LOGINThe 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 rain had stopped, but the night still felt soaked in it. Every surface in the packhouse glistened faintly under the lanterns, and a soft mist rolled through the corridors like something alive but unseen.Darius hadn’t slept. He sat by the window in his room, elbows resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the courtyard below. The faint torchlight outside showed only silhouettes of the guards moving, but his mind was on Tessa’s voice, the whisper Gamma had told him only hours ago.Reailks. Again. Always circling back to that same name.It was like the universe refused to let him forget.He rubbed his face tiredly, then looked toward the door when a soft knock came.“Come in.”It was Ember. Her hair was still damp from the rain, her expression calm but wary.“I thought you’d still be awake,” she said.“I couldn’t sleep,” Darius replied. “Gamma told me what he heard.”She nodded slowly. “Then it’s true.”“Yes.” His voice was low, heavy. “She’s in contact with him… or she thinks she is.”E
Darius’s study was dim when Ember stepped in. The fire in the hearth had burned down to dull orange light. Papers were scattered across his desk this time, unlike before, and one look told her he had been pacing again.He didn’t turn when she entered.Gamma shut the door behind her quietly and left them alone.For a moment, neither spoke. The silence was not heavy from anger but from the kind that follows too many questions with too few answers.“You went to her room,” Darius finally said.Ember froze. “You knew?”“I heard the door creak from the hall,” he said, still facing the window. “You shouldn’t have gone there alone, Ember.”“I needed to see her,” she said softly. “To know what she’s hiding.”Darius turned now. His eyes were tired, red at the edges, but steady. “And did you find it?”Ember hesitated. “She knew about Velise. About her voice. She said she could hear her too.”He stared at her, and she could tell the thought cut him deep.“She said he speaks to her,” Ember continu
Morning returned heavy and gray, as though the night had not truly ended. The air inside the mansion felt colder than usual, carrying the faint smell of rain that hadn’t yet fallen.Darius had not moved from his chair since the early hours. He sat at his desk, elbows on the surface, his fingers pressed against his forehead. He could still hear Tessa’s whisper as clear as if she stood in front of him now.He watches. He waits. The blood remembers its oath.The words wouldn’t leave his head.He had heard Ember’s soft gasp too, the way her breath caught when she realized she wasn’t alone. It was not fear in her sound, it was heartbreak, the kind that came from knowing something terrible about someone you wanted to believe in.A knock broke through his thoughts.Gamma entered quietly. His face showed the same exhaustion that had settled on everyone lately, like they were all running from something they couldn’t see.“You didn’t rest again,” Gamma said gently.“Could you, if you were me?”
The following morning came with a cold stillness that wrapped the mansion in quiet. It was the kind of morning that felt like a warning, when even the wind seemed to wait before it breathed again.Darius hadn’t closed his eyes all night. He sat behind his desk still wearing the same clothes from the day before, his shirt wrinkled, the faint smell of smoke clinging to him from the candles that had burned to nothing while he thought through every possible outcome.The name Reailks echoed through his mind like a curse.He had heard it again, clear, soft, from Tessa’s lips. That one whisper had undone every thread of peace he had been trying to hold together.He looked up when the door opened. Gamma entered quietly, carrying two cups of strong black coffee. His face said he hadn’t slept either.“You look worse than me,” Darius muttered with a dry, humorless smile.Gamma set the coffee down on the table. “I could say the same for you.”They stood there for a moment, neither reaching for th
The sun rose slow that morning, it is light dull and weak through the mist that rolled over the trees. Darius had not slept. His eyes were red from long hours of pacing, from the echoes of a voice he could not erase. Tessa’s whisper clung to his mind, curling through every thought until he could no longer tell where his suspicion ended and truth began.Reailks.The name sounded different now that he had heard it spoken by her. It was no longer a mystery from his past, it was a living thing breathing through the halls of his home.He stood by the window in his office, his fingers resting on the cold glass. Outside, he could see the training grounds where the younger wolves had already begun their morning drills. Their laughter should have filled him with pride, but instead it felt like a lie, as if they were playing on a battlefield they did not yet know existed.A quiet knock sounded.“Come in,” Darius said without turning.Gamma entered, his face drawn, his steps careful. “Alpha, I w
The night was quiet but inside the mansion everything carried a weight that could break even the strongest spirit. Ember had not slept, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, yet her heart refused to let her close them. Madeline’s shallow breathing filled the room, the kind of fragile sound that reminded Ember of glass ready to shatter.She sat by the bedside, hands folded together, watching her sister-in-law with a mix of fear and stubborn love. The glow of the lamp at the corner cast long shadows on the wall, making the room feel smaller.Then it happened.Madeline stirred. Her fingers twitched against the sheets and her lips moved faintly. Ember leaned closer, tightening her hold around Madeline’s hand.“Madeline,” she whispered softly, “I am right here.”The younger woman’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then catching Ember’s face. A faint tremor passed through her body. Her lips parted and words stumbled out, broken but urgent.“They are here… closer than you think… Velise say







