FAZER LOGINAeron‘I don't know anything about this,’ she says. But as I stare at her, I sense the lie she hides underneath. I don't give a response immediately. Instead, I study the way her lips pressed just a little tight, and the overly composed expression she has forced on. Her hands no longer rest on her laps. Now, they squeeze the armrest tight, her fingers curling into the fabric like she doesn't even realize she's doing it. The entire thing is subtle in a way many people wouldn't notice. But I'm not many people. Seeing her this way tells me enough. Sure, she might not know much to matter yet, but there is something there that she isn't saying. Jaws tightening faintly, I take a deep breath and stand up from my seat. I am not going to push her, at least not now. It is better to let what she has sit, and let her think she got away with it. One way or another, I'll drag everything into the light like I always do. Like I did with her sons. “Okay then," I say finally, my voice even and
HelenaKnowing stretching the silence will only make me suspicious, I decide to move. I take slow steps towards the nearest seat like my heart didn't just skip a beat the second he walked into the room. Like everything about this exchange is… normal. “There's no need to stand, Aeron," I say, keeping my smile as I drop down on the chair, the wood creaking under me. I gesture toward the couch beside me and slap a hand once on its armrest. “Take a seat," I continue, holding my smile. “It wouldn't be nice standing after all you've gone through.”I make sure to keep my tone calm and almost warm and Aeron doesn't notice, thankfully. "Alright,” he says with a nod. His movement stiff, he walks across the room toward the seat. He tries to hide the limp in his steps and tension in his side as he keeps each step measured. When he grabs the armrest and lowers himself onto the cushion, the subtle tension of his jaw and tick of a vein under his neck give away all he's trying to hide. He's in
HelenaThe silence in the room is unbearable.It presses in from every corner, thick and suffocating, broken only by the faint ticking of the clock mounted on the wall.Tick.Tick.Tick.I hate that sound.My fingers tap restlessly against the arm of the chair as I sit, one leg crossed over the other, heel bouncing lightly against the polished floor. The place smells too clean—too controlled. Nothing like the abandoned stretch I had met Graven in earlier.This… this is where I belong.Order.Structure.Power sitting quietly beneath the surface.And yet—My jaw tightens slightly as I glance at my wristwatch for what has to be the tenth time in the last few minutes.He should be dead by now.Aeron should be dead.The thought circles my mind again, slower this time, heavier.Should be.But he isn’t.I know it.I felt it the moment Graven showed me that photograph. The moment his voice stayed too calm when he said it wasn’t Aeron’s body.Failure.The word sits bitter on my tongue.My nail
KellanI don’t go to her immediately.I stand across the street first.Just… watching.The restaurant sits exactly the way I remember it—warm lights spilling through the glass windows, the faint clatter of plates and low hum of conversation drifting out every time the door opens. It feels… normal. Too normal.Like the world didn’t almost burn a few hours ago.Like bullets didn’t tear through flesh and bone.Like I didn’t watch a man nearly die in my arms.My jaw tightens slightly as I shift my weight, my shoulder pulling in protest beneath the jacket. The wound has mostly closed, but the ache is still there—deep, dull, constant. A reminder.Of everything.Of him.My gaze drifts back to the window.And then I see her.Sera moves between tables with practiced ease, a tray balanced in her hand, her expression focused but calm. There’s a lightness to her movements that hasn’t changed. Not since the last time I stood here. Not since everything went to hell.For a moment…It almost feels li
HelenaThe place reeks.Not just the kind of bad smell you wrinkle your nose at and move past.This one settles.Rot. Rust. Damp earth.It clings to the air like something that refuses to leave, thick enough to taste if you breathe too deep.Helena exhales sharply through her nose, pacing back and forth with quick, irritated steps. The heels of her boots click against the cracked concrete, the sound echoing louder than it should in the empty space.She checks her wristwatch again.And again.Her fingers tighten slightly around her wrist as the seconds tick by.Late.Of course he’s late.Her jaw clenches as she glances around the area once more. The place is abandoned—long forgotten by anyone who actually matters. Rusted metal structures loom in the distance, half-collapsed and eaten away by time. Broken crates are scattered across the ground, some overturned, others split open like something clawed its way through them.This isn’t a place she should be.Not her.Not someone like her.
AeronThe walk feels longer than it should.Every step drags slightly, my leg protesting with a dull, constant ache that climbs up my spine and settles somewhere deep in my chest. The healers had done their work—stitched what they could, pulled out most of the silver, forced my body to heal faster than it naturally would—but they couldn’t erase everything.And I hadn’t let them finish.Rest, they said.Wait, they said.I didn’t.The corridor stretches ahead of me, quiet in a way that feels… unnatural. Guards line the walls, straighter than usual, their gazes snapping forward the moment I pass. Some of them steal quick glances at me—at the way I move, at the faint stiffness in my posture, at the bandage peeking from beneath my shirt.Word spreads fast.Faster than fire.An attack on the Alpha isn’t something that stays hidden for long.My jaw tightens slightly as I keep walking, ignoring the way my body urges me to slow down. I don’t.I won’t.Pain is nothing new.The doors to the coun
SeraI wipe the stray bead of tears that slides down my greasy cheek with the back of my hand. Without another word–without looking back–I turn and walk out of the dungeon.Aeron keeps on calling my name behind me, begging me to stop. I hear the soft thudding of his boots against the stone floor as
Sera“I didn't do it," I whisper, my voice weak and torn from crying too much. “I… didn't… do it."I don't know how long I stay like that–curled up on the hay with my face buried in my arms as my chest shakes with my quiet sobs.The stray under me scratches against my skin every time I move. Cold s
SeraThe estate does not rest in response to the Grimwards, guards change twice as frequently, torches stay lit later in the evening, the western balcony is occupied at all times and even the servants move with a heightened awareness, their voices quieter, their looks more intent.Grimward did not
SeraThe chanting begins to fade, but the tension still lingers in the air–thick, palpable. It hovers above the courtyard like smoke after a fire."All hail the Alpha," the crowd repeats again, louder this time. “All hail the Alpha."They speak in unity, but their words sound forced now. I can see







