LOGINSyrn’s POVI watched him. My brother, Eliott, the Alpha, descended the grand stone staircase, his hand resting too gently on Reylap’s back. The courtyard, usually a riot of voices and laughter during the Harvest Moon ceremony, snapped to an unnerving silence. Every eye in the gathered pack was on them. On her.She was… beautiful. I hated that I even thought it. Her dress, made of some shimmering silver fabric, flowed around her like liquid moonlight. Camille, that simpering fool, must have helped her. Flowers, small and white, were woven into Reylap’s dark hair, framing a face that currently wore a mask of serene calm. It made my stomach churn. She knew this was her moment. She was eating it up.Just this morning, I’d told Eliott I wouldn’t be attending this mockery of a ceremony.“I won’t be there,” I’d stated, my voice flat, expecting an argument, a plea, anything.He hadn’t even looked up from the scrolls spread across his desk. “Your absence won’t be noticed, Syrn.” His tone was c
Reylap’s POVThe scent of roasting meat and sweet berries wafted up from the courtyard, mingling with the sharper, metallic tang of the harvest moon bloom. My stomach, already a tumultuous sea of second-trimester cravings, rumbled in protest. I swallowed, the knot of dread in my throat tightening. Downstairs, the entire pack was gathering. Rika had explained it once, during a quiet moment in the healing hut – the harvest moon ceremony, an annual affair, a time for feasting and reaffirmation. Wolves from every rank filled the courtyard below, soft lantern light glowing on their upturned faces, long tables laden with food stretching as far as the eye could see. I dreaded it. More than I let on, anyway.This would be the first time I stood before them all since the letter. Since the whispered theories about my loyalty had begun to circulate like a particularly virulent disease. I didn’t trust that Tilda and Syrn’s quiet campaign against me had fully lost momentum. They were like slow-act
Reylap’s POVI stumbled into my room, the door slamming shut behind me with a hollow thud that echoed the emptiness inside me. My legs gave out. I sank to the floor, hot tears streaming down my face, the raw sobs tearing through my throat. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair.A soft knock came at the door, then it creaked open. "Reylap?" Navine's voice was gentle, laced with concern. She stepped inside, closing the door quietly. Her eyes were wide, filled with a sympathy I couldn’t bear to look at. She knelt beside me, pulling me into a warm embrace. "Oh, honey. Don't let them do this to you."I buried my face in her shoulder, my voice muffled by her shirt. "It hurts, Navine. It hurts so much. How can they say those things?"She stroked my hair. "Because they're cruel, my love. Because they're scared. But you can't let it burn you from the inside. You have to learn to fight fire with fire."I pulled back, wiping furiously at my cheeks. "But how? Elliott won't believe me. He's too… t
Elliott’s POVCorbin’s voice cut through the drone of the late-night crickets outside, rough and insistent. “I’m telling you, Alpha, the phrasing. It’s too neat. ‘She remains here by choice.’ Who talks like that, unless they’re trying to convince someone it’s true?”I leaned back in my chair, my gaze fixed on the letter spread on the dark wood of my study desk. “What are you implying, Corbin?” My jaw tightened, a familiar pressure building behind my eyes.He shifted his weight, the leather of his armor creaking softly. “Just that it came at a convenient time, didn’t it? Right when talk started circulating. About how the kidnapping was handled. About… the staff.”My gaze flickered to him, a veteran warrior, his face etched with battles and suspicion. He wasn't wrong. The murmurs had grown louder in the last few days, quiet questions about who knew what, who saw what, who benefited. We had an intruder, one who vanished without a trace, leaving a trail of death and destruction. This lett
Elliott’s POVI stood outside Reylap’s door again, the scent of lavender and something uniquely hers drifting faintly through the wood. It was late, the house quiet, and I told myself I was just doing a final security check before falling into bed. A ridiculous lie, even to myself. I checked on her every night now, every single night since I found her battered and broken in that stranger’s living room. The bond, that undeniable pull, had sunk its roots deep inside me, growing stronger with each passing day. I couldn't deny it anymore, no matter how hard I tried. But I hadn’t told her. How could I? She carried another man’s pup, a pup born of a bond that had been shattered. It was a constant reminder, a shadow between us, and I hadn’t found the words yet, the right moment to lay my own heart bare.My pack, our pack, was healing, but the scars of the abduction ran deep. I’d doubled the patrols, especially around the main house. Every single staff member, from the groundskeepers to the
Reylap’s POVThe whispers were a new kind of wound, silent and insidious. I tried to ignore them, to fold myself back into the rhythm of pack life in the days that followed my attack, but they clung to me like a scent I couldn't wash off. It started subtly, in the kitchen. I’d walk in, and conversations would snag, then drop altogether. Wolves I barely knew would give me these quick, sidelong glances before turning back to their hushed tones. I told myself it was my own paranoia, a leftover twitch from the encounter with the rogues, making me imagine things. It had to be.Then Rika came to me, her shoulders slumped, her eyes apologetic. “Reylap,” she started, her voice barely a whisper, “I… I heard some things.”My stomach tightened. “What kind of ‘things,’ Rika?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light, but failing.She picked at a loose thread on her tunic. “Just… chatter. About your… situation.” She paused, looking everywhere but at me. “Some wolves are asking why an Alpha would take
Reylap’s POVI heard the music before I even reached the gates, and I knew it was a celebration. I could hear drums and voices and that particular kind of joy that carries across pack grounds when there's good news, and for one foolish, breathless second my heart lifted, because I thought it was fo
Reylap's POV“State your business!”The guard’s voice rang out through the drizzle just as I stepped up to the gates of Dark Moors Pack, and for a second, I genuinely thought he was joking.I stood there dripping from a miserable six-hour ride, mud clinging to the hem of my coat while my medical ba
“No." Farida’s smile thinned slightly. “I said, kneel.”I looked at her slowly, exhaustion twisting inside me so violently I almost started laughing again. “You stole my ceremony, my mate, my title, and now you want my dignity too?” I tilted my head. “Greedy.”A sharp murmur spread through the roo
Elliott's POVI let the muttering fill the air, a low, dangerous hum that grated against my nerves. My jaw was locked so tight I felt the ache all the way to my ears. They talked in whispers, in hushed, cruel tones, but every word clawed at me. “Rogue.” “Danger.” “Outsider.” All aimed at her. All







