LOGINHe spoke first, his tone low but firm enough to carry. “We can wait,” he said. “Children will come when they’re meant to. The Pack already has its heart.” The room stilled for a breath. Mara looked over her shoulder, her hands still sunk in flour, her eyes soft and startled. “You mean me?” she asked
LILAThe house woke before dawn. Old wood shifted, the hearth whispered, and the air felt different—alive again. I stood at the foot of the stairs when I heard them coming. Two sets of steps, uneven from the road, but in rhythm all the same. When the door opened, cold air rushed through the hall. Ga
“I thought I had to be perfect,” she said. “Every step, every word. Like one mistake would make them lose faith in me.”“Then let them,” I said. “Let them see we bleed too. Let them see what real looks like.”Her eyes lifted toward the sky, catching the first streaks of gold between the branches. “T
GAVINHer breath came out in bursts, sharp enough to cut. She pressed her palm to her mouth, like the words might spill if she didn’t hold them in. I moved before I thought, closing the space, catching her hands in mine. Her fingers were cold and damp, her pulse racing under my thumb.“I can’t be wh
GAVINThe scent hit me before I saw the gate—hers, faint and fading, scattered by wind. I caught it the second I stepped into the hall, and everything in me snapped to attention. The council chamber still echoed in my head, the droning voices, the talk of territory lines and alliance disputes. I had
MARAI knelt beside a pool fed by a narrow stream. Moonlight rippled across its surface, silver on black. My reflection flickered there, the same face that wore the Luna’s mask every day, only softer now—bare, unsure, alive. I cupped my hands in the water and let it run down my wrists. The cold snap
GAVINThe sun was dipping low when we broke camp, the fire reduced to smoldering coals that hissed as the cool air crept over them. Mara and I had spent the afternoon exploring a narrow canyon that split the forest floor, scrambling over rocks and ducking under low-hanging branches. Her laughter ech
GAVINI shoved the last of my gear into the skin duffel and zipped it up, dragging the heavy bag over to the bed. The tent, sleeping bag, and fishing rod were stacked neatly, and I double-checked the food packs—jerky, dried fruit, hard bread. “You’re taking enough for a small army,” Mum said from th
GAVINI found her shoes beside the bed. I found her brush still holding strands of her hair. Then I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the empty bottle of poison.I stood again and faced the mirror. I looked the same. My eyes hadn’t changed. My face hadn’t aged. But everything in me felt used
COWRIEI pushed the cottage door open. The shutters rattled lightly in the breeze, sunlight spilling over the small table, the hearth and the shelves.He carried the trunks in one by one, boots thudding on the floorboards, setting them down with a grin. “You’re going to rearrange everything twice be







