Mag-log inWork helped.At least that was what Evren Moonreign kept telling himself.If he stayed busy enough, long enough, eventually everything else would quiet down. The thoughts, the anger, the constant feeling of something sitting beneath his ribs waiting to split him open. Work should have drowned it out.It didn’t.“You’ve been staring at that same page long enough to memorize it.”Evren didn’t look up from the document spread across the desk. “I’m reading.”Across from him, Holden dragged a chair back with a loud scrape before dropping into it carelessly, stretching his legs out like he owned the room. “You’re not reading,” he said, tapping the edge of the paper. “You’ve been staring at the same paragraph for the last ten minutes. There’s a difference.”Evren flipped the page anyway. “Then maybe it’s badly written.”That earned a short laugh from Holden, who leaned back and glanced around the room with exaggerated disappointment. “This room is badly written. Small, cold, miserable. You a
People adjusted faster than Eira expected.That was the worst part.For maybe two days the pack house buzzed with whispers every time she passed through a corridor. Servants lowered their voices when she entered rooms. Guards watched her a little too carefully. Even kitchen workers turned to look whenever her name came up.Then slowly, almost cruelly, it settled.The story became simpler.Cleaner.Easier for everyone to swallow.She had been something temporary to the Alpha heir, a distraction he entertained before finally accepting reality and moving on. That version fit neatly into the order of things. It protected the image of the future Alpha. More importantly, it protected him from Ethan’s scrutiny.So Eira let people believe it.She never corrected anyone.Never defended herself.Every rumor that painted her as unimportant made Evren safer.That should have made it easier to endure.Instead it somehow made everything worse.Nobody treated her badly. If anything, most people rema
A few days passed.That was all it took.Evren Moonreign moved out of the room without saying anything about it.No argument.No announcement.One day he was there, the next he wasn’t.Eira noticed the absence the same way you notice a missing wall. Not all at once, just in the way everything suddenly felt exposed.Evren didn’t look at her anymore.Not in the halls.Not across rooms.Not even by accident.Like she had been erased cleanly from his line of sight.And that—that was worse than anything he could have said.Because it meant he had decided.He wanted to strangle her.The thought came and went without effort.Every time he remembered the way she had looked laying there like it was nothing.Every time he remembered how she didn’t move.Didn’t explain.Didn’t even try.How she looked like she had been doing it for a long time and was tired of keeping it a secret.Her excuse had been worse.You’re going to leave me anyway.He almost laughed thinking about it.The most stupid ex
Eira didn’t mean to go that far out.At first it was just the back path, the one people used when they didn’t want to be seen leaving through the main grounds. Then it got narrower, less walked, branches catching on her sleeves like they were trying to pull her back, the ground uneven enough that she had to watch where she stepped or risk twisting her ankle.She kept going anyway.It was easier when she had to think about where to place her feet. Easier than thinking about anything else.The air shifted before she saw the stream. Cooler, quieter. The sound of water came first, soft and steady, like it had nothing to do with anything happening in the pack.Eira stepped down carefully, crouching near the edge. She dipped her fingers in without thinking.The cold bit immediately.“Cold—” she pulled back with a sharp breath, shaking her hand a little.“You get used to it.”Eira turned.She hadn’t heard her approach.The woman stood a short distance away, not close enough to feel intrusive
Eira wasn’t supposed to be in the library.That alone should have stopped her.It didn’t.She stood outside the door for a second, balancing the plate in one hand, adjusting it slightly so the fruits wouldn’t slide off. Someone in the kitchen had said the Alpha heir and his friends hadn’t eaten since morning and for some reason that had stuck in her head.Also, she was bored.Also, she was curious.Mostly that.Voices came from inside. Low. Serious.She pushed the door open anyway.The library was bigger than she expected. Tall shelves, heavy wood, the kind of room that made you feel like you were supposed to whisper even if no one told you to.Three of them were inside.Evren stood near the table, arms crossed, looking like he was already tired of whatever conversation he’d been dragged into.The other two turned at the same time.Eira froze.Too late to pretend she hadn’t just walked in.“…I brought food,” she said, lifting the plate slightly like that explained everything.Silence.
Eira did not go back to their room immediately.She told herself it was because of the burn.Tina had wrapped it quickly before leaving, tight cloth around her forearm, the sting dulled into something constant and easier to ignore. It gave her something physical to focus on.Something that was not the weight sitting in her chest.She stayed in the lower halls longer than she needed to, moving without purpose. Past the storage rooms. Past the empty corridor that led to the royals' quarters. Past a window that looked out into the training grounds.Wolves were already sparring.Bodies hitting the ground. Low snarls. The sound of breath knocked out of lungs.Normal things.Eira leaned lightly against the wall and watched them for a moment.Violence had always been simple here. Direct. Her fingers tightened slightly against the bandage.Make him hate you.The words would not leave her head.She pushed off the wall.Standing still made it worse.By the time she reached the upper level agai







