Mag-log inZafira Nightvale POV"A cold winter sweat is breaking out all over your low forehead skin, Mirelle Duskwater, and your ugly snout is completely losing all its red colour!" My mouth lets out a soft, amused little laugh straight at her face.Mirelle hears my throat making that noise, and her brain suddenly seems to realise the whole trick. She whips her tail around really fast, her eyes blazing like a wild forest fire. "Your unranked paws set this bad trap for my group on purpose!""Sorry, what was that loud bark?" My chin tilts right to the side, my voice sounding syrupy sweet like wild honey. "I am afraid my simple puppy mind does not understand your words at all.""Your teeth absolutely did!" Mirelle’s anger flares up super big. "Your lying tongue tricked my claws into cutting off the pack security tags from the furs—""When did my mouth ever trick your small brain?" my face replies to her snout, still smiling real sweet. "If your ears mean what Isolde Grimfen and the shop clerk wolf
Zafira Nightvale POV"Zafira Nightvale!" Mirelle Duskwater calls out real loud across the shop floor.My body just stays lounging on the plush hide sofa set out for high-pack customers, my long legs elegantly crossed as my fingers idly scroll through my digital phone terminal, paying absolutely zero attention to the big commotion around my seat.My stunning, almost breathtaking face finally lifts up toward her snout, my voice sounding super lazy and indifferent to her rank. "Yeah? Does your mouth need something from my claws?""Come over here right now to the desk. It is time for your black card to pay the bill!""Your own claws can pay for those furs. What has that bill got to do with my pouch?" my hand arches a silver eyebrow at her group, looking genuinely puzzled by her words.Mirelle exchanges a fast wicked glance with her academy friends, then suddenly shoves the giant armful of heavy clothes they'd picked out onto the wooden counter with a loud, angry huff. "Our claws have alre
Zafira Nightvale POV"We won't stand on any pack ceremony then, Mirelle Duskwater!" the five or six academy girls bark out real loud, exchanging quick greedy glances and grinning with their sharp teeth.My mouth just gives them a totally cold, amused smile, making zero move to stop their paws from grabbing the items, though my silver eyes harden up like thick winter ice.My brain remembers all too well how, in my past life cycle, my wolf had been nothing more than a free token bank for Isolde’s whole nasty family camp—especially Mirelle.Mirelle had a bad habit of flaunting huge pack wealth in public using my mother’s hard-earned resources. This wasn't the first time her claws did this trick either.Every single time we walked the trading posts, Mirelle’s tongue would bark, "Can your pouch cover this resource token, just for this short sun-turn?" Yet her paws had never once returned a single gold token to my bag.It wasn't that my wolf failed to see Mirelle’s greedy intentions; my min
Zafira Nightvale POV"It has been many winter moons since your unranked paws walked our pack borders, hasn't it?" Mirelle Duskwater barks out real loud, her sharp snout looking super smug and full of nasty curiosity. "My ears heard a rumor that your wolf got a marriage bond? What male did you bind your skin to, huh? Why is the whole mating ceremony so hush-hush from the territory? Don't tell my camp that your new husband is some weak rogue stray that your claws cannot even bring out into the bright pack sunlight?"Mirelle’s words drip with a lot of bad malice as she steps her boots closer to my fur.Of course her small brain doesn't know that my wolf married Alpha Vickon Blackwynd. My inner beast is not the least bit surprised by her dumb ignorance—Mirelle’s lower family camp had never been invited to any of the high Nightvale pack feasts, and Vaelira Nightvale, who does know the absolute truth, always hated to see my wolf standing in the bright alpha spotlight. There is zero chance V
Zafira Nightvale POV"Your unranked skin is too young to grow a puppy inside your belly, Zafira," Vaelira Nightvale whispers real low, her grey elder face falling just a tiny little bit toward the stone floor. "Nineteen winters is far too young to have a child for the pack line.""But how much time does your grandson’s beast truly have left to breathe the air?" I ask my own mind, watching her boots walk out the big iron doors of the hall.A dull ache creeps straight into the old elder’s heart, but her tongue cannot bring itself to say the scary word out loud to the guards.My silver eyes notice the dark shadow flicker across Vaelira’s face before her wagon leaves. I hesitate for a microsecond, then wait until the grand grandmother wolf completely leaves the room before turning my chin straight to Alpha Vickon. "Your deadly blood illness—my own claws can cure it! My wolf will never let your body die in this chair!""You talk like a wild pup," Vickon tells my face, his dark eyes blinkin
Zafira Nightvale POV"But Sorelle Mistfang shouldn't stay inside the main pack walls anymore. Move her blankets straight to the lower guest den," Vaelira Nightvale says real loud, her elder tone leaving zero room for argument.Sorelle's happy smile freezes straight on her snout in one single microsecond.The Blackwynd fortress is completely enormous, and right next door stands the outer guest room, but every single wolf in the territory knows that stone hut is strictly reserved for the lowest working staff.Until this sun-turn, Sorelle’s fur had been the grand exception to the pack law. Living inside the main master residence set her skin high above the other servants, earning their total attention and flattery every morning. If her boots are made to move out there, what will the other house slaves think of her name?"Lady Nightvale, please let my paws stay!" Sorelle's puppy eyes shimmer really bright with unshed watery tears.But Vaelira has already turned her grey head straight to m
Zafira Nightvale POV"No need, Zyric. My boots are heading back to the main fortress real soon," I say into my pack phone, keeping my tone super lazy and unhurried.I click the screen off."Vaelira, care to explain what Zyric’s mouth meant just now?" Lucan Duskclaw turns his big face to Vaelira, hi
"Alright then." I let out a big sigh and slide my phone back into my pocket.I look up at the clock on the wall, and my inner wolf doesn't have any patience left for this camp. "Is there any other business your mouths want to bark about? If not, my boots are heading back to the main fortress. Alpha
Zafira Nightvale POV"Evie, is what Zafira’s mouth saying the actual baseline truth?" Lucan Duskclaw asks, and his face looks super dark because this is the very first time his ears have ever heard about this pack secret.He always gives all the best meat shares to Vaelira, but my body is still his
He forces a bitter smile through his teeth. "You and my wolf aren't in the same boat, brother. Your legs are going to heal up and walk the woods soon; my bones are the ones facing a total hack-off by the healers. My mother has dragged every single medicine wolf from every high pack to my bed, and t







