LOGINThe portal burst open in a swirl of silver and gold, light scattering across the snow in shimmering waves. Wolves skidded to a halt mid snowball war. Pups froze with handfuls of snow. Even Marek paused with a snowball raised above his head.The king stepped through.And immediately tripped over a sl
I strung lights across the top of the house, weaving them around the chimney and down the far side. Magic flickered from my fingertips, helping the strands cling perfectly in place. Every spark of golden light that escaped curled like a lazy ribbon in the air.Someone below cleared their throat loud
Snow blanketed the entire pack territory in soft, perfect drifts. It made everything look gentle, like the world had been iced with sugar. The trees bowed under the weight of white powder, branches sparkling in the afternoon light. Smoke curled from chimneys. Laughter drifted through the cold air. M
The king watched silently. Marek nodded slowly beside me, jaw tight with agreement.Kaelan looked between us, breath shaking. His voice dropped to a whisper. “You do not understand. I… I spent so long believing I would never amount to anything. I believed I was only useful as your protector. Your sh
The snow had nearly stopped falling by the time the king summoned us. Only a few flakes drifted lazily through the gray morning sky. Wolves formed a loose circle around the clearing, whispering quietly among themselves, tension flowing through them like an undercurrent.The portal behind the king cr
His breath shuddered.I leaned closer, forehead resting against his.“I could not do it.”Marek closed his eyes, attempting to hold himself together, but his hands trembled at his sides.“I love you,” I whispered. “I love this pack. I love this world. I love who I am here.”He opened his eyes, and e
“I am trying.”“Try harder.”The spark continued forward, glowing brighter in the dim light. The rocky passage curved and then dropped sharply into a sloping tunnel. We slid down it, boots skidding on packed snow and smooth stone until the passage opened again to the outside. We were lower on the mo
The storm raged outside, but not a single gust reached us. The magic inside me pulsed in slow, warm waves instead of violent spikes.He stared at me like he was watching something sacred unfold.I lifted his hands and placed them on my cheeks. His palms were warm, trembling slightly. The moment he t
The mountain shook beneath us. Not in the normal way mountains sometimes grumble with settling ice or shifting stone. This felt alive. It felt like breath and heartbeat and warning. I looked up just long enough to see the sky above us split wider, a jagged crack of light that pulsed like a vein acro
Snow poured down the mountainside in violent waves, whipped sideways by furious wind. The cave rattled under the force of the storm outside, each gust sending flurries of white across the narrow entrance. Ice crackled on the rocks. The sky above groaned as another fracture flashed across it, bleedin







