MasukThe 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.
The packhouse vibrated with music, laughter, warm lights…Madeline had miraculously recovered, and the entire pack was celebrating. Tessa had insisted on the party. She handled the decorations, the food, and even Ember’s dress..a soft blue gown matching her own.“You look perfect,” Tessa whispered as she adjusted Ember’s hair, fingers gentle. There was something strangely emotional in her voice.“Thank you,” Ember murmured. “Really.”“I’ll check on a patient quickly. I’ll meet you in the hall.”Ember left her room, heading toward the music-filled corridor, when Ezekiel stepped out from the shadows.“Ember… I need to talk to you.”“Not now, Ezekiel…”“Please.” His voice broke. “Just for a moment.”She paused.He led her outside, under the full moon. The night was windless, tense. He turned to her suddenly, pain in his eyes.“I love you.”She went still, Shocked..“You don’t belong with him. Let’s leave tonight. You and I.”“Ezekiel…” Ember swallowed, breath shaking. “You don’t know what
POVThe night air hit us first.. cold, metallic, and humming with a strange impatience, as though the entire forest had been holding its breath while we were inside. Darius walked ahead of Kellan to quickly see what had been going wrong.., his shoulders stiff, his jaw set in that conflicted way he wore whenever he didn’t understand the storm inside him. Venus’ presence inside him was restless—too awake, too aware.. I had to follow him without him knowing..I just needed to see them, Even though I wasn't running into the forest anymore.And Kaila… the ghost of she still hung between us like lightning.The moment I stepped out of the temple entrance, the world felt wrong. Or maybe too quiet. The Blood Moon, heavy and red and unforgiving, watched from above, staining the grounds in its eerie glow.Darius exhaled shakily. “hold on to the shifting ones long enough..call Gamma. Take the other half human to Tessa…But Don't rush her.. his command came out steadily. The pack must be—”But his v
The packhouse had finally gone quiet, but Darius couldn’t sleep. Even after hours of pacing and standing by his office window, listening to the distant howl of restless wolves beneath the blood-streaked moon, his mind kept circling back to Madeline…his fragile sister who had smiled earlier, actually smiled, for the first time in weeks.He needed to check on her again. Needed the reassurance. Needed to see her chest rise and fall with his own eyes.So he moved silently through the dim hallway, barefoot, steps careful, almost reverent. The corridor smelled faintly of pinewood and lavender…Ember’s scent lingering from earlier visits…and it annoyed him that he noticed it, that it made his chest tighten in ways he didn’t want to acknowledge.He reached Madeline’s door and pushed it open gently, letting only a sliver of hallway light slip through.And then he froze.Madeline wasn’t alone.She was curled on Ember’s lap, her head pressed to Ember’s thigh, small fingers gripping Ember’s dress
Ember didn’t know how long she stood staring into the glowing ravine. Minutes… hours… time bent strangely around that place. Kaila paced inside her, restless and anxious, while Velise hovered like a shadow made of moonlight.The heartbeat under the earth thumped louder.Steady.Ancient.Calling.Ember stepped to the very edge. Her wolf paws tingled as if the ground recognized her. Light spilled upwards, wrapping around her legs, warm and cold at the same time. She lowered her head, sniffing…And everything changed.The world around her vanished, swallowed by a blinding white light.Her body stopped existing. She floated…weightless, breathless, suspended in something too quiet to be real.Then the white faded.And she was standing in a circular stone room.Lanterns burned without fire. Symbols glowed on the walls..symbols she had never seen, yet somehow understood. Footsteps echoed behind her. Ember spun around, but no one was there.Her voice trembled.“Velise?”Silence.Instead, the
The moment the Blood Moon flared again, something inside Ember snapped open like a door she didn’t even know existed. Her pulse thundered. Kaila pressed hard against her skin from the inside, urgent, almost desperate.Shift. Now.Ember didn’t argue.Her bones bent, stretched, reshaped—this time with almost no pain, as if the moon itself had carved a path for her. She didn’t even feel the floor when she dropped onto all fours. The world sharpened instantly: every scent, every heartbeat, every tremble of fear across the territory.But the strangest scent was behind her.Cold. Familiar. Unmistakable.Velise.Her spirit drifted into form beside Ember’s wolf, half-shadow, half-light, walking like she still belonged to the world of the living. She looked stronger than before…clearer, her features no longer blurred by pain.Kaila growled low inside Ember’s chest.Why now?Velise answered without speaking, her voice drifting directly into Ember’s wolf-mind.Because the cycle breaks today. And
Madeline’s last words….You won’t survive the next shift…echoed so violently in Ember’s head that for a few seconds she couldn’t breathe. The floor beneath her felt unsteady, as if the entire pack house was trembling in anticipation of something worse.Madeline stood there…half herself, half Velise…her breathing sharp and uneven, her fingers twitching like she was fighting an invisible force inside her ribcage.“Madeline,” Ember whispered, taking one careful step toward her. “Tell me what’s inside me. Tell me what I’m supposed to find.”Madeline smiled….sad, broken, and far too old for her young face.“It’s not something inside, Ember. It’s something you carry. A bond that didn’t start with you and Darius. It didn’t even start with Velise.”A heavy silence fell.“What bond?” Ember whispered.Madeline’s eyes flickered…green then blue then green again.“The first bond. The original pact. The thread that ties the Blood Moon to your wolf. The reason Kaila rises inside you like she never di







