LOGINWe walked down to the courtyard together.
The moment the crowd spotted us, the noise dropped. Heads turned. Eyes followed every step we took.
Petra stood at the front, chin high, shoulders squared.
“Luna Sophia,” she called out, loud enough for everyone to hear. “We’re here to talk about the evacuation order.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I
We walked down to the courtyard together.The moment the crowd spotted us, the noise dropped. Heads turned. Eyes followed every step we took.Petra stood at the front, chin high, shoulders squared.“Luna Sophia,” she called out, loud enough for everyone to hear. “We’re here to talk about the evacuation order.”“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said. “The order stands.”“That’s unacceptable.” She waved a hand at the wolves behind her. “These are people’s homes. Their lives. You can’t just rip them away.”“Yes, I can.” I cut her off cleanly. “And I am. Evacuation starts tomorrow. Anyone who refuses gets removed by force.”Shocked murmurs swept through the crowd.“You
Theron studied me for a long moment.“To me? No, you’re still my Luna,” he paused. “But to others… this alternative approach is going to stir up resistance. People are already on edge. Push too hard and—”“And what?” I gestured at the half-built walls. “They’ll leave? Let them. Anyone not committed to surviving can walk. We’re better off without them.”“That’s cold, Luna.”“That’s realistic.” I turned to face him fully. “The version of me that cared about being liked died in the Black Realm. All that’s left is the one who cares about results. If that makes me cold, fine. As long as it keeps people breathing.”He watched me in silence.“I can work with cold,” he said at last. “Just… re
“Aldric sent word this morning,” Kael said. “Seraphine’s gathering forces somewhere shielded by heavy magic. He couldn’t pinpoint the location. But he confirmed the non-wolf allies. He mentioned… things. Creatures he wouldn’t name.”“Helpful,” I muttered.“He’s bound by oaths. You know how it is.”I waved it off. “What matters is that she has reinforcements we can’t see or count. So we plan for the worst.”Martin let out a low breath. “Not exactly encouraging.”“Realistic,” I said. “Right now, realistic is all we’ve got.”I leaned over the map, eyes tracing the lines of Black River and the scattered settlements around it. The strategy formed slowly, heavy and bitter on my tongue.&
Kael’s voice stayed flat.“She wants you to abdicate as Luna. Step down. Submit yourself to her for… judgment.”“Judgment,” I repeated.“Her word, not mine.” He took one step closer. The familiar scent of pine and smoke followed him, wrapping around me like it always did. “She says you destroyed centuries of her work. That you’re responsible for countless deaths and the instability tearing through wolf-kind. She wants you to answer for your crimes against the future.”“By letting her kill me,” I finished.“She didn’t say the word ‘kill.’ But yeah. That’s what she means.”I let the silence sit for a second.Seraphine wanted me to trade my life for the kingdom’s safety. My death for peace.“And if I refuse?”Kael’s jaw tightened. “Then she comes at us with everything she’s got. She’s be
I could still turn back.Lock the door again.Return to bed and let the gray reclaim me.I need you to be there when I get back.Alaric’s voice—real or imagined—whispers through my memory.I unlock the door.Turn the handle.Step out into the corridor.Erica is there.Of course she is.Slumped against the wall across from my door, asleep while sitting up.Her face is swollen from crying.Dark circles shadow her eyes.My daughter.Who lost her sight saving everyone.Who has been sitting outside my door for three days, begging me to acknowledge she exists.Guilt crashes through me.I ha
The blanket does not smell like him anymore.I know this in my head—three days of holding it, breathing against the fabric, my scent slowly replacing his. Milk and honey fading into something else.Something that is not my son.But I keep it pressed to my face anyway.It is all I have left.Outside my door, Erica is crying again.She has been there for hours. Maybe days.Time moves strangely in this room, pooling in corners like water, refusing to flow properly.“Mom, please,” her voice cracks through the wood. Young. So young. My daughter is sixteen, and she sounds like a child begging for comfort I cannot give. “Mom, just say something. Anything. I need to know you are alive in there.”I am alive.Technically.My heart beats. My lungs draw air. Blood moves through veins, sustaining biological processes that seem increasingly pointless.But alive?No.I think I died in the Black Real
"How?"His eyes met mine. Gold flecks are more prominent than usual. Power stirring beneath the surface."By not playing defense anymore. We go on offense. Find Leighton. Capture him. Make him tell us what he's told her.""He's in Cult territory. Protected. Would it be suicide too?""Then we're sma
“You have to! That's what he's doing! Buying you time!”Through the bond, I felt Kael's determination.His absolute certainty that I needed to survive. Go, his voice in my head. Get them to safety. I'll follow.You'd better.I promise.I ran. Carrying Liana with magic. Marcus is limping behind. Awa
The war room hummed with tension as pack members filed in around me. I took my seat at the head of the table, acutely aware of the Luna Mark still glowing faintly on my shoulder—a constant reminder of last night's awakening. Kael stood behind me, his hand resting protectively on my shoulder, stead
Kael and Thea at the circle's perimeter. They touched their runes simultaneously. Channeled everything they had.Power exploded upward.Instant and overwhelming.Silver-white light shooting into the sky like a pillar connecting the earth to heaven. The twelve master runes are blazing.Energy wal







