The mattress dipped beneath my weight as I curled into the thick bedding, but no warmth could settle my nerves. Not even the heavy, velvet blankets that once felt like a cocoon could still my racing heart. The palace was too quiet—ominously so.The crystal—the heart of the ceremony, the key to completing the bond—was still missing.My eyes traced the carved ceiling of the palace chamber as if answers might fetch themselves into the wood grain. The intricate patterns above looked like vines forever frozen mid-tangle, twisting in silence, much like the thoughts in my mind.Killian had insisted the ceremony could go on. That it would work regardless. But I could see the doubt in his eyes no matter how often he masked it behind steel. His voice had been firm, but his grip on my hand had trembled—just slightly, just enough for me to feel the truth.I rolled onto my side and clutched the pillow to my chest, my fingers digging into the soft fabric until my nails bit through the seams.He wan
The room crackled with silence, every breath held tight like a loaded weapon. The air was thick—too thick—as the weight of Elara’s betrayal settled like dust on sacred ground. Luca stood beside me, still clutching the silver locket that had hidden the final piece of the relic. The crystal shimmered faintly within its shell, mocking us all with its quiet glow.Killian looked like he would explode.His jaw was clenched so tightly that I thought I heard his teeth grind together. His chest heaved with the force of suppressed fury, and veins bulge along his neck like ropes drawn taut. For a moment, he didn’t even seem human—just pure wrath contained within flesh, barely holding itself together.“Elara,” he snarled, his voice trembling with the rage he no longer tried to mask. “You knew. You knew we searched the entire kingdom. You watched us suffer, watched her suffer—and you said nothing!”But Elara didn’t flinch. She didn’t cower or apologize.She stood her ground with a quiet dignity th
Elder Garrick stepped forward, placing a hand on each of our shoulders.“By the power of the Old Tongue, and the truth of your bond, I bless this union.”The relic surged.A wave of warm energy passed through us. My head tilted back as light pulsed from the crystal, encircling our joined hands. The bond solidified—sharp, pure, eternal.Killian’s eyes widened, then softened. “Do you feel that?”I nodded, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. I had never felt something so complete. So... real.The crowd erupted into cheers, wolves howling, hands clapping.Luca was the first to approach us. His grin was wide, real. “I’ve never seen him smile that much in one year, let alone one day.”Killian laughed, actually laughed, and pulled him into a hug. Luca patted his back roughly.“Thank you,” Killian said. “For believing in us.”“I always did.”Then Elara stepped forward.All eyes turned to her like drawn blades, hesitant and watching. But she didn’t falter. She held her head high, her every
The bond is done.The weight of those words pressed down on me like a heavy stone in my chest, too big and too suffocating to ignore. The bond that had been the heart of so much, the bond that had started with the fire of our connection, had been severed. And yet, even though it was over, I could still feel the traces of it wrapping around me, delicate and faint like the last ghost of a dream fading into the morning light. But it wasn’t gone completely.As I lay on the bed, my body still trembling from the aftermath of the ritual, the calmness in the room felt unnatural, too fragile. Like if I took a breath too deeply or moved too quickly, the silence would shatter. I kept my eyes closed, afraid of the reality that might creep back in—the one where the poison still lingered beneath my skin, clawing at my insides, reminding me of everything I wanted to forget.The soft pressure of Killian’s hand on mine was the only thing grounding me to the present. His fingers curled around mine, a q
The room was quiet—so quiet that if a pin had fallen, the sound could be easily heard. The soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant sounds of the city outside seemed to fade into nothing as I sat in the center of the bed, the sheets crumpled around me. I hadn’t realized how much tension I had been carrying until it all seemed to hit me at once, like a wave crashing down. Killian had left just moments ago, his footsteps fading as he disappeared down the hall, but the weight of the conversation lingered in the air. We were no closer to figuring out how to navigate this strange new reality, but for now, I felt a strange sense of relief. The room felt safe, and I let my mind sink into the stillness, hoping for a few moments of peace.But peace wasn’t something I could hold onto easily as I assumed—not with everything that had been happening recently, not with the ever-present shadow of Sebastian lurking in my thoughts like he had me in his capture already as before. The thought o
I could feel the warmth of the sunlight as it was filtering in through the half-open window, casting a soft golden glow across the room. The light touched everything—the dusty wooden floor, the walls, the scattered papers—and yet, despite the tranquility of the morning, a restlessness churned inside me. The nightmares from the previous night still clung to me like a shadow, but today, something else began to grow in me. It wasn’t fear or anxiety. It was something different—an urgency.The urgency to move forward. The urgency to claim the power that I knew I have never had before. I knew I had always been broken. Weak. And fragile but for how long would I continue to be so.Maybe I needed to start building myself so I can fight him myself.I was no longer the fragile, broken girl I had been, I wanted something totally different from it. I wasn’t the outcast or the lost wolf which never awaken. I had something within me—something I needed to rebuild as quick as possible, something that
