LOGINAstrid’s POV Lucian’s endgame is no longer about power and that was what terrified me now Power announces itself Power is not quite Power is loud But Lucian’s plans seemed quiet What Lucian wanted was permission Permission from the council I got to realize this when I stood alone in the old training ring that had been off-limits for quite some time now. The training ground was an abandoned stone circle where pups would normally train to learn their first shifts and where young Alphas learned in the lower ground without any guard or guide. I stood alone without anyone watching me, not even Sebastian. I needed this space. The night was just moonlight and truth. The atmosphere is so pure. I closed my fingers around the relic in my hand and I took a deep and slow breath. “Just a little,” I whispered. “It won’t cause any harm,” I assured myself that I wasn’t going to open anything. Then the air around responded like they understood me all along. The air
Astrid’s POV Lucian’s endgame is no longer about power and that was what terrified me now Power announces itself Power is not quite Power is loud But Lucian’s plans seemed quiet What Lucian wanted was permission Permission from the council I got to realize this when I stood alone in the old training ring that had been off-limits for quite some time now. The training ground was an abandoned stone circle where pups would normally train to learn their first shifts and where young Alphas learned in the lower ground without any guard or guide. I stood alone without anyone watching me, not even Sebastian. I needed this space. The night was just moonlight and truth. The atmosphere is so pure. I closed my fingers around the relic in my hand and I took a deep and slow breath. “Just a little,” I whispered. “It won’t cause any harm,” I assured myself that I wasn’t going to open anything. Then the air around responded like they understood me all along. The air
Astrid’s POV Lucian’s endgame is no longer about power and that was what terrified me now Power announces itself Power is not quite Power is loud But Lucian’s plans seemed quiet What Lucian wanted was permission Permission from the council I got to realize this when I stood alone in the old training ring that had been off-limits for quite some time now. The training ground was an abandoned stone circle where pups would normally train to learn their first shifts and where young Alphas learned in the lower ground without any guard or guide. I stood alone without anyone watching me, not even Sebastian. I needed this space. The night was just moonlight and truth. The atmosphere is so pure. I closed my fingers around the relic in my hand and I took a deep and slow breath. “Just a little,” I whispered. “It won’t cause any harm,” I assured myself that I wasn’t going to open anything. Then the air around responded like they understood me all along. The air responded not vi
Astrid’s POVLucian’s endgame is no longer about power and that was what terrified me now Power announces itselfPower is not quite Power is loudBut Lucian’s plans seemed quiet What Lucian wanted was permissionPermission from the councilI got to realize this when I stood alone in the old training ring that had been off-limits for quite some time now.The training ground was an abandoned stone circle where pups would normally train to learn their first shifts and where young Alphas learned in the lower ground without any guard or guide.I stood alone without anyone watching me, not even Sebastian.I needed this space.The night was just moonlight and truth.The atmosphere is so pure.I closed my fingers around the relic in my hand and I took a deep and slow breath.“Just a little,” I whispered. “It won’t cause any harm,” I assured myself that I wasn’t going to open anything.Then the air around responded like they understood me all along.The air responded not violently It only
Astrid’s POVThe world felt like it was ending slowly The first sign is the silence. Not the peaceful kind. The wrong kind. The kind that settles over the pack like a held breath. Sebastian walks beside me through the east corridor of the compound, his shoulder occasionally brushing mine. He’s solid. Warm. Real. Too real for the way my chest keeps tightening like something is missing. Or worse— Like something is watching. “You should still be resting,” he says, glancing at me. “You’ve barely eaten.” “I’m fine,” I lie. I’ve been saying that for two days. Ever since I woke up. Ever since the dream refused to fade the way dreams are supposed to. We turn a corner— —and I stop. Sebastian takes one more step before he realizes I’m no longer beside him. “Astrid?” I’m staring at the floor. At the pattern carved into the stone. A crescent intersected by a broken circle. My stomach drops. That wasn’t here before. It couldn’t have been. I saw it in the dream—etched into t
The world felt like it was ending slowly The first sign is the silence.Not the peaceful kind.The wrong kind.The kind that settles over the pack like a held breath.Sebastian walks beside me through the east corridor of the compound, his shoulder occasionally brushing mine. He’s solid. Warm. Real. Too real for the way my chest keeps tightening like something is missing.Or worse—Like something is watching.“You should still be resting,” he says, glancing at me. “You’ve barely eaten.”“I’m fine,” I lie.I’ve been saying that for two days.Ever since I woke up.Ever since the dream refused to fade the way dreams are supposed to.We turn a corner——and I stop.Sebastian takes one more step before he realizes I’m no longer beside him.“Astrid?”I’m staring at the floor.At the pattern carved into the stone.A crescent intersected by a broken circle.My stomach drops.That wasn’t here before.It couldn’t have been.I saw it in the dream—etched into the ground the night the earth split







