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
Half the wolves cheered.Marek put both hands on his face. “This is not a mission. No one is going anywhere.”“It sounds like a mission,” Lucian said.“Stop encouraging them,” Marek said.Lucian shrugged. “I am simply a victim of hand violence and cannot control them.”The backpack wolf lifted the w
**AVELINE POV**Elara burst into the common room at sunrise with the energy of someone who had consumed two entire Christmas fruitcakes and chased them with espresso.“I have decided,” she announced, hands on hips, “that the pack requires Realm Preparedness Training.”Several wolves froze mid breakf
The morning after the spark froze my bedroom door shut, the whole packhouse was vibrating with tension.Not from fear.From Christmas lights.Every strand of lights in the building blinked at mismatched intervals like they were possessed by a toddler who had found the switch. And every time a bulb b
The portal shimmer vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the snowfield silent and the wolves breathing like they had just sprinted across the entire territory.Then it started snowing.Not regular snow.Unnatural snow.The kind of snow that fell straight down without drifting, glowing fai







