The training outfit was fitted—a little too fitted if you asked me. The top was a sleek black
long-sleeved spandex that clung to my frame like a second skin, exposing every curve. My
breasts were practically gift-wrapped, and the leggings didn’t help either. They were just as tight,
high-waisted, and black.
I glanced at the mirror and nearly scowled. Great. I looked like a fitness influencer prepping for
battle. At least I wasn’t flat in the front or the back, or this would’ve been a whole new level of
humiliation.
Something told me Darius intentionally picked this dress. The bastard!
I slipped on the white sneakers left at the edge of the bed and tied my hair into a high ponytail.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.
Kellan stood leaning against the wall directly opposite, arms crossed and picking at his nails like
he had all the time in the world.
His eyes flicked up as he registered me—and then traveled down slowly, appraising every inch
of the ensemble. A grin twitched at the corner of his lips.
“At least we got the outfit right.”
I shot him a look and tugged at the hem of the top, trying to stretch it lower.
“Half right,” he added with a chuckle, pushing off the wall. “Come on. Follow me.”
We moved through the hallways in silence, the sound of our footsteps muffled by plush rugs. As
we descended the staircase, I began to take in more of the mansion. Marble floors. Polished
railings. Chandeliers that probably cost more than my childhood home.
This place was absurdly rich.
He probably got all the money from the packs he'd conquered.
Every staff member we passed bowed slightly to Kellan. Some offered him respectful nods.
Others cast curious glances in my direction before quickly looking away making me feel less
comfortable.
The stupid outfit!
I stayed close behind him, my shoulders tense and my eyes scanning
everything—half-expecting Darius to appear at any moment like some nightmare shadow.
Kellan led me through a pair of tall double doors and into a spacious kitchen that looked like
something out of a luxury lifestyle magazine.
A woman in a white apron greeted us with a warm smile and handed Kellan a travel mug
"His coffee. Two sugars. No cream.”
Kellan turned to me and offered the cup. “Here. Make sure you don’t spill it. Alpha Darius hates
messes. Especially in the morning.”
I took the mug carefully, trying not to roll my eyes.
“Why can’t you take it?” I muttered.
He gave me a pointed look. “Because you're his mate, remember? You’re supposed to serve
him now.”
My stomach twisted, but I said nothing.
I can't continue like this! That stupid Alpha is practically turning me into his slave.
And the worst part? The day hadn’t even started yet. I internally groaned as I let Kellan lead me
to his office. Thankfully, Alpha Darius wasn't there yet.
I released a breath of relief.
Carefully, I placed the mug on the table, careful not to spill any on the table that seemed to be
full of papers.
Kellan led me outside of the pack, as we began the tour. The packed house was big. Really big.
And more people were living there than I imagined and the worst thing¿ They wouldn't stop
staring.
I had finally had enough when two guards stopped to whistle as I walked past with Kellan.
I stomped my feet on the floor and folded my hands, causing Kellan to stop ahead of me.
"What is it?" Why did you
stop?
"I'm not doing this anymore. I'm not going to walk around the pack looking like a well-fed cow for
slaughter." I said firmly. "You and Darius are messing with me intentionally. Make me dress up
this way to show the members of your pack what a trophy you've acquired right? Now even your
guards are making funny sounds and having stupid thoughts about me."
He tilted his head to the left as the grin slowly fell from his face. "Which guards?" He asked.
"The two that just passed us," I said, pointing at the guards.
Daniel! Alvin!" He called out, his usual playful self slipping away. The two guards turned to face
their Beta. "Come over here."
The two guards ran and stopped in front of him, their heads bent slightly as they answered their
Beta. "I heard you two seem to find your Luna appetizing." I saw their throats bubble as they
raised their head to look at me and brought them back to the ground.
"No, Beta. We would never." One of them said, his voice quivering with fear.
"So you call your Luna a liar?" They both raise their heads in fear and I almost feel bad for
telling Kellan about them.
"For your impudence, I want you two to report yourselves first to Gamma Griffin. After that, I
want you two to give yourselves 50 lashes each—"
"Kellan, it's fine. I say but he only smiles at me and turns back to face the
men.
"Right after that, I want you two on patrol for the rest of the week. Is that understood?" They
both nodded and walked off.
That was too much." I yelled at him but he only gave me his
signature smile and walked on.
"Hurry up Luna, you have someone waiting for you." He called over his shoulder.
I wanted to scream! To bite something or punch something but I settled for counting to ten and
following him as he led me deep into the woods.
Waiting for us was a man in his late forties wearing a combat suit and leather boots. He had a
scar over his right eye. One eye was a milky white, while his other eye was grey. His grey hair was
neatly combed to the back and he stood like someone from the military.
"This," Kellan said as we approached him, " is Gamma Griffin. He'll be in charge of your
training."
I was beyond shocked.
"I'll be undergoing military training as well? What am I exactly? A soon-to-be slave warrior?"
"Nope, you're a soon-to-be unstoppable Luna," Kellan said as he began to walk away. "Have
fun!"
I turned to face him, looking at him from head to toe once again.
"Have you had any military experience?" He asked, his voice thick and croak.
"Why am I being trained in the middle of the woods?" I asked, curious. There were other better
places I possibly could train in.
"So others won't see your shortcomings. No one will hear you beg here." I didn't know if that was
supposed to calm me or scare me but I did know something, though.
Something important.
"Can I at least ease myself before we continue?" I asked in my most sincere voice.
