ANMELDENThe gold in my eyes didn't fade.It settled, became permanent, a quiet fire that burned behind my irises. Every morning, I faced the mirror and met the gaze of a stranger. She looked like me, carried my scars, and wore my face — but there was something ancient in her expression, something knowing and patient. She was the woman I was becoming, and she terrified me as much as she fascinated me. She was the queen I never asked to be, the ruler I never wanted to become. She was the destiny I had been running from my entire life, the legacy I had never known I carried.The pack noticed. They couldn't help it. My presence had changed. When I walked into a room, conversations faltered. When I spoke, wolves listened in a way they never had before. It wasn't fear that silenced them. It was something deeper. Something they couldn't name. Something that made them lean in made them want to hear what I had to say. It was the weight of something ancient and powerful stirring in their midst, somethi
Something was happening to me.It wasn't gradual. It wasn't quiet. It was a storm breaking inside my chest, a fire catching in my blood. I felt it in the way my skin prickled when the wind touched me. I felt it in the way sounds became sharper, colours brighter, scents more distinct. The world was no longer muted. It was alive. And so was I.The first sign came three days after Rylan's death. I was walking through the training yard when a warrior stumbled in front of me. He didn't trip. He fell. His knees hit the ground like he'd been pushed by an invisible hand. He looked up at me, his eyes wide with confusion. I looked down at my own hands, wondering if I had done something. They were steady. Calm. But something inside me was not.That night, the dreams started.I saw a throne carved from white stone. I saw wolves kneeling before me, their heads bowed, their eyes reverent. I saw a crown of silver and gold hovering above my head. I reached for it, and when my fingers touched it, I w
The word hung in the air between us.No.Kael had asked me to be his mate. Officially. Publicly. In front of the pack. The entire pack had gathered in the training yard, their eyes fixed on us, their breath held in anticipation. The moon was full overhead, casting silver light across the snow. It was the perfect moment, the kind of moment that belonged in stories. The kind of moment I had dreamed about since I was a little girl, before I knew what pain was, before I learned that love could hurt. Before I learned that the people you love most could break your heart. Before I learned that nothing in life was guaranteed. Before I learned that happiness came at a price. Before I learned that some dreams were too fragile to hold.And I had said no.Not because I didn't love him. Not because I didn't want him. Not because I had any doubt about the bond between us. The bond was real. It had always been real. It had been growing between us from the very first moment our eyes met in that cold
After Kael killed Rylan, something changed.Not in Kael. In me.My wolf was restless. Pacing. Howling. She wanted something. She needed something. She was searching for something she couldn't name. It was a constant, gnawing ache, a hunger that nothing could satisfy. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't focus on anything except the feeling of being incomplete. Every moment felt like I was missing a piece of myself, like I was walking through life with a wound that wouldn't heal. The days blurred together, meaningless and hollow. I found myself staring into space, reaching for something I couldn't grasp.I didn't understand what.Until I looked at Kael.And my wolf went still.Mate.The word echoed in my mind. Not a thought. A truth. A knowing. It was like a door that had been locked my entire life had suddenly swung open. Everything fell into place. The restless pacing. The constant ache. The way my wolf had always pushed me toward him, even when I didn't understand why. Even
Rylan stayed for three days.Three days of meetings. Three days of tension. Three days of Kael's jealousy burning hotter with every passing hour. The air in the pack house had grown thick and heavy, charged with an energy that made everyone walk carefully, speak quietly, avoid eye contact. It was like living inside a pressure cooker, waiting for the lid to blow. Even the pack members who usually kept to themselves seemed on edge, their eyes darting nervously between Kael and the visitor from the north. Meals were eaten in tense silence. Conversations were clipped and short.I could feel it through the bond — the rage, the fear, the primal need to protect what was his. It was a constant pressure, a storm waiting to break. Every time Rylan entered a room, Kael's jaw would tighten, the muscle jumping beneath his skin like a live wire. Every time Rylan spoke, Kael's hands would curl into fists, his knuckles going white. Every time Rylan's gaze drifted toward me, I could feel the temperatu
The pack had a new visitor.His name was Rylan. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with sandy hair and a smile that made the younger she-wolves blush. He was an Alpha from the northern territories, sent to discuss an alliance with Kael. He carried himself with easy confidence, the kind that came from years of power and privilege. His eyes were the color of winter frost, pale and assessing, and they missed nothing. Everything about him was polished, practiced, and carefully measured. He was the kind of man who knew exactly what he wanted and had no qualms about taking it.I didn't like him.Not because he was rude. Not because he was threatening. Because of the way he looked at me. The way his eyes lingered a beat too long. The way his smile widened when I walked into the room. The way his gaze traced over me like he was cataloging every detail, like he was memorizing me for some purpose I didn't understand. It was the look of a predator sizing up its prey, and it made my skin crawl. It wa
The trap was set.Kael spent the next two days planning. He didn't tell me everything. Just what I needed to know."There's a traitor in the pack," he said. "Someone who let Marcus's messenger into the house. Someone who planted the letter.""Who?""I don't know yet. But I'm going to find out.""Ho
Kael came back three days later.I felt him before I saw him. The bond — the thing he kept calling a bond — pulsed in my chest like a second heartbeat. Warm. Demanding. Pulling me toward the front door.I was in the kitchen. Eating bread I didn't taste. Drinking tea that had gone cold an hour ago.
The kiss followed me to bed.Not Kael. Just the memory. Just the way his mouth felt against mine. Just the sound he made when I didn't push him away.I lay on the left side of his bed. The same spot as last night. The same clothes. The same bite mark throbbing on my neck.Kael wasn't here.He'd dis
The border looked like any other tree line.Snow-covered pines. Frozen ground. Grey sky pressing down like a ceiling. But I could feel the tension in the air — the way the wolves on both sides stood too still, watched too closely, breathed too carefully.Kael stood beside me. His shoulder brushed m







