Se connecterSarah’s POV I woke up with weight pressing on my chest like someone had placed stones there while I slept. My eyes opened to familiar ceiling cracks I’d memorized during countless sleepless nights, but today they felt different and accusing.Sleep had been impossible since Kiera’s return. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her walking into the council hall like she owned the place. Saw the way pack members looked at her with something like hope. Saw my entire world crumbling while she smiled.I forced myself out of bed, my body moving through morning routines on its own. As I walked through the pack house corridors, I noticed things I’d been trying to ignore. The guards stared at me differently now. Some avoided eye contact entirely, suddenly finding the walls fascinating when I passed. Others watched me with something that looked like suspicion, like they were waiting for me to do something wrong.They no longer saw me as Luna. They saw me as temporary. A placeholder waiting to be r
Kiera’s POV I walked into the council hall with Darius at my side, and immediately felt the weight of every eye in the room landing on me. Council members sat in their high-backed chairs, arranged in that intimidating semicircle that made anyone standing before them feel small. Pack leaders occupied seats along the walls, their expressions ranging from curiosity to outright hostility.I kept my focus straight ahead, refusing to let them see any weakness. My hands stayed steady at my sides despite the anxiety crawling through my chest like insects.The council called the meeting to order with formal words that echoed off stone walls. Elder Chen spoke first, his ancient voice carrying authority that made the air feel heavy.“Kiera Vale. You have invoked your right to reclaim the Luna position. However, because you abandoned your duties and fled pack territory five years ago, you must complete the traditional Luna rites before your claim can be recognized.”He paused, letting the words
Kiera’s POV I stood in the middle of my old room, and it felt like stepping into a memory that hadn’t quite faded. Everything looked the same, yet different in ways I couldn’t articulate. The furniture occupied the exact positions I remembered. A blanket lay folded neatly on the bed, corners perfectly aligned. The faint scent of lavender still lingered in the air, mixed with dust that the maid must have wiped away earlier today.Nostalgia hit me first, followed immediately by pain sharp enough to steal my breath. Then anger. Then determination that settled into my bones like steel.I ran my fingers across the old dresser, feeling the deep scratch marks I’d made years ago. The nights I looked through the window, before I’d learned the truth about Darius and, stealing Darius’s bike. My nails had torn wood, desperate and panicked and so young I barely recognized that girl anymore.Returning here hadn’t been easy. The council meeting had drained every ounce of energy I possessed. The pac
Kiera’s POV I walked out of the council hall, my legs carrying me forward like a force behind me while my mind tried to process what I’d just agreed to. Behind me, I heard Darius’s footsteps following, steady and persistent.Magnus waited outside, leaning against the building with that casual confidence he always wore like armor. His pale eyes found mine as I approached, and something like satisfaction flickered across his face.I stopped directly in front of him. Darius stayed back, maintaining distance but close enough that I could feel his presence. His gaze burned into my back, heavy with things he wanted to say but couldn’t.Magnus smiled, opening his mouth to speak.My fist connected with his face before words could form. The impact sent his head snapping to the side, blood immediately welling at the corner of his mouth.Magnus chuckled, the sound rough and somehow amused. “Well, that’s one way to say hello.”“That’s for what you did to me.” My voice was steady despite the rage
Sarah’s POV I collapsed on the floor of my room, my body folding in on itself like something without bones. The cold stone pressed against my cheek, but I barely felt it. Everything inside me had gone numb weeks ago, when Marcus stopped breathing in my arms. Now Lucien was gone too. Dead by his own brother’s claws. I’d loved Darius more than I’d ever loved Lucien. That truth sat in my chest like a stone I couldn’t swallow. Darius had been everything I’d wanted from the moment I first saw him, powerful, commanding, beautiful in the way alphas were beautiful. But he’d never looked at me the way I needed him to. Never saw me as a woman, only as a convenience. A surrogate. A political arrangement. Lucien had been my comfort when Darius’s indifference became too painful to bear. He’d touched me like I mattered, whispered words that made me feel wanted even if they were lies. I’d tried so hard to prove my love to Darius, to make him see me, to become the Luna he needed. But it had never
Kiera’s POV I walked into the council hall with Magnus at my side, and I knew exactly how I looked. Battered. Exhausted. Covered in dirt and blood from escaping the Broker’s domain. My clothes were torn, my hair a tangled mess, bruises darkening across every visible inch of skin.I’d barely made it to Magnus’s territory when word reached him about Darius’s trial. The news had come through his pack network, urgent and terrible. An alpha being stripped of his position. Exile to the human world.I’d had no choice but to trust Magnus’s guards with Eli, leaving my son in their protection while I rushed here. The decision tore at my heart, but what else could I do? Darius was the father of my child, and no matter what stood between us, I couldn’t let him face this alone.Every eye in the hall turned toward me. Whispers exploded across the space like wildfire, the sound building until it felt like being surrounded by bees.I could see maids pressed against windows outside, their faces eager







