LOGINSeraWhat insolence, I mutter under my breath as I watch Kellan being dragged away. He had the guts to talk about his Alpha in such a manner, his words dripping with venom even as blood stained his lips. The hallway is quieter now, the echoes of the warriors’ footsteps fading but the weight of Kellan's accusations lingering like smoke. I walk into the chamber of archives and bump on Aeron as he is coming out. We laugh at the collision, the sound light and familiar. Then he holds me gently, his arms wrapping around me with that protective warmth I have come to cherish. “How are you doing, my love?” he asks softly.I reply with a small smile, leaning into him. “The seamstress just left. At last, I will be getting a cloth that will fit my ever protruding belly.”Both of us laugh at this, the moment easing some of the tension from the hallway. When it settles, Aeron reaches for my hair in a gentle manner and parts it carefully, his fingers brushing my cheek. I smile and look sideways
KellanMy eyes widen and I gasp sharply. That ring... I thought... I thought I lost the ring during the torture days in Grimward. I thought the twins took it from me after they made me unconscious.Aeron shakes his head slowly, his expression cold and unreadable. Then he kicks me hard on the stomach. The impact explodes through my body like a thunderclap. I feel the pain rip through my abdomen, sharp and devastating, and I fall to the ground, spitting out blood and unable to breathe properly. My lungs burn as I gasp for air, curling instinctively around the injury."I couldn’t believe what Alpha Grey told me," Aeron said in a voice laced with disappointment and hurt. "I just couldn’t bring myself to believing that Kellan would ever stand with a gun pointed against me.”I am still trying to breathe and trying to talk, wheezing out fragments of words as blood trickles from the corner of my mouth. Aeron walks up to me and is about to kick me again when I catch his leg and twist it hard
Kellan“I kept the books separately because I needed to study them,” I reply, keeping my voice steady as I meet Aeron’s piercing gaze.Aeron takes a step closer to me, his presence filling the space between us like a gathering storm. “And why would that be?”At this point, I choose to be brave. After all, there is no chance Aeron would have the means to prove that I am guilty of anything beyond simple curiosity. So I go on, speaking with measured confidence. “I now envy my former position of pack advisor, and I want more than anything to earn it back.”I look away from Aeron as I say this, for I can no longer stand his gaze. The weight of it feels like it could strip away every layer of my carefully constructed facade.“In addition to finding those who committed the ambush attempt, I also needed to prove myself worthy of other knowledge you would need.”I look back at Aeron to see him smiling. I smile back, hoping and thinking that Aeron has bought my silly tale. How stupid Aeron is
KellanAspyn and I organize those that clean the very large archives, and we spend the whole day directing a large number of maids to dust book after book and scroll after scroll. The chamber echoes with the soft rustle of cloths, the occasional creak of ladders, and the steady murmur of instructions as we move from one towering shelf to another. Dust motes dance in the beams of light filtering through the high windows, turning the air thick and hazy for hours. This exercise proves of great advantage to me, for I use the opportunity to check on some books and scrolls that are related to Alpha bloodlines. I keep them separately in a neat reading order on a side table near the back, hoping to return later in the dead of the night to examine them more thoroughly. From my calculations, the next full moon would be the night after tonight, so I have only little time to get the truth from the archive before the council convenes and everything changes. Every title I scan sends a thrill th
KellanWe had just finished breakfast. The plates were nearly cleared, and the warm scents of roasted meats and herbal teas still lingered in the air when Aeron stood up with that effortless authority he always carried. “I have engagements with the migrant society this morning. I will be back later.”Sera stands up next, and Aeron helps her up gently, his hand steady on her arm as she rises with the careful grace that her pregnancy requires. She smiles softly at him. “I need to dress up. I am having an appointment with the tailor soon.”Aeron smiles at her, his expression warm and intimate. “Is that so?”They both giggle before kissing each other right there, the moment natural and unhurried. They seem to do this without even thinking twice, their connection effortless and deep. I look away quickly, swallowing hard against the sharp twist in my chest. When I happen to face Aspyn just then, she too is looking away, her gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the windows. It dawns
Helena“Dear God. Oh, bullshit, I’m gonna die,” Corvin whispers hoarsely, his voice cracking with raw panic as he grips the steering wheel tighter.I abruptly move away from the door, heart slamming against my ribs as more strange sounds filter in from outside—low growls, the rustle of heavy bodies moving through the underbrush, and the unmistakable scrape of claws against earth. The bushy track suddenly feels alive with threat, shadows lengthening between the dense foliage despite the midday sun filtering through the canopy. I muster enough courage to speak, keeping my tone firm even as fear claws at my throat. “You would not die, Corvin. Stay calm. We will get through this.”“I was gonna die!" Corvin yells. "I knew it! I should never have agreed to this madness!”Just then, something massive bumps violently into Corvin’s side of the door with a deafening metallic crunch. The impact rocks the entire car, and in one terrifying motion, the door is yanked completely off its hinges, me