The days felt like they stretched on forever as I trained. I could feel my muscles ache with each passing moment, but the pain was nothing compared to the fire burning inside me. I was growing stronger, piece by piece, yet the gnawing fear never left me. Sebastian was still out there, somewhere in the shadows, and I could feel his presence lurking like a storm on the horizon, ready to break. The fear of his arrival was something that haunted my every step, following me like a constant whisper in my ear, warning me that I wasn’t ready for what he would bring. It was as if my entire world had shifted, and I could never escape the feeling that something terrible was coming. But despite the fear, I pressed on, determined to protect myself, to prove that I wasn’t the fragile, broken girl I had once been. The training was grueling, but with each hour, I felt a little closer to the person I wanted to become.Luca had been relentless in his efforts to teach me. He had a way of pushing me be
The silence was heavier than ever. It wasn’t just around me—it was inside me too, threading through my thoughts like a cold mist I couldn’t push away. Even though I had gotten used to signing and writing to communicate, there were days it felt like a wall between me and the rest of the world. Thick. Unbreakable. No matter how hard I tried, there were still moments when I missed the sound of laughter, the easy rhythm of people speaking without thinking. I missed the way voices could fill a room, lifting it, warming it. Even if it had never been mine to have, I still craved it.The silence around me wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was sharp. Cold. Isolating. It wrapped itself around me like chains, invisible but so heavy I could barely breathe some days. Even though everyone tried to include me, even though they were patient and kind, I still felt the difference between them and me like a blade pressed against my skin. It didn’t matter how much they loved me—it couldn’t erase the fact that
The weight of the silence pressed down on me, thick and oppressive, like a suffocating blanket that refused to lift. Even the softest sounds—the rustle of leaves outside, the whisper of the wind brushing against the windowpane—felt muted, subdued, as though the world itself had fallen under a spell of eerie anticipation. I stood still, barely breathing, my fingertips grazing the cool, dew-frosted glass of the wide window that overlooked the forest stretching endlessly into the distance. The moonlight filtered through the trees, painting long silver streaks across the floor, but even its glow felt wrong tonight—too pale, too ghostly. The calm in the air wasn’t peaceful. It was unnatural, as if the earth itself was holding its breath, waiting for something terrible to happen. Deep in my bones, a low vibration hummed, growing louder with each second. A warning. A whisper from something ancient and primal within me.Something is coming, I thought, the phrase not just echoing through my
The sun crept through the trees in pale, hesitant beams, but they did nothing to ease the weight pressing on my chest. The camp, once a safe haven, now felt like a maze full of shadows. Each corner I turned seemed to hold another secret, and I was too exhausted to keep searching for answers. Every step I took felt like I was walking on the edge of something—something I couldn’t quite see but could feel closing in around me. I wanted to trust the people here, wanted to let the illusion of safety in, but I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when there were so many whispers in the air—so many secrets hidden just beneath the surface.The morning began like any other, the quiet hum of the camp bustling around me, but there was an unease settling deep within my bones. I could feel it the moment I woke up—the weight of silence between me and the pack. My body was healing, yes, thanks to Luca’s careful attention, but my mind… my mind was still a shattered mess. The tenderness in his touch, his constant
Whispers Beneath the Moon.The moon-hollow spring shimmered like spilled silver beneath the gathering dusk. I couldn’t look away. It wasn’t just the reflection of the moon that caught my breath, but the way the water seemed to pulse with a life of its own, as though it were somehow aware of me. The air was thick with ancient magic, and it wrapped around me, squeezing my chest in a way I couldn’t explain.I’d seen beautiful places before, but none that made my heart ache with such unease. There was something so eerily perfect about this moment—too perfect. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. The soft ripples of the spring mirrored the flickering of my thoughts, both chaotic and restless. My eyes, locked onto the water’s surface, reflected a version of me I barely recognized—a girl lost in a world of secrets, searching for something she couldn’t quite define.My bare feet sank slightly into the cool, smooth stones beneat
