"Excuse me, I don't know who you are, but do you know Wren?" Nana Lolita asked with curiosity and hope.
The old woman smiled again and softly said, "No."
We all raised our eyebrows. Logan frowned and asked, "Then, how do you know what's going on with here that you could say she would be okay?"
She responded with a chuckle, then said, "I'm an old woman who is about to die. A hybrid who could see souls wandering around. I saw that poor girl's soul walking earlier, but she saw something different. She went back to the time before she was even born when her parents went to seek help for her brother's illness."
"Her brother's illness. How did you know that?" Reule asked.
The old woman looked at him with still her smiling face and said, "Young man, I only saw a sudden flash of what she was seeing. I don't know the details. But she would mean something to you. Now, I have to go. Spirits had just asked to deliver this message to you. Again, don't worry, sh
The doctor and nurses came rushing towards me."Wren, can you hear me?" Doctor Castro asked.I wanted to talk, but I felt so weak to say a word. I ended up giving a blink."Doc, she still could not talk, but she just blinked, so I think she could hear you," the nurse replied.Doctor Castro talked to the nurse while checking my eyes and looking at the machine monitoring my condition."That's great! She had been stable for the past few hours, right?""Yes, doc! I would say this is really a miracle for her.""Indeed! What about her lab tests results? Are they ready for us to look at?""I was at the lab earlier and was told some of it would be ready after thirty minutes.""That's great!"Doctor Castro looked at me and asked, "Ms. Wren, how are you feeling? Blinked once if it's a yes, but if you feel any pain or discomfort, blinked twice."I did follow what he said. I blinked once since I didn't feel any pain anymore. I was just too
He stepped out of the taxi cab and stood in front of his house. He smelled the fresh and cold breeze of the air."It's good to be back," He said with a smile before he entered his house.The moment he closed the door, his phone rang. His smile was turned into a frown when he saw the name on the screen."Acwulf, it's been a long time," he said, trying to sound that he was surprised. "Yannis, you took a long leave," Acwulf said to tease him.Yannis rolled his eyes and shook his head out of irritation."Well, the alpha of the Black Pack had allowed me for an indefinite leave. I will come back whenever I feel like going back. And besides, other witches are helping the pack.""Yeah, yeah... but you are the strongest and the smartest. No one had been able to match with you, except your parents, of course.""But how can I help you, Acwulf? Why are you calling?""You remember the time you had seen something about my future?""Yeah, what abo
Casper was instructed that he needed to look for a man named Glen. He was the one who fed the information to Conri that the Gray Pack were keeping Wren in their territory.It had been two days now since Casper had been searching for him. Most people said Glen had been moving a lot to avoid encounters with werewolves these days. He felt like they were haunting him.Tonight, someone had spotted Glen inside a bar drinking while flirting with two women. Casper stepped inside the bar and scanned all the faces of the people.Casper had never met Glen, but he only had a picture of him, so Conri sent a picture of Glen to his phone. The first time he saw the picture, the only thing he could say was, "Oh! Fat and ugly."When he spotted him in a corner with the two big-breasted ladies, he muttered, "God, how could they endure looking at him?" He sighed and walked towards them.Casper stood with his cold face in front of them. But Glen was busy kissing one o
Landon and Reule decided to go back to the Gray pack territory. Reule got an important call regarding one of his businesses. And since Wren was still sleeping, Reule thought it was better to do his errands now, so when she woke up, he would be free.Landon and Reule talked about business matters when they caught sight of a body in front of the gate. Landon stopped the car, and the two immediately went outside to check.Logan's body was faced down. They initially did not recognize him. Reule flipped him, and his eyes immediately turned red when he saw that it was Logan. Logan's heart got ripped out that Reule knew a werewolf had killed him."How dare that person do this to one of my people!" Reule growled and gritted his teeth. His wolf almost wanted to come out, but Landon patted his shoulders to calm him down."I know how you feel. We would avenge Logan, but we needed to have a clear mind to think of a better plan," Landon said in a soft voice.Reule closed
Luca was someone who knew a lot of people. It was easy for him to find a member of the White Pack. And of course, he had chosen one of the weakest omega. He attacked him from behind without facing any struggle. He ran and dragged both the dead body and Glen into a wooded area near a lake. It was very easy. Glen had watched Luca stab an omega in a flash. He remained frozen with his jaw dropped. If Logan was intimidating, he was actually better than Luca. Luca was a beast, a killing machine who enjoyed taking someone's life. Despite knowing that he won't die, in Glen's mind, 'I am going to die! I am going to die! He is going to kill me!'Luca was not just contented with stabbing the lifeless omega. He was beheading him now. Glen's legs were shaking and his stomach felt twisted. In a matter of minutes, Glen was vomiting out of fear and disgust.When Luca was done, he turned around to find Glen still vomiting. Luca laughed at him and said, "Why are you so scared and disgusted? Haven't yo
Conri was walking back and forth in his room. He was worried about the upcoming days. He would be fighting the Black Pack and the Gray Pack if he would not find a solution to the problem he was facing now.'What am I going to do now? Who am I going to bribe?' Conri thought. Conri was a person who felt like everything could be solved with money. Money was something that made people do anything regardless of what would be the consequences. He had always thought there was no person who would not turn weak because of money."That asshole Reule is born with a silver platter. He would not take my offer. Would Acwulf do?" Conri muttered to himself as he tried to compare the two people.Suddenly, one of the warriors knocked on his door while was busy with his thoughts. He gritted his teeth because Conri didn't like being bothered when he had a lot of things on his mind. He liked to be left alone because it was making him feel like he could think well."Come in!" Conri yelled.The warrior ope
