KAIA'S POV: The village is already half in flames by the time we arrive. Smoke coils into the sky like a dying god’s final breath, blotting out the sun. The air reeks of burning wood and blood. Screams pierce through the thick air, and the sound of clashing metal drums in my skull. We don’t wait for orders. We leap straight into the chaos.“Fan out!” I shout, my voice hoarse with fury. “Protect the elders and the children first!” My feet pound against scorched earth as I race through the inferno. The pack house is crumbling on one side, a thick beam already fallen through the roof. Warriors on both sides shift mid-sprint, fur bursting through skin, claws glinting. Nightowl soldiers pour in from the northern road like a wave of shadow. They scream war cries that twist my stomach. There’s only madness in their eyes. No honor. No code. They are ready to die but I'm definitely not.I slam into the first one like a meteor, claws digging into his chest. He grunts, but I don’t
KAIA'S POV: The sky looks like iron-gray the morning of the final war council. The Guen Pack house, usually humming with life, is unusually silent. Even the trees seem to brace themselves, their leaves whispering secrets I’m too afraid to hear. They have probably seen the future. Who knows? I stand in front of the mirror, adjusting the leather straps of my training armor. It’s not the sleek ceremonial kind worn for council meetings. It’s heavier, reinforced with silver-threaded plating. The kind that is meant for battle. My fingers tremble as they reach for the pendant resting on the nightstand: the Guen family crest. A wolf entwined with a crescent moon. The metal feels cold in my palm.A knock sounds and Ezra calls out. "You good?" he asks, poking his head in with a smirk that doesn’t quite reach his eyes."Define good," I mutter. He steps in, his usual swagger dimmed. "You know, when you were gone, Rowan used to stand in that spot you’re in now. Just staring. Li
KAIA’S POV Moonlight pours through the tall windows of the Guen Pack house, casting silver patterns across my floor. It’s beautiful, serene even but none of it reaches the frozen hollow in my chest. I sit on the edge of my bed, fists curled tight around the blanket Ezra gave me earlier this week. Threadbare, worn, it’s the same one I used as a child. It's apparently meant for comfort but it feels like a memory I can’t trust. Like everything else these days.My door creaks open. “You planning on going full-Lucien on us?” Axel leans against the frame, his voice trying too hard to be light. His blue eyes flicker with concern, though he tries to bury it.Very funny.I don’t look at him. “I needed space.” He steps inside anyway, because of course he does. “Space as in ‘I hate everyone,’ or ‘I specifically don’t want to see you’?” I lift my eyes to his. “Do you even know what you’ve kept from me?”His brows furrow. “What are you talking about?” “There was a prophecy. Ab
KAIA'S POV: The packhouse is unusually still for a late morning. No laughter rings through the halls, no sparring echoes from the training yard. The air is thick with something strange; a warning, maybe, or the weight of what's coming. I stand on the balcony outside my room, staring out into the gray mist rolling over the treetops. The Guen Pack grounds below crawl with warriors. Even the scent in the air has changed. It feels fierce and on edge, like the forest knows danger is coming.Ezra’s voice startles me. “They’re here.”I turn sharply. “Who?” “Nightowl envoy. Came under a banner of truce.” He doesn’t smile. “Rowan’s summoning the council. You should come.” They really have some nerve to boldly step into our territory with their banner. Bloody fools. By the time I step into the council hall, the room is tense, filled with snarling energy barely contained beneath leather armor and guarded gazes. The Elders are sitting with stiff backs, and Rowan is standing at
KAIA'S POV: The air at the training grounds tastes like tension. I stand off to the side, arms folded over my chest as Kai and Axel circle each other. The dirt beneath their boots churns with every movement, and the pack watches with a hush that's almost reverent until it turns sharp. We are training today. I don't know why my brothers thought it would not be a better idea to do it in a open space for all the pack members to see me but okay... Axel throws the first punch. It’s fast, controlled, but Kai dodges easily, landing a counter-blow that sends Axel stumbling. "Enough foreplay," Axel growls, grinning, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Kai says nothing, eyes cold. His body is all coiled aggression, simmering too close to the edge. They clash again. A blur of fists, snarls, and sharp grunts. I can barely keep track.Then Kai lands a brutal hit to Axel’s ribs. Axel snaps. He tackles Kai into the ground, and it’s no longer a spar, it’s a brawl. Dust explodes around
KAIA'S POV: The fire is always the same. Crimson flames licking the edges of a dying forest. Ash raining like snow. A single wolf howling at the sky, silhouetted against a blood-red moon.I wake up gasping. Sweat clings to my back, and the sheets are tangled around my legs like vines. My pulse thuds like war drums in my ears. My fingertips spark faintly with that telltale shimmer, seer magic, chaotic and untrained. I throw the covers off and stagger to the window, breathing in the cold predawn air. The horizon is quiet, no flames, no blood. Just pine trees swaying gently and the faint hum of crickets. Still, the image clings to me like smoke.This wasn’t just a dream. NMy powers hum louder than usual, like something ancient just stirred inside me and is now demanding to be heard.By breakfast, I’ve made up my mind. I need answers.***The Elder’s Hall is quieter than usual, the scent of herbs and parchment thick in the air. Only one of them greets me, Elder Marcella, the one