로그인"He didn't kill me," the father said, looking at his daughters. He coughed again, a wet, rattling sound, but he managed a weak smile. "He made me vanish. He wanted me to watch. He wanted me to see the end of everything and know I couldn't stop it." Silvia broke first. She ran to him, her cry of "Dad!" echoing through the clearing. She collided with him, her head burying in his chest, and for a moment, the Alpha winced, but he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. Ashley finally felt her knees buckle. She sank to the grass, the reality of it hitting her like a physical blow. He wasn't dead. The grief that had been tearing her apart was based on a lie—a cruel, calculated trick meant to shatter the spirit of the pack by breaking their leader. Her father looked over Silvia’s shoulder, his gaze finding Ashley. He didn't look at her with pity. He looked at her with an awe that made her feel seen in a way she never had before. "I saw it," he said, his voice gaining a bit of str
Ashley stood over him, her chest heaving, her hands covered in his blood. She felt a strange emptiness starting to fill the space where her rage had been. It wasn't the relief she had expected; it was a heavy, cold realization that even killing him wouldn't bring her father back. But it would stop him from ever hurting anyone else. She looked at her grandfather. Vhagar gave a small, slow nod. Ashley reached down and picked up a discarded blade from the dirt near her feet. It was heavy and cold in her hand. She looked at Viktor one last time. He wasn't even looking at her anymore; his eyes were fixed on the sky, glazed and unfocused. "For my father," she whispered. With a single, decisive motion, she drove the blade home. The silence that followed was absolute. It was a silence that stretched across the clearing, over the broken bodies of the warriors, and into the very heart of the forest. The wind seemed to hold its breath. Ashley stayed there for a long moment, her hand still
Ashley didn’t wait for him to find his balance. As soon as Vhagar’s words settled over the clearing, she moved. Without the magic to shield him, Viktor was slow, his reactions dulled by years of relying on shadows to do his dirty work. She landed a solid blow to his jaw that sent his head snapping to the side. The sound of bone meeting skin was loud in the sudden quiet of the battlefield. Viktor stumbled, spitting blood into the dirt. He looked up at her, his face a mask of disbelief. He had spent so long as a god in his own mind that the reality of being struck by a girl he considered a mere vessel was more painful than the punch itself. "You think you’ve won?" he wheezed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Even without my magic, I am more than you will ever be." Ashley didn't answer with words. She stepped into his space, her movements fluid and directed. She struck him again—a hard, driving punch to his ribs that made him gasp—and then another to his stomach. She wante
Vhagar looked at his grandchild intently and then a proud smile broke out his face. It wasn’t a smile of simple happiness, but one of recognition. He saw the fire in her eyes, the same stubborn streak that surely ran through their entire bloodline. He saw a girl who had been pushed to her absolute limit and, instead of breaking, had decided to become the hammer. He didn't see a victim; he saw a successor. “Your wish is granted my child,” he said letting Viktor fall to the ground. Viktor hit the dirt with a heavy, ungraceful thud, gasping for air and clutching his bruised throat. The sudden release seemed to shock him as much as the initial capture. He scrambled in the dirt, trying to regain some semblance of dignity while the powerful man stood over him like a mountain. Just then someone screamed among the worriors, “No! Ashley not you, let me fight him instead.” It was Adrian. He shoved his way forward, his face pale and tight with an anxiety he couldn't hide. He looked exhausted
Vhagar looked at his grandchild intently and then a proud smile broke out his face. It wasn’t a smile of simple happiness, but one of recognition. He saw the fire in her eyes, the same stubborn streak that surely ran through their entire bloodline. He saw a girl who had been pushed to her absolute limit and, instead of breaking, had decided to become the hammer. He didn't see a victim; he saw a successor. “Your wish is granted my child,” he said letting Viktor fall to the ground. Viktor hit the dirt with a heavy, ungraceful thud, gasping for air and clutching his bruised throat. The sudden release seemed to shock him as much as the initial capture. He scrambled in the dirt, trying to regain some semblance of dignity while the powerful man stood over him like a mountain. Just then someone screamed among the worriors, “No! Ashley not you, let me fight him instead.” It was Adrian. He shoved his way forward, his face pale and tight with an anxiety he couldn't hide. He looked exhausted
Before Thalindra shut her eyes in pain she felt the air shift and a pained yet hopeful smile broke across her face as she whispered "Hail khaleesi" and just then a gush of wind blew over the entire place and people walked out like coming out of an invisible portal, a grey haired but young looking man and a younger man and a woman, the woman stepped forward and knelt beside Thalindra holding her head up, "oh my child" she whispered with teary eyes. Thalindra’s head rested in the woman's lap, her breathing shallow and ragged. The cold that had been settling into her bones seemed to recede just a little at the touch. She looked up at the woman, her vision swimming, seeing the familiar lines of a face she hadn't seen in far too many years. There was a profound sense of relief in her expression, the kind that only comes when a child finally sees their mother after a long, dark night. The woman’s hands were gentle, smoothing back Thalindra’s matted hair, her own face a mask of heartbreak a







