LOGIN* Regina *I felt the bond shifted, sharp, decisive, carrying the echo of something monumental, and my knees nearly gave out where I stood. I caught myself on the edge of the stone table in my chambers, fingers digging into the grooves carved by generations of the former wolves before me.Something had ended in our connection. Alpha Archer has chosen.Tears burned instantly from my eyes, hot and traitorous, spilling before I could stop them. I pressed my palm over my mouth, biting down on the sound as my chest shook. In the quiet of my chambers, with the fire low and the curtains unmoving, I let myself believe the fear I had been holding back since he left. He's leaving me.Not just distance or duty. Because that was how stories like ours were supposed to end. Two Alphas on different packs. Too much responsibility, too much blood, too many borders between hearts that wanted more than the world would allow.I slid down against the wall, curling inward as the bond throbbed, aching, raw,
* Alpha Archer *My pack in the West had never felt so heavy. The great hall was full, with our elders lining the stone benches, warriors standing along the pillars, the old banners of the West hanging like witnesses that had seen too much blood to be sentimental. The heat of the inner chambers bled outward, carrying the sharp scent of herbs, iron, and magic.My mother sat at the center dais, swollen with life and power both. Her silver hair was braided back, her hands resting protectively over her belly. The unborn child my sibling stirred there, strong, impatient. Even the pack could feel it. A future Alpha is already pushing against the world.My father stood beside her. Cerberus, former Alpha of the West, breaker of borders, the wolf all others measured themselves against. His presence bent the room without effort. When he looked at me, it was not with anger. That was worse. It was with expectation."You called this council," he said. "Speak now son, let us all hear what you want
* Regina *He stayed even after that little argument that we had.It was the quiet miracle of the night.After the fire burned low and our argument bled itself dry, after the bond stopped screaming and settled into something bruised but alive, Alpha Archer did not leave. He lay with me on the furs in my chamber, not as an Alpha demanding, not as a future king bargaining, but as the man who knew the sound of my breath and the scars on my back. I missed him so much.He did not touch me like he was claiming anything. But he touched me like he was afraid I might vanish. That is all I need, that is what I wanted.His arm was heavy around my waist, holding me tight, anchoring. His forehead rested against my hair, breath warm, and steady. When sleep finally took him, it was uneven and troubled. Even then, when dreams pulled at him, his hand tightened as if instinct knew I was the one thing he could not afford to lose. And I didn't want to lose him either.I did not sleep much. I want to savo
* Regina *I felt him coming! The forest shifted first, subtly, and reverent. Birds went silent, not in fear, but in recognition. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, rising from vigilance into something softer, aching, and hopeful that this time he would be here.Until I confirmed that Alpha Archer had crossed my borders. I stood at the edge of the clearing where the old oaks bent inward like witnesses. I did not move at first. An Alpha never runs to greet, even when every part of her wants to.The bond tightened, warm and familiar, no longer restrained. I'm here, it whispered without words.Then he stepped out from between the trees.He looked thinner than when I last saw him but still handsome as hell. Tired in a way that went beyond sleepless nights. His shoulders were still squared, his presence still commanding, but there was a fracture beneath it, one I recognized because I carried the same weight.For a heartbeat, neither of us spoke we just looked at each other. Then he was in fr
* Alpha Archer *The West did not sleep, following my mother's condition. I stood at the threshold of the inner chambers where the heat never faded and the scent of herbs clung to the stone. Old magic steeped too long. Inside the bed chamber, my mother lay unmoving.Once, she had been the fiercest wolf I had ever known to train me with my father when I was younger. The kind who could still a hall with a single glance, who had ruled beside Cerberus not as a mate in shadow but as a force equal to him. Now her chest rose shallowly beneath furs, silver hair damp with sweat, lips tinged faintly blue.My father stood at her side like a carved monument, still, immense, and, unyielding.He had not slept in days. I could smell it on him. Rage is restrained too tightly. Fear that we might lose her."You should go," he said without turning to me. His voice was rough, stripped of warmth. "You are needed somewhere."I stiffened. "She is my mother.""And you are Alpha of the West but a mate to Regi
* Alpha Regina *I always knew the hour before the sun touched its highest point. It's also the time when the bond hummed with that familiar tension, anticipation pulled tight as sinew. Not urgency or alarm. Just the quiet certainty that today, finally, Alpha Archer would cross my borders to see me.I had felt him turn toward me before. The way the bond shifts when he chooses me. When his attention sharpens and narrows until it is only us. I had dressed for it without realizing it and changed leathers, to a new one. Braided my hair tighter. Stronger for a fine look. An Alpha, not a waiting female, but still, a mate who had been apart for too long. And I admit that I missed him so much.The Wild Pack felt it too, his presence has become familiar here.They were restless in a hopeful way. Patrols rotated faster than necessary due to threats. Warriors lingered near the eastern path, pretending to sharpen blades that did not need sharpening. Even the younger wolves kept glancing toward th







