로그인PENIEL“Where is Preya?” I asked suddenly. The question slicing through the tension in the air.Silas blinked in confusion, then his eyes widened in realization. He turned and snapped at a nearby she-wolf. "Find the maid Preya. Now."The she-wolf scurried off. She returned only a few minutes later, her expression uneasy. “She is not in her room, Beta. No one has seen her since this afternoon.” she whispered into his ears.Silas turned back to me, his expression grave. "Preya is also missing." He said, stating the obvious like I wasn't three feet away from him.Of course she was. The pieces must have finally clicked together in his mind because he asked, “You think they went together?”“I know they went together.”“It is… very possible,” Silas said carefully, avoiding my eyes. “Especially as they seemed to have bonded. During the… during the period she.. you know arrived, and then everything…” he trailed off.He didn’t need to finish. During the time she needed her mate, and I was too
PENIELThe nagging feeling started as a tightness in my chest while we were searching the northern woods. We had been searching for hours, sweeping in a wide grid for any sign of Peniel's mother. The night was cold and silent, broken only by the sounds of my warriors moving through the bushes.By the time the sun had begun to set, it had spread, hurting like a physical ache. I ignored it, pushing it down, as we combed the woods. It was just worry. Just the leftover anger from the fight with Peniel. Just the strain of knowing Henry was out there, dread of what Henry might have already done to her mother.It was just the ache from the fight with Peniel. She had shut me out completely. After our fight, she’d slammed the door between our minds. I couldn't feel her at all, not her fear, not her anger, just a blank, silent wall where my mate should have been.She thinks I don’t care. The thought echoed in my head, bitter and sharp. She thinks I’d let her mother die to keep her safe. Doesn
PENIELThe nagging feeling started as a tightness in my chest while we were searching the northern woods. We had been searching for hours, sweeping in a wide grid for any sign of Peniel's mother. The night was cold and silent, broken only by the sounds of my warriors moving through the bushes.By the time the sun had begun to set, it had spread, hurting like a physical ache. I ignored it, pushing it down, as we combed the woods. It was just worry. Just the leftover anger from the fight with Peniel. Just the strain of knowing Henry was out there, dread of what Henry might have already done to her mother.It was just the ache from the fight with Peniel. She had shut me out completely. After our fight, she’d slammed the door between our minds. I couldn't feel her at all, not her fear, not her anger, just a blank, silent wall where my mate should have been.She thinks I don’t care. The thought echoed in my head, bitter and sharp. She thinks I’d let her mother die to keep her safe. Doesn
PENIELA test. He was watching, or listening, to see if I had brought anyone.“I’m alone!” I called out, my voice bouncing off the stone walls. “Just like you wanted! Now, where is she? Where is my mother?”Silence. No one answered.I looked past the stool. The tunnel continued on the other side of the cavern. But written on the wall in what looked like mud were the words:THE MOON’S EYE SEES THE TRUTH.The moon’s eye? What was that supposed to mean? The moon… it was out tonight. Did its light… did it shine down here? I looked up. There were thin cracks in the ceiling of the cavern, and faint moonlight filtered through in one spot, creating a small, bright circle on the far wall.The moon’s eye. That spot of light.I walked over to where the light touched the wall. The beam was so bright it made the surrounding stone look even darker. I ran my hands over the wall inside the circle of light. There, almost invisible unless the light touched it, was a narrow, vertical crack in the stone.
PENIELIf you're wondering if I left Preya behind. I didn't. The thought of my father or his goons trying something disgusting was enough to make me stay put.Preya made it back safely, the bundle of clothes sticking out of her small backpack. “From the gardeners’ laundry line,” she whispered. “No one will notice.” she shrugged, “For a while at least.”Once we got past the border markings, we found a dense thicket to hide in. “Ready?” I asked, my voice low.Preya just nodded, her eyes wide but determined.I closed my eyes and called to my wolf. The shift was faster now, smoother than it used to be. Power flowed through my limbs, fur sprouted, and my senses exploded into clarity. I shook out my coat, a deep, smoky grey with silver tips along my back and tail. Till now, I still couldn't believe I was this big, or this strong. My wolf was basically built for battle.Preya shifted beside me. Her wolf was beautiful but smaller, with a coat the color of autumn leaves, filled with rich brown
PENIELIt wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t a trained warrior so, the move was desperate and clumsy. Something I intended to change when I got back.I shoved him hard, so he went off balance, toward the wall. At the same time, I picked up a big loose rock, said a light prayer that he didn't die and hit him on the head. He slumped to the ground. I didn't wait and inspect whether he was dead. I just turned and ran, not for the gap in the wall, but parallel to it, deeper into the shadows between the sheds. I made a lot of noise, probably alerting some stray guard, but my priority right there was slipping through the narrow gap behind the woodpile and out into the dark forest beyond the perimeter.Guilt choked me as I ran. I had tricked a boy who was only trying to do his job. But I couldn't think about that now.I ran until my lungs burned, following the deer trail I knew would lead north toward the river. The forest was alive with night sounds, but I heard no pursuit. Not yet.I had just crosse







