LOGINBrynn Hollis' POVThe message came at dawn.A raven, black as night, its eyes like chips of ice. It landed on the garden wall and croaked until I approached. Tied to its leg was a scroll of frozen parchment.I broke the seal.Luna of Many Faces,Your wolf is safe. For now. She is brave. She has not broken.But she will. Ice cracks even the strongest will.You want her back. I want the Heart of Wolves.Bring it to the frozen sea. Alone. No tricks. No blades. No bond.Then we will talk.—Morpheus---I read it twice.Dax stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder."He wants the Heart.""Everyone wants the Heart.""It's the only leverage we have.""It's the only memory wolves have of love before the first war."Morpheus knew that. He wasn't asking for a relic. He was asking for the soul of the Circle."Are you going to give it to him?"I looked at the eastern sky. The Heart pulsed in the great hall, warm and patient."No."---The council gathered.I laid the scroll on the table. Somnia re
Bynn Hollis' POVTor had a four-day head start.But Farrah was faster. Micah was younger. And both of them were angrier than I'd ever seen—Farrah at Tor for threatening the Circle, Micah at himself for not stopping the dissenters before they left."You don't have to go," I said."Yes, I do," Farrah replied. "Tor knows the northern wastes. He knows how to hide. I've tracked wolves across worse terrain.""And you, Micah?"He strapped on his blades. "Cinder is still healing. The Sleepers who stayed are learning. But Tor and his four—they're a wound that needs closing.""They're not a wound. They're a symptom.""Then I'll treat the symptom while you cure the disease."---They left at noon.I watched them ride north, their figures shrinking against the white horizon. Dax stood beside me."They'll be back.""You don't know that.""I know Farrah. She's survived worse than a few frozen wolves."I touched the bond—not to speak, to feel. Farrah's thread was hot, determined. Micah's was steady,
Brynn Hollis' POVTor left in the night.Not alone—with a dozen Sleepers who had refused to feel. They slipped past the guards, silent as shadows, their ancient feet leaving no tracks in the snow.Farrah found their camp abandoned at dawn."Gone. North. Toward Morpheus.""How many?""A dozen. Maybe more. They took supplies. Weapons.""No one saw them leave?""The Sleepers don't make noise. They don't leave traces. They were made for stealth."I looked north. The frozen wastes stretched beyond the mountains, endless and white."They're going to warn him.""They're going to join him."---Somnia stood apart, her face unreadable."Tor was always the most loyal to the old ways. He never wanted to wake. He only came because I commanded it.""Can you bring him back?""I cannot command a wolf who has chosen to leave. He is no longer mine.""Then we track him.""He will not be caught. He knows this land better than any living wolf."I met her eyes. "Then we follow. Not to catch—to observe. To
Brynn Hollis' POVLuna Rose screamed in her sleep.I was in the nursery—not a nursery anymore, her room now, filled with sketches of stars and wolves. She thrashed beneath the blankets, her eyes open but white, unseeing."Luna Rose!"She didn't wake.I grabbed her shoulders. The bond flared—cold, impossibly cold. Frost spread across her pillow."Mama," she whispered. Not her voice. Older. Colder. "He's coming.""Who?""The one who didn't sleep. The one who rules the wasteland."---Solara arrived within minutes.She pressed her hands to Luna Rose's forehead, chanting in the old tongue. The frost receded, but Luna Rose's eyes stayed white."She's trapped in the vision. Something is holding her there.""Can you pull her out?""I can try. But whatever is holding her is strong. Ancient."I reached through the bond. Luna Rose. Come back.Her voice, faint: He won't let me, Mama. He wants to talk to you."Tell me his name."Morpheus.The room went cold.---Somnia burst through the door."I
Brynn Hollis' POVThe morning after Somnia touched the Heart, I gathered the Sleeping Ones in the meadow.Not all of them—the ones who had shown curiosity. Vesper stood near Luna Rose, her head tilted at a squirrel. Others lingered at the edges, uncertain, their ancient eyes watching me like I was a puzzle they couldn't solve."Today, we start small," I said. "I'm going to pair each of you with a bonded wolf. Not to teach you—to walk with you. To feel with you."A young male Sleeper stepped forward. His fur was pale gray, his eyes the color of winter clouds. He had no name—none of them did, not really. Somnia called him Kai for the purpose of our lessons."What if we do not want to feel?" Kai asked."Then you sit here. No one is forcing you."He looked at the other Sleepers. Some nodded. Others looked away."I will try."---I paired Kai with Farrah.Not a gentle choice—Farrah was scarred, fierce, unapologetic. She had taken fire for Luna Rose. She wore her pain like armor."Why me?"
Brynn Hollis' POVThe Sleeping Ones built their camp on the eastern meadows.Not tents—structures of ice and stone, formed with magic I didn't understand. They worked in silence, without joy or frustration, just... purpose. Somnia watched them from a ridge, her silver fur blending with the morning mist."They are efficient," Dax said."They are empty."He took my hand. "Can you fill them?""I can try."---Somnia came to me that afternoon."Luna. My pack is settling. But they do not know how to live here. They do not remember joy. Or sorrow. Or love.""You want me to teach them.""You taught the Emberkin. The Frostfang. Even Nox.""Nox choseChapter 121: The StrangersBrynn Hollis' POVThe Sleeping Ones built their camp on the eastern meadows.Not tents—structures of ice and stone, formed with magic I didn't understand. They worked in silence, without joy or frustration, just... purpose. Somnia watched them from a ridge, her silver fur blending with the morning mist."They are efficie







