LOGIN"Theron didn't just die in the fire," Bastian said. "He left something behind. Something hidden. The dreams aren't just memories—they're instructions."I lay frozen in the circle of his arms, the warmth of our lovemaking fading into a cold that had nothing to do with the cabin. The fire had burned down to embers, casting long shadows across the walls, and the wind outside had gone still. The world felt suspended, holding its breath."What do you mean, instructions?" My voice came out hoarse.Bastian shifted beside me, and the furs rustled. He didn't meet my eyes. He stared at the dying fire, his jaw tight, his hand still pressed over my heart. "The first Theron wasn't just a martyr. He was a keeper. He spent his whole life gathering something. Protecting something. A record of the original Moon-Wolf line. The full genealogy, tracing back to the Luminara herself."I stared at the ceiling, my mind racing. "That's what the book is. The one in the dreams. The one that doesn't burn.""The
"Remember when I was the most dangerous thing in these woods?" Bastian murmured, pulling me closer on the old fur rug.The fire crackled in the hearth, casting warm shadows across the cabin walls. Outside, the wind moved through the pines, but in here, there was only the soft rustle of the furs and the steady beat of Bastian's heart against my back. I turned in his arms to face him, and his gold eyes reflected the firelight like embers."I remember you tried to kill me," I said, and my voice came out low. "I remember you pinned me in the snow and looked at me like I was the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to you."His mouth curved, that rare smile that still made my chest tight after all these years. "You were. You were bleeding and half-frozen and reeking of heat serum. I thought the Moon Goddess had a cruel sense of humor.""I thought you were going to rip my throat out.""I wanted to." He traced the old claiming mark on my neck, the scar that had started everything.
I stood at the edge of the celebration, watching my family dance and laugh, and felt the familiar ache of being both inside and outside at once.The spring festival had turned Silver Hollow into a riot of color and sound. Lanterns swayed from every branch, and the smell of roasting meat and honey cakes drifted through the air. Wolves of all ages filled the main clearing, dancing in circles, clapping their hands, howling at the moon that hung low and fat over the mountains. My little sister Sable was in the center of it all, her white wolf flickering in and out as she chased a group of pups in a wild game of tag. Mirren sat on a bench near the fire, her spirit-wolf a silver glow at her side, laughing at something Papa Archer said. My fathers were scattered through the crowd: Papa Bastian standing near the food tables with his arms crossed, pretending he wasn't enjoying the music; Papa Kellan deep in conversation with Maren and Sera, probably discussing something important even during a
The spirit wolf looked at me with eyes the color of the full moon, and I knew—this was Mirren. Not her body. Her soul, given form.The room felt charged, like the air before a storm. My daughter stood in the center of Elara's study with her small hands clasped in front of her, and beside her, calm and luminous, a wolf made of silver light. It didn't look like a real wolf. Not quite. It was too translucent, too still, too ancient. But it was real. I could feel it through the bond web, a new thread of connection that hadn't existed before.Bastian was the first to speak. His voice was rough, like he was swallowing something heavy. "Mirren. That's your wolf?"She nodded, and her amber-gold eyes were bright with tears. "She's been there the whole time. I just couldn't reach her. I thought she was broken. But she's not broken. She's different."Archer crossed the room without a word. He dropped to his knees in front of our daughter, his glowing hands reaching for her face, her shoulders, t
"I've read about this," Elara said, her voice trembling. "A healer who doesn't mend flesh. A healer who mends souls. The Luminara's rarest gift."Elara's study was small and warm, crammed with books and jars and bundles of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling. I sat on a wooden stool in the center of the room, my hands still tingling from the silver light that had poured out of them last night. The old healer stood at her desk with a massive, leather-bound book open in front of her, her knotted fingers tracing the faded text."That's what I am?" I asked, and my voice came out smaller than I meant it to. "A soul healer?""That's what the records say. A Moon-Wolf whose abilities extend beyond the body, into the mind and spirit. The Luminara herself was said to possess this gift, but it hasn't appeared in the bloodline for three hundred years." Elara turned to face me, and her dark eyes were bright with something that looked like wonder. "Your wolf isn't silent because she's broken, Mirr
The wolf in her dream was made of light.Mirren stood at the edge of a forest she had never seen before. The trees were enormous, their branches woven together like a ceiling, and their leaves were the color of moonlight. The air was warm and still, and the ground beneath her bare feet was soft with moss. In the distance, between the silver trunks, a wolf was waiting for her.It wasn't like the wolves she knew. It wasn't flesh and fur. It was made of light, pure and silver-white, and its eyes were the color of the full moon. It stood perfectly still, watching her with an expression that was neither patient nor impatient. Just present. Just waiting."Who are you?" Mirren called, and her voice echoed strangely in the silent forest.The wolf didn't answer in words. It turned and began walking deeper into the trees, and Mirren followed. She didn't know why. She only knew that she had to.The forest went on forever. The wolf walked ahead of her, always just out of reach, its light casting
I felt him before I saw him—a pressure in the air, a weight in the dark that made my wolf curl up and go silent.The heat had been eating me alive for hours. Every step through the snow sent a fresh wave of fire through my belly, and my legs were slick with something I didn’t want to name. The pine
Two medics held me down before I could ask what was happening. The needle went in, and fire spread through my veins. I bucked on the table hard enough that the leather restraints creaked, and a strangled sound tore out of my throat that wasn't a word. One medic, a beta woman with flat grey eyes an
Silas’s boot drove into my stomach, and I folded around the pain without a sound. Ten years in this pack had taught me one thing: noise makes it worse.I hit the training yard dirt on my side, and a puff of dust coated my tongue. Silas stood over me with his sandy hair cropped close to his skull, h
They shoved Bastian into the pit before I could even stand. The crowd roared. And I felt the first blow land in my own ribs. An enforcer with a scar splitting his chin dragged me up a set of stone steps to a wooden ledge that overlooked the fighting pit. The chamber was underground, carved into th







