LOGINSelena's POV
The doors of the great hall swing open, and Basil steps through with a woman at his side. She's small, fragile-looking, with dark hair and haunted eyes that dart around the room like a trapped animal. Her hands are trembling, her face pale as milk, and she clings to Basil's arm as if he's the only thing keeping her upright.
I don't recognize her. Neither does Damian.
We exchange a quick glance, both of us thinking the same thing: Who is this? Th
Selena's POVThe silence that follows is absolute.Arthur lowers the gun, his arm falling to his side. He stares at Walter's body for a long moment, his expression empty, hollow. Tears fall freely down his gaunt cheeks—not tears of triumph, but tears of grief.Of relief.Of twenty years of pain finally finding an outlet.Then he turns to face us—to face Gracia, to face the Council, to face Damian and me."I'm sorry," he says, his voice breaking. "I'm so sorry. For everything."Gracia struggles to his feet, still clutching his throat, blood seeping between his fingers. He looks at Arthur—at the man who was once his brother-in-law, his friend, his family—and tears stream down his face."Arthur," he chokes out. "You're alive."Arthur nods slowly, his eyes never leaving Gracia's face. "I've been alive. Hiding. Running. Believing lies." He doesn't look at Walter's body. He can't. "But no
Walter's POVThe tent is filled with laughter and cheers, the air thick with the smell of ale and sweat and celebration.Arthur stands in the center, his face flushed with happiness, his eyes bright with a joy I've never seen before. He's just announced to marry and mate with Eve, and the warriors are losing their minds.I pull him into a rough embrace, pounding his back. "Finally! I thought you'd never work up the courage, you fool!"Arthur laughs, pulling back to look at me. "I was terrified. But she said yes. She actually said yes.""Of course she said yes." I grin at him. "Everyone knew she loved you. Everyone except you, apparently."The warriors cheer again, raising their cups. "To Beta Arthur and Lady Eve!"Arthur blushes, something I've never seen him do. He's always been so composed, so controlled. But love has a way of breaking down walls, doesn't it?"Alright, alright," he says, waving his hands. "Enough. Eve is waiting for me. I should go.""Go on then," I tease. "Don't kee
Damian's POVThe gunshot echoes through the hall like thunder, and for a single, terrible moment, everything stops.Walter jerks, his body convulsing, his jaws releasing Gracia's throat. Blood sprays from a wound in his back—a bullet hole, dark and terrible.The grey wolf stumbles, his legs buckling beneath him, and crashes to the blood-soaked floor. His body shudders, shifts, contorts, and then he's human again—naked, bleeding, gasping for breath against the cold stone.Everyone turns toward the source of the shot.A figure stands at the edge of the hall beside the pillar, shrouded in a dark, hooded cloak. The gun in their hands trembles, smoke still curling from the barrel. For a long, breathless moment, no one moves. No one speaks. The figure is still, silent, as if frozen in the aftermath of what they've done.Then the hood falls back.And the man stand underneath that cloak is Arthur Laroche.The
Damian's POVThe shift happens in the span of a heartbeat.One moment, Gracia and Walter are men—bloodied, broken, locked in a battle of fists and fury. The next, they are something else entirely. Something primal. Something ancient.Gracia's shift is a sight I will never forget. His body contorts, bones cracking and reforming, muscles swelling beneath his skin. His face elongates, his jaw stretching into a muzzle, his teeth lengthening into razor-sharp fangs. His eyes, already dark with rage, turn pitch black—the eyes of a wolf who has lost everything and has nothing left to lose.But it's his fur that steals the breath from my lungs.Black. Not the dark brown of a common wolf, not the grey of age or the silver of moonlight. Pure, absolute black just like my Damain wolf—the color of a moonless night, the color of the void between stars.It ripples across his body like liquid shadow, absorbing the torchlight,
Selena's POV"I'll kill every single one of you if I have to. I'll kill the Council. I'll kill the Alpha. I'll kill every wolf in this room. Just like I killed everyone you loved..."Walter's eyes find Sera again, and his smile widens."Just to get to you."The words hang in the air like poison.The silence that follows is deafening. No one moves. No one breathes. The entire hall is frozen, trapped in the nightmare of Walter's words.Sera is the first to break. Her voice is barely a whisper, trembling with horror and disbelief. "What did you say? What do you mean, everyone I loved?"Walter's smile softens, and for a moment, he almost looks gentle. Almost human. "Oh, my love. You have no idea what I've done for you. The things I've sacrificed. The blood I've spilled. All for you.""Don't call me that." Sera's voice cracks. "Don't you dare call me that. How can you be so cruel? So sinister? You're no less than a mon
Selena's POV"He wanted you," Aria whispers, looking at Sera. "All of this—everything—it was for you. He wanted the Alpha gone so he could take his place. Not just as Alpha. As your mate. He's obsessed with you, Luna. He's been obsessed with you for decades."The hall is in chaos. Shouts, gasps, cries of disbelief.Gracia's face is a portrait of shock and fury. Sera looks like she might faint.The Council members exchange stunned glances.And Walter—Walter stands frozen, his mask finally, completely shattered. His eyes are wild, darting around the room like a trapped animal. His breath comes in short, sharp gasps."You don't know what you're saying," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're just a maid. You're nothing. You're…""I know exactly what I'm saying." Aria's voice is steady now, strong. "And I'm not nothing. I'm a witness. I'm a survivor. And I'm going to make sure every
I don't remember leaving the pack grounds.One minute I'm on that platform, choking on my own vomit, and the next I'm in my room with my dad shoving clothes into a bag. My hands still won't stop shaking. My whole body shakes. It's like the rejection burned through everything—muscles, bones, the par
My hands won't stop shaking.I press them flat against my thighs, but the tremors just move up my arms. The white dress my mom wore thirty years ago feels too tight around my ribs, or maybe that's just my lungs forgetting how to work."You'll ruin it." My dad's voice comes from behind me. Soft. Car
I wake up to sunlight and the smell of something cooking.For a second, I forget where I am. Think I'm back home, in my tiny room, with Dad making breakfast downstairs. Then I see the white walls, the unfamiliar ceiling, the fireplace with cold ash in it.Right. Silvermoon. Damian's house. Not dead
I can't breathe.Caden stands in the middle of Damian's front yard like he owns it, he does owns everything. His dark hair catches the morning light. His ice-blue eyes sweep over the Silvermoon pack members with that look I know too well—the one that says *you're beneath me* without him having to o







