LOGINLENA
Coming back to the pack house should have felt like relief and in some ways, it did because the moment I stepped inside, the cold mountain air of the summit disappeared behind me, replaced by warmth, polished wood, and the familiar scent of cedar and coffee drifting from somewhere deeper in the house. The floors no longer echoed with the footsteps of nervous nobles and armed summit guards. There w
LENA“How do you feel?”I leaned back against the pillows with exaggerated dignity. “Like I’ve survived a summit, an attempted murder, and a four-hour drive with you interrogating me every ten minutes.”“So not well.”“I’m doing much better now that no one is asking me whether I’m dizzy every thirty seconds.”He looked unimpressed. “Are you dizzy?”I closed my eyes and Mrs. Eliara made a small, betrayed sound. “Kael.”“What?” He asked with
LENAComing back to the pack house should have felt like relief and in some ways, it did because the moment I stepped inside, the cold mountain air of the summit disappeared behind me, replaced by warmth, polished wood, and the familiar scent of cedar and coffee drifting from somewhere deeper in the house. The floors no longer echoed with the footsteps of nervous nobles and armed summit guards. There were no silver trays, no whispering council members, no poisoned desserts waiting under crystal covers.Just the pack house that one felt like home. Home? Coming from me who wanted out days ago.I was getting far too comfortable with that word.Mrs. Eliara, naturally
LENA“I think something is wrong with me.” The words settled heavily into the carriage.Maren’s expression softened immediately. “Lena—”“No.” I laughed once, though there was no humor in it. “Think about it. People don’t just touch dresses and melt carriage doors.”Kael’s voice was very calm. “You didn’t melt the carriage.”I turned to him. “There is literally a mark in the metal.”“A line,” he corrected.“That is not he
LENAApparently the universe hated me and had decided that if I was going to start having mysterious episodes in public, the first person to witness them would be the one man least likely to let me pretend they hadn’t happened.His hand tightened around my arm, not enough to hurt, just enough to keep me steady while his gaze dropped from my face to the carriage door and to the silver mark.My stomach dropped.It wasn’t large and if someone wasn’t looking carefully, they might have missed it entirely, just a thin, bright line etched into the dark metal beneath where my hand had been, as though heat had licked across the surface and left proof behind.
LENA“I…” I swallowed. “Nothing.”His expression darkened. “Lena.”“I touched the dress.”“And?”“And it felt…” I trailed off because I had no idea how to explain it without sounding ridiculous.Kael crouched beside me before I could stop him, his hand closing around my wrist. His touch was warm, grounding, too steady.“What did it feel like?”I stared at our hands for one brief, dang
LENAAn elder with sharp features folded his hands. “Then the answer is obvious. We close the grounds and continue the investigation until the culprit is found.”“That would be ideal,” another Alpha said. “But impossible because half the summit guests are already demanding escorts home.”“They can demand whatever they like,” the elder snapped.“And if someone else dies before dawn?” Kael asked.The room fell quiet.His voice remained calm, but there was steel in it now, the kind that made people pay attention whether they wanted to or not.
LENAThe next morning, I discovered that standing up to a future queen came with consequences.Namely, people refusing to mind their own business because the moment I stepped into the dining hall, conversations stopped.Well not entirely, just enough, enough for me to notice and enough for me to kn
LENAI had discovered something deeply unfair about life and it was that no matter how much you worried about something, it still arrived.The Mooncrest Summit had spent days haunting my thoughts, invading my sleep and ruining perfectly good meals, yet somehow morning came anyway.I stood in front
LENAThat night, sleep refused to come again. I really should go to bed, goddess knows if Kael would come drag me out of bed before dawn again. Apparently my brain had developed a hobby, that was thinking and I hated it. With a sigh, I rolled over and stared at the ceiling.The house was quiet, pe
LENAThe next morning, I woke up determined and that should have worried me because every terrible decision I had made in my life had started with determination.I spent half the night replaying my conversation with Kael.Fear keeps people alive. Respect doesn’t stop a knife.The words had stayed wi