Wren stumbled forward, clutching her head as a wave of dizziness hit her. The world was spinning and blurring the darkening sky and trees into a disorienting mess. Her breath was shaky, and her lungs burned as if she had been running for a marathon. She remembered being at the hospital, but for what? She couldn't recall. What had happened to her? All seemed removed from her brain, even how she arrived here. Everything was like fragments of a broken mirror, scattered and sharp, painful to touch.A familiar silhouette of a mansion loomed ahead. Wren knew who it belonged to and how it had been her home since she ran away from her pack. Her feet moved, leading her closer to the large wooden structure that somehow felt like home. Then, she heard the low murmur of voices from within, warm and welcoming. Yet an uneasy sensation clung to her skin, a gnawing anxiety about what happened during the last few hours or days.Behind her, a man she had forgotten was following her. He was the one who d
Meanwhile, at the White Pack territory...The sound of thunder was angry as the heavy rain poured non-stop. At the same time, the wet leaves danced aggressively with the blow of the wind. But Acwulf barely noticed the storm beyond the walls of Conri’s house. The storm inside him was louder and more dangerous.Acwulf pushed the door to the dining hall without even bothering that a guard was standing outside. He didn't care. He knew the entire White Pack was afraid of the Black Pack members. He intimidated them by just merely looking. Conri’s dining hall was not as big compared to Acwulf's Alpha's house. However, the design was more welcoming and full of vintage paintings. It was no secret that Conri's father was a fan of art and vintage items. And Acwulf wondered if Conri was the same or a total opposite.The stale scent of old whiskey and a newly cooked turkey filled his nostrils. It made Acwulf's stomach growl a little. He just realized that he hadn't had food since morning. His des
The eastern clearing had never looked more alive. Lanterns swayed from tree branches, casting pools of golden light on the packed earth below. A breeze danced through the pines, lifting the scent of roasted meat and crushed herbs. Everywhere I turned, I saw the people I’d been trying to belong to gathered in clusters, eyes lifted to the sky, awaiting the rise of the full moon.And me? I stood just behind the ritual stone, my heart rattling inside my chest like it wanted to escape before I made a fool of myself. I wore no armor tonight, no cloak to hide behind, but just a simple silver-threaded robe that brushed my ankles, bound at the waist with a thin sash. My hair had been left down, curling in dark waves over my shoulders. Nothing about me screamed power, yet I could feel the weight of the entire pack pressing down on me.The elders stood at the edge of the circle. Marla’s expression was unreadable. Elias, beside her, gave a small nod. Reule stood farther back, arms folded, eyes lo
When the first hint of sunlight painted the treetops in gold, I was back at the edge of the council house, boots heavy with dew and pine needles stuck to my coat. The forest had been calm, eerily so. There was not a single twig cracked where it shouldn't or no tracks where they didn’t belong. I had expected the night to test me, but nothing came. There was no shadow in the trees and no whispered warning from the wind. There was just silence. Maybe that was the real test.I stepped through the front hall where the elders were already gathered. Elias turned his head as I approached, and the others followed his gaze. I saw no warmth in their eyes, but something had shifted. Curiosity, maybe, or calculation."You returned with the dawn," Elias noted, as if I might’ve chosen otherwise."I did. The border was quiet all night. I swept the route twice. Nothing unusual.""No scents?" Marla pressed, arms crossed. "No markings? No movement?""Nothing," I said. "It was clear.""Hmm." She didn
I expected rest. Maybe an hour or at least five minutes before I start my task. Instead, the council sent me straight from breakfast to the infirmary.“Clean her up and keep her standing,” someone barked.When I arrived, the healer’s lodge was already brimming with the injured. Some were warriors still recovering from previous encounters or during patrols, and others were refugees that the pack planned to take in. The scent of blood and herbs twisted my gut, but I swallowed it down and stepped inside. Lyselle, the head healer, eyed me with something between suspicion and intrigue. “Take that rag,” she said, pointing at the stained cloth on the bench. “And don’t flinch when it bleeds.”I didn’t. Not when I had to press gauze into a gaping thigh wound or when a burn blistered open under my fingers. The hours went by with steaming poultices, low groans, and tightly clenched jaws.Lyselle finally paused. “You’re steadier than most of the trainees.”“I’ve had practice,” I murmured, pre
The infirmary smelled like pine alcohol and sweat. It buzzed with quiet urgency, healers moving quickly, whispering diagnoses, wrapping wounds. I stood just outside the door, leaning against the cold stone wall. My hands were still shaking. Whether it was from exhaustion or fury, I didn’t know.Inside, Tovi sat beside Mara’s cot, gripping her fingers with one hand and cradling Kellan with the other. Reule hadn’t left their side once. His coat was still wrapped around them all, like a barrier between them and the world that had abandoned them.“I told you not to die,” I murmured to myself, eyes locked on Tovi’s hunched frame. “So don’t even think about it now.”A hand brushed my arm. I turned, expecting a healer. It was Reule.“Come sit.”“I’m fine.”“You look like hell.”“Charming.”“I’ve been told.” He offered a small smile, the only kind I ever got. Still, I didn’t move. I kept my eyes on the children. “They were freezing and starving. Mara’s leg might have been broken for days.
