Steve was wrong. He had thought he would be able to predict how good Emma would be with those needles but he had been thrown off track by how deadly this petite healer was. She had taken down two big men that towered over her and she did not even need to transform into a werewolf to do so.
In fact, the Alpha realized that Emma was deadlier as a healer than a werewolf. She was a living weapon. It made him feel even more stupid that he had rejected her for Sophia. He had been led to believe that her skills as a healer were useless but she had proved him wrong time and time again.
She was the reason his pack was covered in pure moon radiation that not only healed him of his wounds but also eradicated the virus that affected him. As of this moment, Steve knew that Emma was the most valuable thing to him and nothing was going to change that.
However, the Alpha knew that Emma had not forgiven him yet. Though her body responded well to his touch but her heart was anoth
Sophia scavenged all she could from the ghost village. She found better and warmer clothes, boots and a thick cloak with a hood that covered her face from the heavy falling snow.It was night fall before she finally left the village. She was more comfortable in the dark. She trudged on through the snow and the only company that she had was the voice that kept taunting her. The voice that called her an abomination."You could have made a deal for me too, you know." The voice complained. Sophia surpressed an annoyed sigh as she walked. "You got all these powers where you get to cheat death while I am stuck here in the fucking dark.""You experimented on me!" Sophia finally snapped, her voice was stifled by the thick snow. "You took away my ability to fucking mate!""I wanted to make you better!" The voice said."Then take a good look at me!" Sophia thundered. "Do I look better to you!?"The voice made no reply. "I can't feel shit!" Sophia said in a stifled rage. "And do not blame me for
"Is there a point to all this?" Adam said as soon as he found his voice."Yes, darling," Priscillia said as she took another bite from her apple. The three naked nymphs stood obediently behind Priscillia and their presence made Adam very nervous."There is great power locked in this body and mind of yours and we need to unlock it," Terra replied.The response made no sense to him and the more he wracked his brain to give him a sensible answer the more confused he got."And you need them to do it?" Adam asked as he nervously glanced at the nymphs who kept looking at him like he was dinner."Well, they are part of the experiment and we are not even sure if it will work," Priscillia replied."But that's part of the fun," Terra said with an almost deranged smile on her face.Adam gulped as he looked from the Succubus to the woman he had had history with and her clearly aroused group of nymphs.His stomach grumbled loudly and he was reminded that he had not had any food for a while. His mo
She had lost count of how many villages she had passed. She had lost count of the miles she had walked. She felt no fear, not anymore, and she she was not tired in any way.The snow almost reached her knees as she walked on. For the first time in a long journey, Sophia finally had somewhere to go. Although she was sure that no one was going to welcome her with open hands.Not after all she had done to this world. Still, she moved on. The wind blew coldly against her skin but she did not feel it. A human would have dropped dead from the cold alon. No one could survive here.Still, she moved on. Her destination was Sterling Creek and she was curious as to how Emma would react when they eventually met."She is going to kill you," A voice said to her as she walked. She rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly but said nothing."After all the things you did to her and to this world, she is not going to accept you with open arms," The voice continued.Sophia walked on without a word."S
The first morning after the fall of the Frost Sovereign arrived in quiet layers—sunlight dripping like honey over the thawing pines, golden birdsong tentatively filling the air like a tentative apology. Emma stood on the veranda of the old Council House, bundled in a light fur coat, her breath forming harmless clouds in the crisp but warming air. For the first time in weeks, she could feel the warmth on her skin—not the internal fire of her Ember Heart, but real, true warmth from the sky.Sterling Creek was healing.The war was over.But recovery was a different kind of battle.Beneath her, the pack grounds buzzed with motion—children laughing as they splashed in muddy puddles, warriors dragging broken beams from damaged homes, and the scent of baking bread drifting out from makeshift ovens. She could hear the low creak of wooden wheels as carts loaded with supplies rattled past. Not long ago, this entire valley had been encased in ice.Emma’s gaze drifted toward the place where the H
Emma leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his. “I don’t know what the final trial is.”“I do,” Steve said. His voice dropped, barely audible. “It’s him. The Frost Sovereign. The Citadel’s guardian. He won’t send another monster. He is the final monster.”She closed her eyes, letting the truth settle between them.Then Steve whispered, “And I’ll be right beside you when you face him.”Emma nodded.Her voice, when it came, was a whisper of flame: “Then we face him together.”And somewhere above them, the Sovereign felt her resolve.And smiled.The doors to the Trial Chamber groaned open—tall enough to admit a giant, etched with runes so old they pulsed like a heartbeat. Emma walked forward, flanked by Steve, Marcus, Long, and Sarah. The cold here was ancient. It wasn’t weather. It was memory.The room was carved from clear crystal ice, endlessly tall, ringed with jagged pillars that resembled frozen lightning. At its heart stood a solitary figure, back turned, robed in white so pure
Emma stood in the silent chamber where the fourth trial had ended, her breath coming in slow, controlled bursts. The frost-bitten stone beneath her boots sizzled faintly from the heat she hadn't realized she was still giving off. Her hands trembled—whether from exhaustion or lingering adrenaline, she couldn’t tell.She’d survived.Barely.Her Ember Heart pulsed with residual energy, quiet now, like a volcano gone still after the eruption. But it wasn’t peace. It was waiting.She touched her chest lightly, just above her sternum. The pendant Marcus had given her—now cracked, half-melted—hung limply, unable to contain what had awakened inside her.“What was that?” Sarah whispered beside her, the awe in her voice nearly swallowed by the thick frost clinging to the chamber walls. “Emma… I’ve never seen you like that. That wasn’t medicine. That wasn’t logic. That was—”“Fire,” Emma said quietly, swallowing. “Not the kind you see in a camp or a lab. It felt… ancient.”Marcus approached fro