Masuk💥 Chapter Ten: The Mating Ritual and the Redirection....... The front door burst open. Kael stood there, his face set in grim determination, his gun drawn, though he clearly preferred his claws. "Ember, now! We don't have time! The Shadow Cult is here for you!" He saw the dress down around my waist, the blood on my finger, and the frantic desperation in my eyes. "What did you do?" he roared, grabbing my arm. "I activated the mechanism!" I gasped, pulling the velvet dress back up, hiding the rune. "I didn't want to kill Elias! We have to complete the bond, Kael. Now! But you have to channel the kill-energy to the external threat!" "Channel? I don't know how to channel a magical weapon I didn't know existed!" "The rune!" I cried, pointing at my back. "The Thorn is active! Focus your Alpha command into the rune, not the bond! Use the kill-energy against the Cult! Do it, Kael!" He stared at me, his silver eyes blazing with rage and disbelief, but his Alpha instinct must
🗡️ Chapter Nine: The Betrayal of Blood Lyra returned an hour later with a tablet loaded with Silver Moon Pack lore, and a fresh change of clothes. She didn't look at me directly, clearly unnerved by the Anchor's increased power. "The Alpha requires you to wear this," she said, handing me a dress made of heavy, dark velvet. It was beautiful, formal, and looked impossibly difficult to tear. "Why the formality?" I asked, taking the dress. "It’s a traditional Silver Moon garment for a new mate. But more practically, Alpha Kael has reinforced the lining with a fine layer of silver thread. It helps channel the Anchor's static energy away from the interior of the cabin. It’s for our safety, not yours." Her honesty was stark. I put the dress on. It was constricting, heavy, and made me feel more like a prisoner dressed for execution than a newly claimed mate. I spent the afternoon hunched over the tablet and the journal, searching for any magical counter-measure to the Thorn. The
📖 Chapter Eight: The Silver Thorn and the Deadline. The crumpled note from Elias burned in my hand. It will kill the Alpha. My fear of Kael hadn't vanished, but it had morphed. He wasn't a monster seeking sadistic pleasure; he was a desperate Alpha forcing a pragmatic, prophetic captivity. Now, I held the magical kill-switch that would save me from magical suicide but condemn him to actual death. I quickly smoothed the note, reading it again, the words leaping off the paper: Silver Thorn. I slid off the cot, the silver cuff on my wrist glinting, and retrieved the leather-bound journal. I had to find the 'Thorn'—the counter-mechanism my mother had designed. Kael and Lyra were outside, discussing patrol routes. I knew I had limited time. I flipped through the journal, my fingers brushing over the sensitive pages, searching for any keyword related to "Thorn," "Fail-safe," or "Retaliation." Most of the pages were still invisible, only reacting to certain combinations of lig
🩸 Chapter Seven: The Awakening and the Price I woke to darkness, the scent of antiseptic, and the low, frantic rhythm of a heartbeat that wasn't mine. My body felt strangely heavy, yet simultaneously weightless. The pain from the Claiming Bite was a dull throb, but the rest of my aches—the bruises from Shadow Creek, the constant low-level fatigue—were gone. I felt… clean. I blinked, the room slowly coming into focus. I was lying on a cot in the corner of the small lodge, covered by heavy blankets. Kael Blackwood was sitting on the floor beside me, his back propped against the wall. He was shirtless, his shoulders broad and corded with muscle, and he was staring, wide-eyed, at my unconscious hand. I followed his gaze. My hand was clenched. Around my wrist, a delicate, icy cuff of pure silver metal was visible, glinting even in the dim light. It was beautiful, ornate, and clearly magical. "What happened?" I asked, my voice thin and dry. Kael didn't look at me, still star
🌑 Chapter Six: The Claiming and the Prophecy We spent the rest of the night traversing the rough terrain, Kael moving with an almost silent, terrifying efficiency, Lyra keeping pace, and me struggling to reconcile the monster I feared with the wolf who had just admitted his entire claim was a pragmatic act of survival. As the first sliver of the moon began to climb toward its zenith, we reached a hidden hunting lodge—a fortified, small cabin that belonged to Kael's territory but was rarely used. Inside, Lyra immediately began treating Kael's minor cuts and bruises, while I huddled by the sparse fire, turning the journal's pages. "The Claiming Bite has to be public," I finally said, looking up at Kael, who was methodically cleaning his knife. "Who are the witnesses?" "My Gamma and my Head Warrior are arriving by dawn," Kael explained, his voice low and devoid of emotion. "They will serve as the official record. I will also summon the Shadow Creek Beta—Elias. He needs to se
🕳️ Chapter Five: Captivity or Sanctuary? The voice was raspy, laced with the metallic taste of blood and triumph. It was close—too close. My breath hitched. I scrambled back, pressing myself against the rough stone wall of the small crevice. The journal dug into my ribs, a painful, constant reminder of the chaos I was now at the center of. The Scavenger—I could only assume it was one of them—shown aside a thicket of brush covering the entrance to the crevice. He was huge, dressed in ragged, dark leather, with eyes that glowed an unnatural, toxic yellow. A wide gash was bleeding profusely down his chest, likely from Kael’s silver claws. "Look at what the mighty Silver Alpha was protecting," the Scavenger sneered, his lips pulled back from his teeth. "A filthy, wolf-less toy." I didn't move. I simply held his gaze, trying to project the kind of cold defiance Kael Blackwood would expect. I reached into my pocket, my finger hovering over the locator button—press once for dan







