PRISCILLA The ground still bore scars. The earth was blackened in patches, trees bent from heat and ash, but life… had returned. We rebuilt from bones and soot. And somehow, so did I. The pack house had been reduced to nothing but fire-ravaged timber and memories. But even in the weeks after that awful night, Gabriel never once left my side. Not during the funerals, not during the rebuilding. Not even during the nights when I woke up screaming from the visions that still haunted my sleep. We lost so many. But we also saved many more. Naia’s mother had survived—barely. She gave birth to another healthy baby girl, in the arms of a midwife covered in soot. Gabriel named the girl “Ariel,” in honor of everything we’d fought for. That child’s cry was the first sound of hope we heard after the smoke cleared. It took weeks to get the new house up—but the pack came together. Stronger. Tighter. They stood behind Gabriel. Behind me. Even though I was Elarian. Even though I ne
PRISCILLA Screams. Smoke. The hallway was packed, bodies flooding out from every direction—mothers holding children, elders dragging bags, warriors limping with burns and blood on their faces. I didn’t stop. I grabbed every arm I could reach, ushered them forward, shouting directions toward the safest exit Gabriel had shown me once in the middle of the night. "Keep moving!" I yelled. "Take the south tunnel, it leads to the outer hill—get the kids out first!” I scanned the flood of children and frightened faces, counting each one in my head. Two, five, nine— But not her. Where was Naia? Panic sliced through me like a blade. I turned in a slow circle, eyes darting to every crouched child, every soot-streaked face. She wasn’t there. Neither was her mother. “Naia?” I shouted above the chaos, desperate now. “Has anyone seen Naia?” No one answered at first. Most were too panicked, too focused on getting out. Then one of the older nursery wolves stumbled past with two pups clingin
GABRIEL The hall stretched ahead like it hadn’t changed in years. I moved past the dining room and toward the war room where Austin was always half-working no matter what time it was, half-brooding like it was part of his DNA. I found him exactly where I expected—leaning over the large map table, files spread out, a tablet flickering beside his elbow. His head snapped up the moment he sensed me, sharp eyes catching mine before he even said a word. “Well, look who decided to return from hell,” Austin said, voice dry as the Oregon wind. “Didn’t think we’d see your face tonight.” I didn’t bother smiling. “Didn’t plan on staying away that long.” He gave me a once-over, frowning slightly at the faint scratch still healing on my neck. “You good?” I nodded. “Still breathing.” “Hmm. That’s a win.” I stepped closer, arms folded across my chest. “How’ve things been here?” Austin sighed and motioned toward the spread of notes. “Quiet. Too quiet. Like something’s crawling beneath the s
PRISCILLA The hum of the private jet was low and steady, like a lullaby for the sky. I stared out the window, clouds drifting below like a silent ocean. It was quiet up here, peaceful in a way that felt almost unreal after everything. Gabriel sat beside me, one leg crossed, his body relaxed but his mind clearly spinning. I felt it in the way his fingers brushed mine. Thoughtful. Guarded. He turned slightly, eyes on me. “You think Davina will be alright staying behind?” I let out a laugh before I could stop myself. “She’ll be more than alright. The moment she laid eyes on Tristan, I knew she wasn’t going anywhere. That girl’s into him deep.” Gabriel smiled, tilting his head. “I just don’t think Tristan will give in that easily. He’s... not the easiest person to move.” I nodded. “I know. But he won’t be able to resist her forever. Davina’s stubborn. She doesn’t quit. She’ll wear him down, slowly—then all at once.” He chuckled. “True. But don’t forget, he lost his mate not long
PRISCILLA The Veil crackled like a storm waiting to collapse.I stood there, trembling, but not from fear. Not exactly. It was recognition. A deep, bone-level awareness that whatever was beyond that tear in the world... it was tied to me.Gabriel moved beside me, his eyes fixed on the widening rip like it might leap forward and devour us both. He looked ready to fight, even after what he’d just endured, but I placed a hand on his chest—gently, firmly.“This is mine,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.“Priscilla, you can’t—”“I have to.” My voice dropped lower. “It’s calling me, not you.”And then it moved.A shape.No, not a shape—a presence—formed on the other side. Tall. Inhuman. Wrapped in shadow, but not darkness. It had a form without a body. Voice without sound.It stepped through the rip with no resistance.And with it came a force that slammed me back like I’d been struck in the gut by a god.My knees hit the cracked Veil-floor—if you could even call it that—and I gasped
PRISCILLA The moment Gabriel collapsed, it felt like the earth tipped sideways.I dropped beside him, hands shaking as I reached for his face. His body was still—too still. His eyes were closed, lashes dark against pale skin, and for one harrowing second, I couldn’t feel his heartbeat.“Gabriel.” My voice cracked. “Please. Please don’t do this.”Davina was already at my side, her voice sharp with panic. “What happened?! What did you do?!”“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered, heart slamming against my ribs. “I didn’t know—he just touched me and—”My hands hovered above him, afraid to make it worse, afraid not to touch.The energy still lingered around me. It buzzed through my skin, warm and alive and wrong. It felt like I was holding lightning beneath my flesh, unable to turn it off.Lyra shoved past the others, knees hitting the ground beside Gabriel. Her hands hovered over him too, her voice a tight whisper of an incantation I didn’t recognise.Tristan stood guard behind us, back rigid,