Stay tuned...
The sun hasn't fully broken the tree line when I step outside, bag slung over my shoulder, boots crunching against the still-dewy grass. The air is sharp, heavy with the scent of pine and frost, but surprisingly cold to the nose. Yet I always loved September.I was loading my things into the back of the car, not hurried, just needing to do something.I hadn’t really slept. I hadn't for days.The tea helped. Brewed from dried herbs my mother would warn others not to abuse, but I will stop at some point, I just have to keep the voice out long enough to understand it."You ready to hit the road with them? Isn't that much tension in one car a bit too much?" Saf asks. I press my thumb and forefinger against my temple. "It has to be fine.""If you say so." She says almost musically. "This is me." Thalia says as she hands me her bag, holding Sebas in her other arm."You know we can't take him," I say as I put her bag next to mine."I know. Shaun said he would have someone come and feed him
"You dont need to worry about that," Atlas says. "You are the priority on this trip, for you to find the answers you are looking for. To Hollow Pines, we need to cross just barely the rogue's territory, hardly step on it. What Cole said about the magic in that place is true. Something is making it grow bigger, but I have our amulets ready, just in case. But now, who knows if they'll work." A chill slips down my spine, more from the weight of his words than the night air.Hollow Pines. Just the name feels like a whisper left too long in the dark. A place that doesn’t belong on any map, and yet somehow calls to those who need something lost, answers, power, redemption. Or ruin."The amulets only work on our side of the border, so we can't be spelled on our lands. But I dont know how I feel about leading you... and everyone else on a witch's territory. Perhaps it would be better if you stayed...""Dont even go there. I can take care of us. Plus, Cole said he can take care of the witch, t
Kaya's POV"Long stand the Beta." I say, followed by a gentle bow of the head, when I rise, I look behind me at Thalia, who hasn't stopped looking at everything in amazement. But what is important in the moment is that... it's finally done. Altas is Alpha. Goddess, it has been so glorious to see him take the title. Honor above all, to present this, knowing the man he is, and the leader he will be. "I imagined a lot of things." Says Thalia. "But never this.""Yeah, well, we either do it big or dont do it at all." I say as I look back at Atlas and as if he knew, as if he could feel the moment my attention shifted, he turns. Our eyes meet across the firelight and blood-soaked ash like there’s no one else between us.Like the distance was never there to begin with.He always looks at me.But I can't go to him, and neither can he come to me. Not yet. People are watching him, and people around him. I can't have that attention on me. "Come on, let's go find something to drink," I say to T
The garden has been transformed.Where once there was only trimmed hedges and quiet moonlit stone, now ancient banners flutter in the breeze. Torches stand tall, their flames dancing in ceremonial rhythm. A wide circle of white ash marks the ritual grounds, sacred soil untouched for years. It was last used when my father accepted his title, and now... it waits for me.I follow behind my father and mother, the crowd splitting before us like water parted by a ship’s bow. Kaya walks behind me, silent and composed, keeping her distance but remaining in the front row. I feel her energy like a heartbeat against my back. Every time I glance to the side, she’s there. Not overshadowing. Not leaning in. Just steady. Steady in a way that grounds me more than any oath or prophecy ever could.Sky paces inside me. Restless. Awake."They’re watching us," he says, his voice rougher than usual, stirred by the ceremonial air. "Not the people, but the old ones. The spirits. The Alphas before us."I feel
Atlas's POVThe day I dreaded for so long is finally here. There is no turning back, no escaping... especially not under my mother's watchful eye. My father stands proud in front of all these guests, proud of the man he raised to take the role of the leader for our people. But the truth was, I was raised by my mother, by Jeffrey, and tutors while he was busy with the council. He was the kind of father I fear I'll have to be one day.I stand at the top of the grand staircase, the room spread out below me like a sea of expectations. The traditional Alpha suit I wear feels heavier than the time I had to put it on for tailoring, every emblem meticulously embroidered on the fabric, the silver flames on my collar flickering in the chandelier light. The air hums with tension and anticipation. All eyes are on me. All ten Alphas from different packs are here waiting to see me become one of them. The eleventh Alpha."Not just any Alpha." Sky says as he sits by my legs, staring at the people ben
Four days passed in a blur, and the day of the ceremony arrived with no way of backing out. Not while the Luna is on the watch. Besides, either way I promised Atlas, and I dont break my promises.I stand in front of the mirror, not quite recognizing the girl who stares back.The silver dress clings to me like it knows my secrets, shimmering with every breath, every doubt I try to swallow. Thalia’s fingers work with practiced ease, twisting pieces of my hair into something elegant and entirely not me. She hums as she moves, some old pop song she probably used to dance to in her room with a hairbrush mic and stars in her eyes.“Don’t move,” she mutters, a bobby pin clenched between her teeth.“Not moving,” I murmur back."Did you talk to your mom?" I ask Thalia. "I did, every day for the last four days. I told her I'm no longer in the city but that I'm with you and safe. I skipped over some details." Thalia’s voice is steady, but I catch the tightness in it, like a thread pulled just a