The wind clawed at my coat as I cleared the ridge beyond the gorge, my boots biting into frost-hardened soil. Moonrise was a lifetime away, yet the weight of it was already pressed on my shoulders. Every breath was a visible wisp in the cold morning air, and every sound of the branches snapping and snow shifting felt sharper, more pointed. I was alone, and for the first time since Acwulf’s prison, I welcomed it. They didn’t think I’d make it back. I’d give them a reason to regret sending me out here with nothing but my instincts and the fire in my chest.The scent trail was faint but real, feral, and young. Three distinct signatures. They were close once. The river’s edge was thick with ice and slush, and I had to navigate carefully, knowing one wrong step could plunge me beneath.A child’s whimper cracked the silence. I froze. It was ahead, somewhere beyond the tree line. Low to the ground, muffled, but real. My heart thudded as I crouched, brushing aside a bush dusted in snow, there
The knock was soft but firm. It was not one of the warriors or the housekeepers, either. But I already knew.I sat up from the window ledge, pulling the shawl tighter around my shoulders. I didn’t ask him to come in, but he did anyway.The room shifted as soon as Reule stepped through the door. He didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at me like he needed to memorize something in case it vanished.I stood. “Well?”“They voted to keep me as Alpha,” he said, voice even.I swallowed. “And me?”He shut the door behind him, the click louder than it should’ve been. “You’ve been given a chance to prove yourself to them and the council as future Luna.”I blinked. “That’s what you’re calling it now? A chance?”“They could’ve chosen exile.”“Or death,” I murmured, crossing my arms.His jaw ticked. “Don’t joke.”“Who’s joking?” I bit back. “This is a trial, Reule. I’m not stupid. They’re looking for a reason to say I don’t belong and that you made a mistake.”“You think I regret choo
Reule stood before the council, the weight of the entire Gray Pack pressing down on his shoulders. The room was filled with murmurs, harsh whispers, and doubtful glances. Even the wolves he once called allies couldn’t meet his eyes. The once unshakable confidence in his leadership was now splintered, fractured by one name: Wren. Despite them knowing she was his mate, they still couldn't tell that Reule was making the best decision.“Let’s begin,” Elias said, his voice firm. He was the oldest on the council; Reule’s father, second-in-command once, is now standing neutral as the moderator. “This meeting is to discuss Alpha Reule’s standing as leader of the Gray Pack and whether the female he chose as mate, Wren, should be accepted or rejected.”"She's not even one of us!" a female voice cried out. It was Marla, one of the elders, her voice trembling with emotion. “An outsider, a mystery, and now a threat. How do we know she hasn’t brought all this chaos upon us?""Chaos?" Reule's voic
The scent of incense and ancient oak filled the High Council chamber, but couldn’t mask the tension crackling in the air. The elders had gathered—twelve alphas who’d long since passed their reigns but still held power in words and wisdom.I stood at the center of the stone floor, the only sound the low whisper of robes and the distant howl of wind beyond the stained-glass. Conri was dragged forward in chains, his wrists raw where the silver bit deep, though he carried himself with mockery and zero remorse.“State your full name and bloodline,” Elder Ronan commanded, his voice echoing through the hall.“Conri of the White Pack, though I’ve been disowned, so what does it matter?” he said with a cocky smile.“You will speak with respect in the Council chamber,” Maela, the eldest and sharpest of them all, snapped. “You stand accused of crimes that breach not just laws but sacred oaths.”“I didn’t rape her,” Conri said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s get that out of the way, shall we?”“You so
The wind carried the scent of pine and char. It reminded me of when I first stumbled into Gray Pack territory, broken and hunted. Back then, I didn’t know who I was or where I belonged. Now I am beside the Alpha of this land, claws ready and fire in my chest.Reule hadn’t said much since we left the estate at dawn. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable, just tense and focused.Silverpine Caverns lay ahead, half a day’s ride south. That’s where Glen said Conri would be if the human told the truth."Still sure about this?" Reule asked, eyes fixed on the trail ahead."Do you want me to say I’m afraid?""No," he said, glancing at me. "I want you to be ready.""I’ve been ready since the day I was hunted."We didn’t speak after that. The trail narrowed, flanked by jagged cliffs and crooked trees. Behind us were Adriana, Jax, Landon, and three of Reule’s most trusted warriors. No one joked, no one relaxed. We weren’t patrolling. We were hunting.We reached the edge of the caverns by m