The price of defiance is blood. The Goddess demands balance—a life for a life, power for power. To save my daughter, I offer myself. But the debt remains unpaid. Only the sacrifice of a Luna Priestess's bloodline can break what I've done.*"You see?" Angela's voice dripped with satisfaction. "Mother's little miracle came with strings attached. One of us has to die to fix this."I looked up from the journal. "You knew? All this time?""Not at first." She examined her manicured nails. "But I started digging after that night you shifted. The way your blood glowed? That's not norma
I showered again, hotter this time, as if I could wash away the implications of what had just happened. The bond had needed release—that much was true. The supernatural tension had been building since the silver integration, threatening our focus, our control.But it wasn't just the bond. And pretending otherwise was a lie neither of us fully believed.I dressed in practical clothes for the briefing, hair still damp, silver lines faded but not gone. The pendant at my throat seems warmer now, responding to whatever changes were accelerating in my blood.The briefing room was crowded—remaining coalition representatives, pack fighters, medical teams. Silas stood at the head of the table, composed and focused as if nothing had happened between us. Only the bond betrayed him, humming with awareness whenever our eyes met."The situation has changed," he began without preamble. "Red River and Pine Valley have withdrawn from the coalition. Shadow Ridge is wavering. We must adjust accordingly.
The bathroom mirror showed the toll of recent days—dark circles under my eyes, fading bruises from the perimeter fight, silver lines visible beneath my skin even at rest now. I looked like what I was becoming—something between wolf and weapon, neither fully human nor fully monster.The hot water helped, washing away blood and tension. I stayed under the spray until my skin pruned, letting the steam fill my lungs, blanking my mind. Temporary peace.It shattered when I stepped out to find Silas sitting on the edge of my bed."What the hell?" I clutched the towel tighter around me. "Ever heard of knocking?""I did. Three times." He didn't look away. "We have a situation.""Serious enough to invade my bathroom?""Pine Valley's pulling out too."That got my attention. "What? When?""Just now. Chen called. Same story as Red River—Logan made contact, offered terms, council voted.""Fuck." I sat heavily beside him, maintaining careful distance despite the emergency. "That's two packs in one d
Blood spattered across my face as I drove my knife into the hybrid's throat. Not a killing blow—these fuckers were resilient—but enough to buy me seconds. I twisted the silver blade, widening the wound, before kicking it back into the trees."Six o'clock," Silas called.I spun, dropping to one knee as another hybrid lunged overhead. It landed awkwardly, and I slashed across its hamstrings before it could recover. The silver blade cut through enhanced muscle and tendon, sending it crashing to the forest floor.The perimeter breach had turned out to be a scouting party—four hybrids, two human handlers with tactical gear. Test run, most likely. Probing our defenses before the eclipse."Clear on the east," Mason's voice crackled through the radio. "Two neutralized.""South perimeter clear," another voice confirmed.I finished the wounded hybrid with a knife through the eye socket—the most reliable way to kill them, we'd discovered. Silver to the brain. Nothing else stuck.Silas approached
A heavy silence fell. The widow studied me, weighing my words against her grief. Finally, she nodded once—not acceptance, not yet, but willingness to listen.The demonstration continued—questions answered, abilities explained, strategy discussed. By the end, the mood had shifted from hostile skepticism to grim determination. Not unity, exactly, but something approaching common purpose.Reeves declared the gathering concluded. The pack dispersed slowly, many lingering to catch glimpses of the silver lines beneath my skin, or to hear fragments of conversation between their Alpha and me."You've made an impression," Reeves observed when we were relatively alone. "Whether good or bad remains to be seen.""As long as you hold to the timeline.""We will. For now." He studied me with that predatory gaze. "You're not what I expected, Luna Stella.""What did you expect?""Someone broken by rejection. Someone defined by her mate bond rather than her own strength." He inclined his head slightly—
