(Derek's POV)The scent of burnt silver ash hung heavy in the night air as I approached the ceremonial grounds. My enhanced pack guards fanned out behind me, securing the perimeter with practiced efficiency. Their presence created an immediate shift in the atmosphere - a clear statement of my authority as Silverstone Pack heir.I spotted Alexander Blackwood and the beta female - Sarah Rivers - standing by a memorial alcove. The moonlight illuminated their faces, etching their expressions in stark relief. Alexander's posture was rigid with hostility, his golden eyes bloodshot and hollow with what appeared to be grief.This charade had gone far enough."Where is she?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the silence of the sacred grounds.Alexander's lip curled in disdain. "You're too late, Silverstone. Much too late."Sarah Rivers stepped forward, her beta presence bristling with protective fury. "How dare you come here? After everything you've done?"I ignored her, focusing my i
(Third Person's POV)The night air held a crisp chill as Alexander Blackwood stood at the sacred Silver Return site, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the moonlight that bathed Windsor Pack Territory below. He had chosen this location with painful deliberation—the ceremonial ground overlooking the mountains where he and Aria had once laughed together, her silver hair catching the sunlight as she pointed to distant peaks.Alexander's golden eyes, now bloodshot from grief, gazed at the silver urn clutched against his chest. His alpha presence, usually overwhelming and controlled, now wavered with raw emotion."Little wolf," he whispered, using her orphanage pack name as his fingers caressed the cool metal of the urn. "Remember when we came here? You made me promise to bring you back often."The wind carried his words away into the darkness. Memories flooded back—Aria's violet eyes widening with delight at the view, her soft omega voice exclaiming over wildflowers that grew alon
(Sarah's POV)The phone trembled in my hand as Derek Silverstone's cold voice came through the speaker. Even now, after everything that had happened, his overwhelming alpha presence was palpable through the call."I don't believe you," he stated flatly. "Where is Aria?"The audacity of his question ignited a fury inside me that I hadn't known I was capable of. My beta wolf bristled with rage, claws threatening to emerge as I gripped the phone tighter."Where is she?" I repeated incredulously. "She's gone! Her ashes are with Alexander Blackwood after the Silver Return ritual!""This is ridiculous," Derek's voice remained maddeningly controlled. "Put her on the phone. I know she's there with you."I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was this some sick alpha game? Or was he truly in denial?"She's dead!" I shouted, my voice breaking. "You and your pack allies killed her! You struck her with silver-enhanced strength and left her impaled on a silver hook in the medical center!"T
(Third person's POV)Samuel Gray stood rigid in Derek's doorway, his beta demeanor struggling to maintain composure. The news he'd just delivered should have elicited some reaction, any reaction, from his alpha. But Derek Silverstone remained eerily still, his ice-blue eyes betraying nothing."Miss Aria passed away yesterday afternoon at the Windsor Pack Medical Center," Samuel repeated, searching Derek's face for any sign of emotion. "Dr. Reed said her heart simply... gave out."Derek's overwhelming alpha presence remained perfectly controlled, his aristocratic features carved from stone. The silence stretched between them, growing uncomfortable as Samuel waited for a response."Alpha Silverstone?" Samuel ventured, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Did you... hear what I said?"Derek gave a slight nod, his silver-blonde hair catching the light from the window. His eyes, cold and distant, showed no hint of the grief Samuel had expected."I see," Derek said finally,
(Natalie's POV)I stepped out of Derek's private bathing chamber wrapped in his silver-infused healing robe, feeling the luxurious fabric against my skin. Steam followed me into the room, carrying the scent of expensive wolfsbane essence. This was meant to be a perfect moment—me in his private space, looking my best after my carefully planned "surprise."The door opened, and there he stood. My heart leaped at the sight of Derek Silverstone in his formal pack attire, his silver-blond hair slightly disheveled from the long council meeting. His ice-blue eyes widened momentarily before narrowing with unmistakable displeasure."Derek," I said, allowing my voice to carry a hint of seduction as I took a deliberate step toward him. "You're finally back."The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as his overwhelming alpha presence crackled with barely contained anger."What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the air like winter frost.His coldness
(Sarah's POV)The letter trembled in my hands as I read Aria's final words. Each carefully written character was like a knife to my heart. Her gentle voice seemed to echo through the empty apartment as I absorbed her message."My dearest pack sister..."Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks, blurring the ink on the paper. I clutched the pack territory bank card that had fallen from the envelope, the cold metal pressing into my palm. Two hundred and fifty thousand silver coins. A fortune from an omega who had so little."I don't need your silver coins," I sobbed, pressing the card against my chest. "I just want you back..."My beta wolf howled in grief, the sound escaping my throat as a keening wail. I curled into myself on Aria's bed, surrounded by her fading scent. The letter crumpled in my fist as I pressed it to my heart."I only needed you, not this," I whispered brokenly, staring at the bank card. "Why did you leave me?"My body shook with the force of my tears until exhaustio