Logan was near the gate when he saw Glen approaching. He looked like he had seen a ghost because he was shaking in fear.
"What happened to you? Where's the lady with you?" Logan asked.
"She...she...she is dead," Glen stuttered.
Logan's eyes widened, smirked, and said, "What did that bitch do that caused alpha to lose his patience? When among all alpha I have met, Alpha Reule is the most patient."
Glen's fear turned to anger, and he said, "Patient? He ripped a woman's heart, and you find him patient?"
Logan chuckled and replied, "I know one of you would die. I just bet on the wrong person."
Glen felt like killing Logan at that moment. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me. I don't want to repeat it. And didn't I tell you not to cause trouble here, didn't I? Now, that is why I told you to listen. I am sure that bitch triggered Alpha Reule's anger because when he is angry, he is a totally different person."
Glen sighed in anger a
I am back to my old self. I could finally join the evening run today. The activity that I have been looking forward to joining.When I went to the kitchen to help out, Nana Lolita and Adriana met me with a smile. I missed these people, and it's good that I would spend time with them today."Senorita Wren, it's finally good to see you! How are you? Are you feeling better now?" Nana Lolita asked."I am good, Nana Lolita. I feel like I came back from the dead," I replied."We were so worried about you. We did not expect too much stress, and overthinking could do that to you. Please, senorita, don't stress too much. I know life has been difficult for you. But you are in a better place now, so smile more often.""Yes, senorita Wren. Life is too short to get wasted in thinking of something awful. You may have lost your family, but we are here. We are your new family," Adriana added.I felt like crying with happiness. I have never been touched like
We did not find anything new. Everything seemed to be okay, and at some point, it made me ask, 'Did Conri give up already?' But I know he was a person who would just give up like that. We went back to gather with the rest of the members."People, that was a good run. I am happy that Wren here had recovered from illness and was able to join the evening run. However, I would like to announce that we will not have an evening run tomorrow. I will assign five people to check the area during the evening, but you are welcome to continue the usual party. I will be meeting an alpha of another pack which is why we would not be doing the run. But it doesn't mean that we have to be complacent. We are lucky that the spies had never returned, but we need to protect each other. Be cautious about tomorrow's party, especially since I will not be around. Now, let's eat!" Reule announced.I walked towards him and asked, "Are you going to meet Alpha Henry of the Blue Pack?"I looke
Adriana was humming while cooking. She was happy that today everybody would just chill and relax because there was no evening run. And it was not only her but almost the entire pack who were delighted.Logan was one of the five males that were assigned to check the pack's territory before the evening run started. He was the one who led them. And after they went for their rounds, he came to the kitchen looking for Reule."Anyone knows where Alpha Reule is?" Logan asked."Logan, he went to prepare himself. He would be leaving for an appointment, remember? Have a seat in the living room. Rolito would be there shortly," Nana Lolita said.However, before Logan could even turn to leave, Reule suddenly appeared in the kitchen. He was wearing a plain navy blue Polo t-shirt paired with some black jeans. And he completed his look by wearing a white baseball cap. Simple, right? But he was so handsome with a strong sex appeal, especially that his muscles were looking
Reule and Landon arrived at a pack territory that looked dead. The silence was deafening. And you will not see a single soul from the outside.A chubby and grumpy guard meets them at the gate. He looked at them with a frown face."What do you want?" he said when he opened the gate.Reule could feel that he was trying to intimidate him, but as an alpha like him, he wasn't. He showed him an expressionless face and towered over him because he was taller than him."I am here to see your alpha," Reule said with a stern look on his face."What business do you have with Alpha Henry?""I have a scheduled meeting with him. My name is Alpha Reule Conrad of the Gray Pack."His eyes widened in surprise. Reule knew that this grumpy guy knew him significantly enough to surprise him and cause fear."Come in! Alpha Henry is expecting you. But who is with you?""This is my beta, Landon Adalia."Landon let out a friendly smile. He
I waited for Reule to come back. His eyes widened when he saw me sitting on the couch in the living room. I played some games on my phone, but I was obviously looking like I was waiting for him."Were you waiting for me?" Reule asked, looking serious, but he was teasing me."Yes, I was," I replied.Reule's eyes lit because of what he heard, and he let out a shy smile. He was about to reply, but I interrupted him by saying, "Don't get too flattered. I did not miss you or anything. I am dying of curiosity in wanting to know what did you find out after meeting with Alpha Henry."Reule's smile disappeared, and he said, "Really, you did not miss me or worried that something might have happened to me?"I was silent for a second before answering him, "Hmm..maybe a little worried because there were only two of you going to a pack of wolves. No matter how good you two are, still, you are outnumbered."His gorgeous smile came back, and he said, "See,
I got taken into the past, I think. I woke up and saw my mother, father, and a boy.'Is that Killian?' I thought, looking to a small boy, probably just nearly two-year-old."They were about to enter a tent. But the area is not within the White Pack's territory. It doesn't look familiar to me."Where are they? What are they doing there?" I asked myself.I followed them, and as I was almost near them, I shouted, "Mom! Dad! Killian! Where are you going?"But they never turned to look at me. It was as if my family could not hear me."Was I not loud enough? Are they deaf? Or have I gone mute?"I felt like I was already screaming from the top of my lungs, and they still could not hear me.I followed them inside the tent. I saw a witch sitting with a crystal ball in front of her, on top of the table. She looked old and more of a tarot reader than a witch. But for whatever reason and as to how, I just know that she was a witch.
Reule didn't know what to do. He carried Wren into the house. She only had a faint pulse, and her breathing was heavy.'What happened? She shifted just for a few minutes, then back into a human. Now, she is fighting for her life. I don't understand,' Reule thought.The pack doctor came running. Doctor Castro was still gasping for breath when he reached to touch Wren's wrist."This is not good. I think we have to rush her to the hospital," Doctor Castro said, motioning for Reule to help him carry her to the car."Logan, prepare the car!" Reule ordered as he and Doctor Castro lifted Wren.Reule sent the car flying as Doctor Castro monitored Wren's pulse and heartbeat."Her pulse is still faint. This is not good. We might lose her along the way," Doctor Castro said with a sound of worry in his voice.Nana Lolita and Adriana started crying. It added more to the fear that Reule was feeling.'Focus, Reule! Focus! You need to reach th
"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 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