LOGINThe carriage rolled to a stop in the courtyard of Mooncrest. Lina felt the jolt through her bones, or perhaps it was only her nerves, wound tight as bowstrings since the moment Beta Morris had appeared at her cottage door. Outside, she could hear the stamp of hooves on cobblestone, the low murmur of voices as the delegation dismounted. Her mother touched her knee. "We're here." Lina drew back the curtain and looked out. The courtyard was larger than Silvermoon's, wide and well kept, surrounded by high stone walls draped with green banners bearing the crescent moon. Warriors stood at attention near the main doors, their armor clean. And there, near the entrance to the pack house, stood a small cluster of wolves who could only be the Mooncrest leadership. Lina recognized Aria immediately. She was thinner than she had been in Nightfang, the softness of pregnancy replaced by the hard muscle of a warrior. Her silver white hair fell past her shoulders in a loose braid. Audra was
Beta Morris came to the cottage at midday. Lina saw him through the window, his tall, familiar figure striding up the garden path, his face set in the grim expression of a man bearing news no one wanted to hear. Her son was sleeping in his cradle, his tiny chest rising and falling in the quiet rhythm of infant peace. Her mother was at the hearth, stirring a pot of broth that had been simmering since dawn. She opened the door before Morris could knock. "Beta. What's happened?" He didn't waste words. He stood in the center of the small cottage, his hands clasped behind his back, his voice steady but grave. "Mooncrest was attacked. The rogues were led by your father, Simeon.” The name struck her like thunder. Her fingers tightened on the doorframe. "My father is dead." "No, Lina. He's alive." Morris's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "He's been hiding in the mountains for years. He's the one who killed Aria's mother. He's the one who orchestrated Selene's rise. He used you—pu
The morning light was pale and cold as Aria sat in Rowan's study, the same desk where he had once laid out the fragments of the White Wolf prophecy. Now it was covered with reports of the battle's aftermath: patrol rotations, supply inventories, lists of the dead. But Aria's attention was fixed on a blank piece of parchment. "We have to inform Silvermoon," she said quietly. "Selene was their daughter, or should I say stepdaughter. And Simeon's crimes go back decades. Alpha Magnus needs to know." Rowan leaned against the edge of the desk, arms crossed. "He's your father. You could ask him to come." "I'm not asking as his daughter." Her jaw tightened. "I'm asking as Luna of Mooncrest. Simeon murdered my mother, who was his mate. He poisoned her with wolfsbane and let the pack believe it was a natural death. Magnus has a right to face the man who killed his mate and Luna." Rowan studied her for a long moment. "And Lina? She's Simeon's daughter. She should know the truth." "S
The healer's wing smelled of lavender and woodsmoke. Pale sunlight slanted through the high windows, washing the rows of bed in gold. At the other side of the room, propped against a mound of pillows with her chest wrapped in clean white bandages, Bryn was awake. She didn't look up when Aria entered. Her eyes were fixed on the window. Her hands lay motionless on the blanket. The silver locket, the one she had pressed into Aria's palm in the corridor, was not around her neck. Elara had returned it to her, but Bryn had not put it back on. "Luna." Her voice was a rasp, barely audible. "I didn't think you'd come." Aria crossed to the chair beside the bed. The wood creaked as she sat down. Audra was not with her, Rowan had taken their daughter to the nursery, insisting Aria needed rest before she collapsed. "How are you feeling?" Aria asked. "Like someone put a sword through my chest." Bryn's cracked lips twitched into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Elara says I was luck
Aria stepped out into the cold night, Audra cradled tightly against her chest. The icy wind brushed against her skin, carrying the scent of blood and pine. Behind her lay the bodies of rogues and the woman who had spent years trying to destroy her. Ahead of her stretched a future she had fought desperately to protect. But victory didn't feel the way she had imagined. Audra stirred in her arms, letting out a soft whimper. Aria looked down at her daughter and forced herself to smile. The little girl blinked up at her with wide silver eyes before curling a tiny hand around a lock of Aria's hair. "You'll never have to live through this," Aria whispered. "I promise." The sound of approaching wolves echoed through the forest. Within moments, warriors burst through the trees. With Lois at the front, his hair tangled from the hard ride and his sword already drawn. His eyes immediately found Aria. "Luna.” Lois breathed. His gaze swept across the clearing, taking in the rogue bodi
Aria’s mind kept replaying the words that Simeon had said. How her mother suffered, and how he had watched her suffer in the hands of the pack. He made her childhood a miserable one. "Now," Simeon said, his voice hardening, "we finish this. I will either use your daughter's power to claim what should have been mine, or we all die here together, including her." He said pointing at Audra. Aria's blood ran cold. "You wouldn't." "Try me." Selene rose from the cot. Her wounds had healed her completely, her healing was fast. The golden eyes that had been dim and fading now blazed with renewed hatred. She rolled her shoulders, and her lips curled into a cold smile. "Let me kill her," she said. "I've waited years for this." Simeon nodded. "Take her. The Alpha is mine." Selene shifted. Her clothes tore as her wolf exploded from her skin, her fur bristling with feral fury. She lunged at Aria with a snarl that shook the cabin walls. Aria shifted almost immediately. Nova surged forwa
The training yard was cold and pack, the sun barely cresting the mountains. Frost clung to the grass, and the breath of the warriors misted in the air as they paired off for morning drills. But it wasn't the cold that had the warriors murmuring. It was the Alpha and the wolfless girl. Rowan stood
Aria had finished the porridge. She washed her face in the basin and stood in front of the small mirror and looked at the girl with the silver eyes and told herself she was ready. The study door was open. Rowan stood near the window, his arms crossed. Lois sat in the chair by the desk, a scroll un
Lois looked at Rowan in the wreckage of his study. The scrolls still lay scattered across the floor. The candles had burned out and the was had hardened in pale pools on the stone. Rowan sat in his chair, his head bowed, his hands motionless on his knees. "How long are you going to sit here?"
Just has Nyssa had told her in her room. She still continued told her again on their way down the mountain. "He came to me this morning, he wants you to have some good clothes, the house funds will cover it. And he said I should make sure you ate something that you might like, anything." She had gri







