LOGINTalia’s POVNolan and Della stood with me as we waited to say goodbye to Arya and Henry. We watched from the yard while they packed up the vehicles. Walden didn’t come. He sent a message an hour earlier saying he wasn’t feeling well, so we left him alone. He was happy for Arya, but it still hurt to watch her leave. Anyone could see he’d started to think of Arya as a daughter.“Walden wanted to be here,” I told Arya. “You know that.”“I know. How is he recovering?” Arya asked.“He’s not 100% yet, but he is getting there,” I replied. “Tell him not to overdo it. He trained his warriors well. They’ll be able to maintain until he fully recovers,” Arya said. “Listen to me before you go. Doomfur won't welcome you with open arms. Some of them will still be loyal to your brother, and the rest will be waiting to see whether you’re anything like him,” I warned. “It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to stay hard for a while. So support each other. Both of you, every day, even on the days when
Talia’s POV"I'll accept any punishment, Luna," Arya said softly, looking me in the eye. "Whatever you and Alpha Nolan think is fair, I'll take it."Before I could answer, Henry stepped up and put his hand on Arya's shoulder. "If someone needs to take the blame, let it be me," he said. "Geoffrey attacked Arya and forced her to defend herself. That isn’t something she should be punished for.”"Luna, please don't punish Arya,” Walden jumped in. “I don't blame her for what Alpha Geoffrey did. Please do not punish her.”With Walden in favor of sparing Arya, everyone seemed to agree. He'd always been respected, and his support mattered. Some elders traded looks and whispered to each other."Walden was the one who nearly lost his life because of Geoffrey," Marco pointed out. "If Walden doesn't blame her, I'm not sure who's left to. She never betrayed Bloodmoon. Arya could have warned Geoffrey, but she didn't.""If you punish Arya, you'll have to punish all of us," Della said, half-joking as
Talia’s POVPapers rustled in the council room while Nolan scribbled notes. Sunlight spilled across the floor, turning the tiles gold. I tried to focus on pack business, but my thoughts kept drifting to Arya.Yesterday, Arya refused to see anyone. She locked herself in her house after her brother died. I convinced Henry to sneak in through her window to check on her. When the rain started, I left, hoping he could help her.‘Please let Henry help her,’ I thought.‘He’s her mate. Of course he did,’ my wolf said.A knock sounded at the door, then it swung open. Arya walked in with Henry behind her. I barely recognized her. People said she was a wreck, but now she looked different. She held her head high, eyes clear and bright, moving like a weight had finally lifted.“Good afternoon, Arya. Henry.” I set my papers aside and smiled at Arya. “It’s good to see you looking like yourself again.” I nodded to Henry. “Thank you for being there for her.”Arya gave a small, shy smile. “Hi, Luna. Th
Arya’s POVI woke up in bed, moonlight coming through the window. For a moment, I panicked when I felt arms around me. ‘It’s fine. He’s our mate. We’re safe,’ my wolf assured me. I had forgotten that I asked Henry to stay. I didn’t even know when I had fallen asleep or even when Henry got into bed with me. My back rested on his chest, his breath warm on my neck. I thanked the Moon Goddess for Henry. Without him, I didn’t know how I would have gotten through the grief of losing Geoffrey.Henry moved a little, shifting his arm around my waist. “Hey. You’re awake.”I nodded, giving him a small, tired smile. “Yeah,” I admitted, surprised to realize it was true. “I think…I think I really slept this time.”“That’s good. You need it. It’s still the middle of the night. You should go back to sleep,” Henry said.“I’m wide awake now. Let’s go to the living room. Maybe we can have some chat?”“Alright,” Henry said.In the living room, I turned on a small lamp and walked over to the liquor cabi
Arya’s POVI lay curled up on my bed, knees tight against my body. The sheets were bunched up and wrapped around my legs, making it hard to move. Outside, the sky was gray and rainy, just like how I felt inside.‘You can’t hide away like this forever,’ my wolf said.I ignored her and put my head down on my arms. Geoffrey’s dying eyes kept haunting me.‘It wasn’t your fault, Arya,’ my wolf tried again.‘How can you say that? I stabbed him. I killed him,’ I said.‘You did what he asked you to do. You are not to blame for this,’ my wolf insisted.‘Why couldn’t he have listened? Why did he have to try to kill Walden? If he hadn’t…’‘He made his choice, Arya,’ my wolf said.I shook my head and hugged myself tighter. ‘He could have made a different choice,’ I whispered. ‘He could’ve chosen me.’“Geoffrey did,” my wolf said. “He just did it the wrong way. He wanted things to end like this, and he wanted you to be the one to end it. You know how proud he was. He couldn’t bear the humiliation
Talia’s POVNolan and I sat at the table that morning, picking at our food. The pack house was quiet as we were the first ones up. Only our voices broke the silence as we talked about Geoffrey’s trial. We thought catching him would fix things, that he was behind what happened to Walden. But it didn’t help. I kept seeing Arya on the floor, crying when she learned her brother would be executed. That image wouldn’t leave me.Nolan rubbed his eyes, his voice low and weary. “This whole thing is such a mess.”“I regret involving Arya in catching Geoffrey. We should have kept her out of it,” I said.“Do you think Arya’s going to be okay?” Nolan asked.“I don’t know,” I said. “This would be a blow for anyone.”“I just hope she can get through this,” Nolan said. “But I would not be surprised if she no longer wanted anything to do with Bloodmoon.”“Would you let her leave?” I asked.“Of course. I only stopped her from going with Geoffrey because he was trying to control her,” Nolan explained, h