The meeting dragged for hours—strategies dissected, contingencies argued, egos managed. By the time it ended, I had barely enough time to prepare for the Shadow Ridge visit.I found Bella in the library, surrounded by ancient texts and modern printouts. The bags under her eyes suggested she hadn't slept much."Any updates on the ritual site?" I asked.She shook her head. "Surveillance shows continued construction, but no major changes to the chamber layout. The central platform appears to be complete." She slid a satellite photo toward me. "They've added these structures around the perimeter—power conduits, possibly, or some kind of containment system.""For the hybrids?""For you." She met my eyes. "Logan's preparing for your capture, Stella. These modifications match historical descriptions of goddess blood containment."Of course. He'd be a fool not to plan for every contingency, including my capture."We need to adjust our approach vector," I said. "Avoid these areas.""Already do
My blood wasn't right anymore.I stared at the vial Zeta Ruth had drawn that morning, watching how it separated—normal red plasma on bottom, silver particulates floating on top, refusing to mix. Like oil and water, except both were parts of me now."The integration is stable," Zeta Ruth reported, studying her microscope. "No cellular deterioration, no rejection symptoms. Whatever you did when you saved Silas, it fundamentally altered your blood composition.""Great," I muttered. "Logan will be thrilled."Three days since the assassination attempt. Three days of tests, meetings, and preparation. The coalition was holding, but barely—territorial disputes and ancient grievances threatening the fragile alliance with each passing hour."Have you experienced any side effects?" Zeta Ruth asked. "Pain, weakness, unusual sensations?"Besides feeling like my insides were made of broken glass? "Nothing significant."She gave me a look that said she knew I was lying. "The silver isn't just in you
The formal dining room hadn't been used in years. Dust sheets covered the long mahogany table, and cobwebs decorated the chandelier. I stood in the doorway, watching pack members clean and polish under Mason's direction."The Shadow Ridge delegation arrives at noon," Silas said, appearing beside me. "Mountain Creek by three. Red River just confirmed—they'll be here before sunset.""Seven alphas in one room." I crossed my arms. "When's the last time that happened?""1962. The Silver Plague outbreak." He glanced at me. "You ready for this?""Define ready."The corner of his mouth twitched. "Able to navigate pack politics without starting a war.""Then no, probably not."He almost smiled—a rare occurrence these days. The approaching eclipse had everyone on edge, humor in short supply."They'll test you," he warned. "Your authority, your bloodline, your right to stand beside me. Traditional alphas don't adapt quickly to change.""I noticed." I gestured to my training clothes. "Should I ch
The council meeting that night was grim. Bella took notes as we described what we'd witnessed, her face growing paler with each detail."Forced conversion," she murmured. "He's found a way to override the rejection response.""At what cost?" I demanded. "That wolf was being torn apart from the inside.""The cost doesn't matter to Logan," Silas said. "Only the result.""We can't let this happen," Mason declared. "The eclipse ritual—if he perfects this process, makes it permanent...""He'll have an army of controllable hybrids," I finished. "Each one as strong as three normal wolves, immune to silver, loyal only to him.""So we stop him," Eliza said, steel in her voice despite her lingering grief. "We hit the quarry before the eclipse. Destroy his lab, free the captives.""It's not that simple," Silas cautioned. "The quarry is a fortress now. We'd lose half the pack trying to breach it.""Then we need another approach," I said. All eyes turned to me. "Logan wants me. My blood. I'm the k
The quarry lay in a natural depression, surrounded by pine forest and abandoned mining equipment. From our vantage point on the ridge, I could see the extent of Logan's modifications—new structures, camouflaged entrances, subtle signs of extensive underground construction."They've been busy," Eliza whispered, her enhanced vision picking out details in the growing darkness.Marcus crouched beside her, scanning the perimeter. He'd barely looked at me during the journey, maintaining a careful distance that spoke of either respect or fear. Possibly both."Guards at all access points," he reported. "But they're focused outward. Not expecting approach from above.""The main entrance leads to a vertical shaft," Silas said, consulting hand-drawn maps from the previous reconnaissance. "Elevators down to the primary chamber.""Too exposed," I noted. "Alternative routes?""Old mining tunnels." He pointed to a cluster of buildings near the quarry's edge. "They connect to the main chamber from mu