The decision had not been an easy one, but it was necessary. The Pack needed a ruler, someone strong enough to carry the weight of leadership, someone the people could trust. And in that moment, when all eyes had turned toward me, I knew deep down that I wasn’t ready to take over an entire Pack’s duty. My mind wasn’t settled, my heart was still tangled between past and present, and the scars of betrayal still ached whenever I thought of what Jonathan and Luna Alisha had done.So the choice had been made. My father would take the mantle instead.The Alpha Council themselves, who had come to witness the interrogation of Luna Alisha and Jonathan, had agreed to it without hesitation. They had seen the brokenness in my voice, the hesitation in my stance, and perhaps, the yearning in my eyes for something else. My father had always carried an aura of wisdom and patience that I lacked. He had always been the one to step back when I surged forward with temper, always the one who steadied me w
Hades’s arms held me close, his warmth pressed into every fragile corner of me as though he could seal the cracks of my bleeding heart with nothing more than his embrace.His lips brushed against my temple, a touch so gentle it felt like the whisper of the wind through spring leaves. “How are you feeling now?” he asked softly, his voice a low rumble that seemed to settle straight into my chest.I let my head sink deeper into his chest, nuzzling against the steady beat of his heart. It grounded me. It reminded me that I was not alone. “Good,” I whispered, though my voice trembled. The ache in my chest hadn’t disappeared, but the chaos in my mind had softened. I could think, not with the desperate madness of grief, but with a slow, quiet clarity.He exhaled in relief, his hand smoothing along my back as if he were taming the storm that lived inside me. “Glad to hear it, my Luna,” he murmured, and for a moment, the title didn’t feel like a weight or a responsibility. It felt like belongi
Who knew that Ruby's absence would be like a world drained of all color, like a heart stripped of its very heartbeat. Her soft voice calling me Mommy, her little figure jumping around whenever I helped her take a bath, her tiny hands fumbling at the buttons of her dresses as she opened her closet and stood there, always wondering what she should wear. Those moments were the rhythm of my heart, and now they were gone. Every breath felt hollow without them. I had lost my daughter. She was no longer with me. She was no longer going to recognize me, no matter what I did. I curled myself in the bathtub, hugging my knees to my chest, sitting like a lifeless statue. The water had long since turned cold, but I hadn’t moved. Each drop falling over me was like shards of frost, cutting into my skin, reminding me that I was still alive when all I wanted was to fade into the numbness. Her voice, her smile, her little laugh—they circled endlessly in my mind, haunting me, mocking me with their abs
The apartment door closed behind us with a soft thud, but the silence that followed was deafening. My hand clutched Hades’s arm, needing the grounding strength of his presence. My father trailed just behind, carrying my purse as though the small act would ease the burden pressing down on us all. His eyes kept darting between me and the air around us, as if he could hold back the storm with nothing but his concern.The weight of it was everywhere. Power thickened the air, making each breath heavy, every step harder to take. The walls seemed to hum with unease, the stillness between us alive with something unspeakable. It drained the soul, this heaviness, and I could feel my wolf pacing within me, restless and unsettled.We turned into the living room, and there they were. A couple, rising to their feet as we entered, their gazes fixed on us with something sharp—curiosity, pain, anticipation. Their presence cut through the room like a blade. And before I could form words, before I could
We searched everywhere. Like madmen tearing through the night, we turned the entire Pack into chaos. Wolves ripped through the woods, claws digging through the earth, noses pressed to the ground in desperation. Witches raised their hands to the sky, chanting spells that lit the darkness in fiery runes, each syllable vibrating the air with raw power. Every corridor, every hidden chamber, every secret tunnel of the Packhouse was overturned, ransacked, shredded in our pursuit of her.Ruby’s name echoed in the night like a haunting prayer, shouted by wolves, whispered by witches, cried by me until my throat burned.But she was not there.Every effort failed. The witches who could bend air to search for scents, who could scry with blood or fire, could find no thread that led us to her. Even the wolves who could trace the faintest track through rivers and storms came up empty-handed.Hades left no stone unturned. He abandoned the Packhouse once we had turned it inside out and went from Pack
The entire world of Werewolves and Witches had surrounded the Packhouse that night. It was not just a gathering; it was a storm of vengeance, a tide of fury united under one command—find Ruby and make sure Luna Alisha regretted her sins with every bone in her body.The Packhouse stood like a fortress in the midst of it all, its tall walls glowing faintly under the silver wash of the moonlight, but the fortress was already crumbling under the sheer will of the masses. Howls rose and echoed from the forests like thunder rolling across the sky. Fires lit by witches burned on the borders, glowing red and gold like the torches of wrath. The air carried with it the crackle of spells being cast, the heat of wolves who had shifted into their primal forms, the growls of fangs and claws itching for blood.The night had turned into a battlefield before a single blow was struck.I walked beside Hades, my boots pressing against the gravel that cracked under the weight of every step. His aura was s