Mag-log in* 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
* Alpha Archer *When my mother showed a sign of slowly getting back her strength, I immediately chose the hour to visit my mate.The West was quiet in that way that never fooled me, it is too still, like a held breath. My warriors trained below the ridge, steel ringing against steel, but my attention was not on them. It was pulled eastward, stretched thin by the bond that never truly slept. Towards the Wild pack Alpha. Regina.I felt her in my heart before I thought of her. A tightness in my chest. A sharp edge in the air that did not belong to my lands. Anger is coming from her. Old resentment towards an enemy. To wolves circling a truth they did not want to face.Hold the line, I sent through the bond, careful not to intrude, only to brace. The answering warmth came back faint but steady. She was standing her ground as a strong Alpha.That was when I decided, I would go to her myself. Not as an Alpha interfering. Not as a political ally. But as the Alpha who is her mate who would s
* Regina *There was something in the wind that I caught before anything else when the morning came.It was something that came sharp and bitter, layered with old hunger and fresh resentment. There was this emotion riding it. Anger of wolves. Like a wounded pride. It was the kind that festers when the world suddenly declares survival insufficient.I was on the ridge when Elias suddenly stiffened beside me."There are Rogues, Alpha! he said. "Six. No, eight. They're not trying to hide."I didn't move, but my senses are going alert. Below us, the Wild Pack camp breathed quietly for once. Fires burned low. Pups slept with their mothers. Warriors rested without clutching their blades. Peace was still new here, and fragile as frost."Let us see what they want from us," I said.Rowan appeared at my other side, already armored, eyes hard. "They won't be coming to join us Alpha.""No," I agreed softly. "They're coming to remind us who we used to be and we can't deny our past."The group broke







