เข้าสู่ระบบChapter 91: Shadows on ParchmentANYA’S POV Moonlight slipped through the half-open shutters and painted pale stripes across the new mattress Rowan had dragged in earlier this morning. The old one, along with every pillow, blanket, and scrap of linen Cassandra had ever touched, sat in a charred heap outside the pack house window. He had set it ablaze himself right after we moved back in, flames licking high while he watched with that quiet, satisfied look he got whenever he destroyed something that had hurt me. Now the room smelled of fresh cedar and smoke instead of her perfume. I loved it.I lay on my side with my head propped on one hand and watched him stretch out beside me. He wore nothing but loose sleep pants that rode low on his hips. The firelight from the hearth caught the ridges of muscle along his stomach and the faint scars that mapped his skin like old stories. He caught me staring and raised one brow.“What?” he asked, his voice low and rough from the day.I reached ou
Chapter 90: The Blade In The PackDAMIEN’S POV The war room felt smaller than usual with the morning sun slicing through the tail narrow windows and throwing long sharp shadows across the scarred oak table. Dust motes drifted in the light like tiny sparks waiting to catch. I paced the length of the room with my boots striking the flagstones hard enough to echo off the stone walls. I’d sent a trusted scout, Thorne to the Veil to find Anya, there was no way I would sit here and wait for Cassandra’s plan to start making shape. But I was disappointed to hear that she’d left the Veil. My first suspicion was Crescent Moon Pack, but I wasn’t sure enough until I confirmed it. I stopped at the head of the table and planted both palms flat on the map of Crescent Moon Pack. Red ink slashed across the gates and circled the pack house. The eastern ridge bore a black X where her family home still stood like a taunt. My knuckles whitened and my nails bit into the parchment. I could feel Maximus p
Chapter 89: The Pond and the Lie ANYA’S POV Morning light filtered through the pines and turned the pond into a sheet of molten gold. I sat on the wooden bench with my knees drawn up and my arms wrapped around them, staring at the water while tiny ripples spread from the center where a fish had jumped. The air smelled clean and sharp with dew and pine needles. I hadn’t slept more than an hour after Rowan finally drifted off beside me. My mind kept circling back to the Codex Lunaris hidden under the bed, to my name circled three times in my mother’s ink, to the weight of everything I still didn’t know how to carry.Just then I heard footsteps crunching the gravel path behind me. I didn’t turn because I already knew the rhythm of his walk.Rowan’s arms slid around my shoulders from behind. He pressed his chest to my back and rested his chin on top of my head. His warmth soaked through my thin sweater and chased some of the chill away.“What are you doing out here alone, little star?”
Chapter 88: The Moon in Ink ANYA’S POVRowan’s heartbeat thumped steady under my cheek while sweat cooled on our skin. Moonlight still spilled across the tangled sheets and painted pale stripes over his shoulder. I traced the scar that curved along his collarbone with one fingertip and felt him shiver at the touch. His arm tightened around my waist, keeping me draped half across his chest. Neither of us spoke for a long stretch. The room smelled of sex, lavender soap, and the faint dust that still clung to the corners.I lifted my head just enough to look at him. His gold eyes watched me back, soft, and unguarded, the way they only ever got when no one else could see. My throat tightened.“I know you’re curious why I insisted on coming back here,” I said quietly. “Well, I came back for something.” He didn’t flinch or push. He simply waited as his thumb stroked slow circles on my lower back.I swallowed once and pushed up on one elbow. “When I was little my mother had this book. Thic
Chapter 87: Midnight HomecomingROWAN’S POV Moonlight sliced through the narrow window of my room and painted silver bars across the floor. I lay on my back with one arm thrown over my eyes and stared at nothing. The bed felt too large and too empty. I hadn’t seen Anya since we came through the gates that morning. She had slipped away while I dealt with elders and reports and the endless questions about her return. I let her go because she needed space. I sat up and scrubbed both hands over my face. The clock on the wall showed half past two. That was enough time to let her stay by herself. I swung my legs off the mattress, pulled on a shirt, and walked to the door. The corridor outside stayed dark and silent. I moved down it with bare feet silent on the rug and stopped at Lior’s room. I knocked softly.The door opened almost immediately. Lior stood there shirtless, his hair mussed, his eyes sharp despite the hour.“Alpha Rowan.” “Anya,” I said without preamble. “Where is she?”Lio
Chapter 86: Claws and LiesDAMIEN’S POV The first thing that hit me when consciousness clawed its way back was the taste of blood in my mouth, it was thick, metallic, my own. My cheek stuck to the cold stone floor where a pool of it had dried into a tacky crust. Every breath dragged knives through my ribs. The curse had retreated for now, but it left me feeling hollowed out, muscles trembling, vision still smeared at the edges with black. Candles on the mantel had burned down to stubs, wax hardened in long tears. Hours had passed, or maybe more. I pushed up on shaking arms. Pain flared white-hot across my torso. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sit up. The hall reeked of smoke, sweat, and the sharp stink of scorched stone. My shirt clung to my skin, soaked through. I scanned the room and my stomach lurched.Cassian sat against the far wall with his knees drawn up and his coat pooled around him like spilled ink. His head rested back against the stone, his eyes closed, breathin
Chapter 16: Touch of FireDAMIEN’S POV I hadn’t slept. How could I? The candles burned down to crooked stubs hours ago, wax hardened on the map spread across my desk. My eyes traced the inked borders for the thousandth time—territories, covens, migration lines, history of power transfer. Witches
Chapter 17: Walls Closing in ANYA’S POV The knock on my door came before sunrise—three sharp taps that carried the weight of judgment. I already knew what it meant; the pack council had summoned me. I dragged myself from bed, still sore, still tired, still pretending that the thing I went throug
Chapter 20: Love or Hate DAMIEN’S POVA voice tugged at the edge of my consciousness—soft, frantic, trembling. “Damien… please. Open your eyes, Damien—wake up.” The sound drifted through the dark fog swallowing me whole, brushing over me like warm fingers against frozen skin. Another whisper fol
Chapter 15: The Cost of HopeROWAN’S POV The council chamber shook with voices before I even stepped fully inside. The moment the doors slammed behind me, every elder turned on me like wolves scenting blood. “So this is it?” I snarled before they even opened their mouths. “You want to force me in