The question left him unstable because his stoic expression changed to something a little
embarrassed. "Ah...sure. You can go deeper into the woods. I'll wait here." He said, scratching
the back of his neck.
I smiled nicely at him and began walking deeper into the woods. My pace slowly increased as I
moved deeper. Before I knew, I was sprinting.
Close to the pack's borders, right? Let's see how close.
DARIUS POVThe clouds were tense, and the night air was heavier than usual, scented with blood and betrayal from the unknown. The once silent woods that wrapped around the thorn's territory like a protective shell now whispered of unrelated truth and shadows lurking within. My chest was tight. I hadn’t slept in nearly two nights, not since Kellan’s body was dragged in like a ragdoll, broken and bleeding, endlessly without any breathing pulse.And now, Tessa.Gamma gave me a report that left me standing in absolute stillness after he returned from the borders while trying to hold his breath “She was found near the North passage, Alpha. Barely breathing… she was attacked.”Attacked? Tessa? By who?I was glaring out the window grinding my teeth alone in the war chamber. My reflection stared right back, looking like hell, my face looked ghostly with dark circles under my eyes, and my hair looked messy due to many nights without sleep. All those unanswered questions just sitting on my sh
Tessa’s POVFrom here, I could sense the tension escaping from the territory, the howls of the pack resounded in the cold air like mourning chants as I stood beneath the shadows of the ancient trees. Even Something had gone wrong again. My plan had been tampered with, just like the last time.I feel Kellan was still alive.Dammit.My nails scraped against the icy bark of the tree close to me. That pathetic Felix and his overconfident shadow, Chigax, had failed me again. I had told them to make it clean. Silent. And Untraceable. A fatal wound in the forest while Kellan was alone was enough time before someone found him. But no. That imbecile Gamma got there first, and now the entire pack was in a frenzy, I think Gamma would have a thirst for death. Still, he wasn't a match for me, neither Chigax nor Felix could handle his strong wolf, Gamma had been the one who trained every wolf in the pack, including Dauris and Kellan, as well as Ember at the moment, I don't think that would be a go
EMBER’S POVIt was a little bit of a challenge at first, but it looked like the weight of the storm was building in the distance, waiting for me to come and carry it.. And even when I wasn't ready, I felt it. Like it was pulling on something inside me. Bugging at my ribs. Whispering behind my ears like a voice I almost remembered, I might have heard, or seen it, but not in a realistic way.Madeline was still sleeping on the clinic bench right beside me. The nurses hurried in and out of the operating room as their movements became weird and blurred. That was because I sensed a change within myself. The flickering lights above me started to pulse in time with the warmth in my chest and the ache I assumed was caused by anxiety.Dong..dong..dong..My heart beat, orSomething else.Something a little older than mine.A second heartbeat… this isn't how my heart beats normally, I could feel it. I stood up, taking a deep breath while rubbing my hands down my arms to relieve the cold that
I feel the thought as if it were a wave running through my body.What if she didn’t betray us?What if she was the first victim?I reached down and brushed Madeline’s damp hair away from her face. “I don’t believe she betrayed us. She probably went far for some medicine. Or…is she in danger?”I thought about the strange shadow Dauris mentioned. The attacker that Kellan described before slipping into unconsciousness. The scentless trail. The old symbols on the trees Ezekiel found.It was all too planned.Too clean.Like someone knew exactly what string to pull to make us fall apart from the inside.And Tessa? Was she the perfect piece to be removed?The pack needed her. She is responsible for keeping the warriors alive with her medical skills. She had made me alive. And in a way, she kept Dauris sane.Taking her would be a great move for anyone who wants to unravel the entire pack.My chest aches with the weight of realization as I chew the inside of my cheekThis wasn’t just war.This
EMBER'S POVMadeline was fast asleep with her head on my lap in the clinic's small hallway, i could feel the cold floor piercing the flimsy fabric of my dress. Her breathing was calm, but the strange words she had muttered continued to resonate in my mind, and her skin continued to burn with an inexplicable fever.“She has Ember’s eyes…” My throat dried up..I know I have seen Velise, I have seen the wolf we both shared.. but I wasn't ready for this big mission, the responsibility, the weight that tagged along in my Soul, too cold, not yet ready…And I didn’t know what this meant. I didn’t know who she was before me. But the weight of it pressed on me like a mountain.And now… Tessa was missing.I glanced toward the open clinic doors. Inside, the nurses moved fast…clipping tools, soaking clothes, murmuring healing chants in low, trembling voices. But none of them were Tessa.She should have been here.She always was.Tessa had healed warriors with broken spines. She had nursed babies
The moment Gamma shifted to his wolf form, which was already soaked in sweat and streaks of Kellan’s blood, he didn’t wait for instruction before he scooped up Kellan’s limp body from the ground and dashed him on his back running through the main pathway toward the pack’s clinic. I followed close behind, Ember holding Madeline beside me, her steps uneven as fear and confusion still coursed through her veins.We stormed into the clinic, expecting to see Tessa, our most skilled healer, who was the most reliable woman in a crisis, but the room was empty. The air smelled of clinic drugs and blood drips that were being infused to a sick patient; there were also salves and sterile cloths, but the usual calm energy was missing. One of the junior nurses was breathing fast with shock the moment we barged in.“Where’s Tessa?” I growled, with urgency in my voice.“I…she’s not here, Alpha. She hasn’t reported since noon,” the nurse stammered, already snapping into action as the others rushed forw