The first thing I noticed was the scent of herbs—sharp, bitter, and so overwhelming that it clung to the inside of my nose like an invasive reminder. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t comforting either. I tried to focus on something else, but as soon as I opened my eyes, a wave of exhaustion slammed into me. The soft flicker of candlelight danced on the walls, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch across the room like tired spirits. The air was thick with the scent of healing oils, balms, and damp earth, all tinged with something sharper—the bitter aftertaste of the wolfsbane poison I’d barely survived.I tried to lift my hand to touch my face, but it felt as though a thousand pounds were pressing down on me. My body didn’t obey me as it once had. Each joint, each vein, felt like it had been soaked in slow fire.It burned and pulsed through every part of me. I was alive, but I didn’t feel truly awake. My skin felt too tight against my bones, my limbs heavy, sluggish. I barely
The first thing I felt was the pounding in my skull.It wasn’t sharp, but a deep, echoing ache—like someone was striking a drum underwater. Each throb sent a ripple through my temples, making it harder to breathe, to think. My lashes trembled against the weight of consciousness as I blinked slowly, trying to pull myself from the fog.A soft warmth surrounded me—the familiar scent of lavender detergent on my sheets, the feathery brush of my pillow beneath my cheek. I was home, in my room. But the peace I normally felt here had vanished. Everything felt... off. The silence was too heavy. The air is still. Time itself seemed suspended.And then I saw him.Killian. Perched at the edge of the bed like a sentinel refusing to leave his post. His usually unreadable expression had crumbled. His hand wrapped around mine, not gently, but like it was a lifeline—one he couldn’t afford to lose. The tendons in his fingers were taut, his knuckles pale from the force of his grip.He looked like a man
The air in the room felt unusually still when I woke up, like time itself had paused. I reached out and found Killian's pillow next to mine, the scent of him still lingering in the fabric, as comforting as it was bittersweet. He’d been staying close, his presence a constant reassurance in the chaos I had been thrust into. But today, I woke to an empty bed. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but the quietness of the room seemed to stretch on forever, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.Since arriving at the pack, I’d been doing my best to adjust. But no matter how much I tried, I always felt like an outsider. Still, I couldn’t deny that some things were starting to feel a little more familiar. I was slowly learning how to fit in—at least, I hoped I was. Killian had trusted me enough to leave me in Elara’s care while he handled matters within the pack.His departure wasn’t sudden, but it still left a pit in my stomach. He said he’d be back soon, that it wasn’t anything
The pain in my head is overwhelming, a dull throb that pulses in sync with the rapid beats of my heart. I blink, trying to clear my vision, but all I see are the blurry outlines of familiar faces, the chaos of the previous night still heavy in my chest. My hands tremble as I sit up in the bed, the cold sheets tangled around me, offering no comfort. The room is dark, save for the faint glow of morning creeping in from the window. But there’s something wrong in the air, an undercurrent of tension that seeps through the walls.I instinctively look to my side. Killian. His broad frame is sitting by my bed, his arm resting on my shoulder in what is supposed to be a comforting gesture. But all I feel is the weight of his presence—his protective nature, his concern. It suffocates me more than it soothes.“Killian?” I croak, my voice rough from sleep, but also from the knot of anxiety that twists in my stomach. He doesn’t answer, his gaze fixed on the distant corner of the room, his jaw clen
The air was still—too still. It was the kind of silence that didn’t soothe but stifled, wrapping around me like a noose. I opened my eyes to find the world bathed in a dull, gray light, the morning sun struggling to pierce through the curtains. Shadows clung to the corners of the room like ghosts. My chest tightened before I even sat up, dread anchoring itself deep in my stomach like a lead weight.My dreams had been nothing but twisted chaos. I’d seen Sebastian’s cold, dead eyes gleaming from the shadows, his mouth unmoving, yet his voice slithered through my mind like a curse. Raven was there too—his smile dripping with triumph, a smirk carved from cruelty. Their whispers had followed me into sleep, poisoning every corner of my subconscious. Even now, awake and aware, I could still feel them lingering—unseen but close, like breath on the back of my neck.I sat up, but my hands betrayed me—they trembled uncontrollably. I tried to steady them, to get the fear away, but it was like
I jolted upright in bed, a strangled gasp ripping from my throat as icy sweat soaked the back of my neck. My lungs burned for air, my chest heaving like I had just escaped drowning. The shadows in the room loomed larger than usual, clawing at the corners of my mind as if trying to pull me back into the nightmare I had just escaped.But it wasn’t just a dream—it was a vision. A message. A warning.Sebastian’s face lingered behind my eyelids, his pale eyes burning into mine with a haunting familiarity. It wasn’t just a memory—I could feel him. Somehow, impossibly, he had found a way to reach me through the tether that still existed between our cursed bloodlines. A bond I thought I had buried long ago now clawed its way back to the surface.Pain spiked behind my eyes, sharp and punishing. I clutched my head, pressing my palms against my temples as if that could cage the power surging inside me. It was like a storm—hot, relentless, alive. My magic stirred beneath my skin, crawling like f