FLORAL LUNA JULESONE HOUR, SOME SECONDS TO STEINHART RESEARCH ATTACKWhen I first met Nathan, he’d been brought in by Elder Marion and Alpha Jacob, and I’d immediately pegged him for just another stray—another lost wolf seeking shelter in our neutral pack.Our pack has always been different. As one of the few neutral packs recognized by the Council, no one dared to provoke us. Not with Elder Marion among us, and Alpha Jacob being part of the Union. But that wasn’t why I hated Nathan.No. I hated him because from the moment he arrived—this dorky-looking boy with quiet eyes and messy hair—he was treated like royalty. He walked through our gates and somehow stole the spotlight I’d spent my entire life building.I was Marion’s favorite. The brightest, the most promising girl in the pack. And the prettiest, if I may add. Daughter of the second-in-command, Alpha Daniel. Then Nathan comes along and bam—he’s the only one who can perform the Blessed Luna ritual. Turns out his ability is som
SYRATWO AND A HALF HOURS TO STEINHART RESEARCH ATTACKMy skull felt like it was splitting in two—no, into a thousand jagged fragments. Each one pulsed with white-hot electricity, stabbing through my brain like lightning bolts without mercy or rhythm. As if the universe itself had gripped my head with iron fists, forcing an avalanche of information—images, voices, memories that weren’t mine—into my mind at once. Each thought slammed into the next, cascading, crashing, overlapping like a storm of screaming data I couldn’t silence.I couldn’t decipher it all. There were too many.Too many voices, too many fragments of names, places, faces, sounds—like eavesdropping on a thousand nightmares all at once, and yet somehow, some part of me understood each and every one. It was unbearable.My chest grew heavy, lungs shrinking as if someone had bound them with invisible chains. I gasped, but the air tasted wrong.Around me, I saw their mouths move—Lucian. They were talking. Arguing, maybe.
SYRAJULY 11, FOUR HOURS TO STEINHART BEING ATTACKED“Alright,” Gabriella said, her voice crisp, echoing slightly in the high-ceilinged conference room. “It’s been two weeks, and the final decision has been made.”She stood tall at the head of the long obsidian table, radiating poise and power. Dressed in a sharp navy blazer tailored to perfection, her white silk blouse peeked through just enough to give a glimpse of elegance without compromising authority. High-waisted charcoal trousers hugged her slender figure, accentuating her poised stance, and a pair of sleek, black stilettos completed the look with just the right hint of danger. A silver brooch shaped like a crescent moon glinted at her collar—subtle, yet commanding.Her wine-red hair was pulled into a high ponytail, strands sleek and controlled, not a single flyaway in sight. Those icy blue eyes swept across the room, razor-sharp and unreadable. You could almost feel the air stiffen around her—the weight of her presence dragg
THE BLOOD LUNA.COMMANDER LUIZ KAMAU“What could this be?” Seth mutters, crouched beside the scorched ground, the faint trail of smoke rising. I watch the flickering blue flame, the bitter taste of my cigar curling at the edge of my tongue.“Huh. Mountain Ash,” I grunt, bending closer. The ember’s hue says it all. “Haven’t seen it used like this in a while. Smells like deep trouble.”We arrived just in time—but even so, my gut churns. It always does whenever these damn Union dogs show up. I’ve hated them for as long as I can remember. Nobody really knows who gave them power… or why they think they own everything.And then—speak of the devil.“What are the Blood Lunas doing here?” The voice grates at my ears.Oscar Oloo.Just seeing his face is enough to sour my mood. That stark white hair sliced into a perfect line across his scalp. Clean cut. Calculated. Condescending. As always, he’s in his tight, jet-black military uniform—like some damn decorative statue from a forgotten war.“We
THE CRIMSON PACKALPHA JORGE“Two down, one more to go,” I murmur with a smirk, locking the two glowing screens together. The sigils crackle faintly with arcane energy—it had taken blood and bone to retrieve them, but they were finally ours.“Lord,” Alpha Brian mutters, peeling off his chestplate with a hiss of effort, sweat glistening down his neck. “The final piece… it’s in the Steinhart Research Centre. How the hell are we going to get it out of there?”I exhale slowly, turning my gaze to the others scattered across the chamber. Some were cleaning their weapons—polishing silver edges, refitting wolfsbane cartridges, checking runes etched into blades. The air reeked of steel, oil, and intent.“That place is no joke,” I admit, rolling my wrist where the seal still throbbed from our last encounter. “The Research Centre is led by the Genius and the Witch of Steinhart—the two most dangerous minds on the continent.”Alpha Brian tenses. “So what’s the plan?”I glance at the dark wall wher
PHILIPPA STEINHART WHITE LUNA“How will it work?” I ask Oliver the moment I step away from my conversation with Syra.He doesn’t answer right away—just reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the purple orb, placing it carefully on the bedside table. Its surface shimmers faintly in the dim light, catching the silver sheen of the moon filtering through the window. Then, without a word, he begins undoing his coat buttons, slow and deliberate.“Well,” he finally says, sliding his arms out of the sleeves and tossing the coat onto the nearby chair, “if she really is the Blessed Luna, the globe will glow a bluish green.”“Okay… so when will it glow?” I ask, curiosity threading through my voice.He doesn’t answer.He just smirks.My mouth parts in realization. “Oh, shit…” I chuckle, raising a brow. “You’re serious?”He walks toward the dresser, grabbing his pajama bottoms with a shrug. “Can’t you feel it?” he murmurs. “It’s already begun.”My grin stretches as I throw myself onto the bed