LOGINAt that instant, he looked almost wolf then, almost fragile.
“Truth is not mercy, Arya,” he said at last. “And mercy was never given to your bloodline.”My breath caught. “Then who am I?” I askedHe opened his mouth to answer but stopped.Something unseen moved through the air. A ripple, subtle but violent. It passed through me like cold blade leaving my senses ringing.Light’s gaze snapped toward the window.“They’ve found us,” he said quietly.“Who?” I asked evMeanwhile the Shadow Alpha made use of the loop hole and entered into the spring directly. The spring swirled around him. The massive current that spilled inside the cavern with the help of the seer surged into his body. Alpha Daston and Light charged forward to kaid and Bobby. The spring pulsed beneath my hands, golden currents twisting and writhing as if alive, responding to the smallest shifts in my focus. Bobby stood beside me, his presence solid but tense, eyes fixed on the rippling surface as though reading a language only he could understand.“Concentrate,” I murmured, letting the energy flow through me, through the currents beneath my palms. “Feel it respond to us. Don’t fight it guide it.”Bobby nodded, his own hands brushing the surface, sending faint tremors along the streams of golden light. “I can feel it,” he said softly. “It’s… alive. Like it’s thinking, waiting for permission.”I inhaled sharply, letting my mind stretch into the water, testing its bo
The golden light of the spring wrapped around me like a living thing, pulsing in response to the Queen’s ritual far away, reaching into me, Kaid, and even Bobby as he knelt beside us.“Kaid,” I whispered, my palms pressed on the frosted stone, feeling the spring’s rhythm echo through me, “we need to disrupt her flow. The ritual…it’s feeding off the spring’s natural currents. If we shift the balance, even slightly, we can weaken her control.”He nodded, jaw tight, eyes scanning the cave’s edges, taking in every shadow. “I see it,” he said, voice low but steady. “We can redirect a portion of the energy, create a feedback loop. But if she senses it…” He didn’t finish; we both knew what that meant.Bobby’s presence beside us was quiet but solid. He placed a hand on the ground near mine, instinctively feeling the same currents. “You don’t have to guide me,” I told him. “Just stay steady, focus on the pull of the spring with us. We’ll do the rest.”The three of us synchron
The time has come for the spring to submit to me. The moon had fully risen spilling silver and shadow into the cave’s mouth as I made my way through. I stood at the center, the air thick with expectation and power. The spring pulsed beneath my feet, golden light rippling over black stone like molten fire trapped in ice. Its energy hummed against my skin, responsive, obedientnbut only if I commanded it correctly.Alpha Daston stood beside me. His gait steady and ready. His eyes revealed no expression."The first stage is for what?" He asked.“This first stage, will bind the spring to my control. Not for long but it must respond to me before anything else can proceed.”He nodded, his hand hovering lightly over the carved stones that lined on the floor. The air around us was thick with energy, raw and dangerous. I could feel it crawling over my skin, tugging at my senses.I began the incantation, the words flowing from my tongue like venom. The syllables rolled
Campbell POV The wind was sharp as we left the pack house behind. I gripped the steering wheel of my SUV like it was the only anchor keeping me from losing myself entirely in the storm of what was coming. Beside me, Linda sat quietly, her hands folded in her lap, eyes fixed on the road ahead as if she could see through asphalt and forest to wherever trouble might be waiting.She didn’t need to say much. I could feel it in the set of her shoulders, in the slight tightening around her jaw. She was already calculating, already moving pieces I hadn’t even considered.“We can’t stay there,” she finally said. Her voice was calm but carried the weight of inevitability. “They could intrude the pack house at any moment. It’s not safe for the kids.”I nodded, because I already knew it. The Queen’s influence was spreading faster than anyone realized. Every shadowed corner, every whisper carried potential danger. And my children—my responsibility were in that danger if we staye
Arya POV The days no longer moved like days, it became faster.Not long that I slept off and it's already dawn. I decided to go for a walk after breakfast.I walked around the house getting closer to the plain field but before I could step into it, I felt the pull in my bones.Kaid stood at the edge of the clearing, arms folded, eyes sharp as ever but there was tension in his shoulders that hadn’t been there weeks ago.“Again,” hensaid.I nodded, planting my bare feet into the cold earth. The chill no longer shocked my system. If anything, it grounded me I closed my eyes and reached inward.The spring answered immediately.Power surged too fast, flooding my veins like molten light. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to slow it, to shape it instead of letting it consume me. The air around me thickened, frost blooming outward in delicate spirals. The ground beneath my feet cracked softly, lines of pale blue light threading through the soi
Adam stood with his back against the cold stone. Light lingered a few steps away from him. Their expression drawn tight with something close to grief. Below them, pack member studies continued as if nothing was wrong scribes moving parchment, guards pacing familiar routes, life unfolding with dangerous normalcy.And yet everything was wrong."Arya. She’s stronger,” Light said at last, his voice barely more than a breath. “Much stronger than she should be by now.”Adam didn’t answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the far corridor where the Seer had disappeared earlier, her presence still echoing like a bruise in the air.“Yes, and that’s exactly why this is dangerous.” he said finally.Light turned to him sharply. “Dangerous for who?”“For everyone,” Adam replied. “Including her.”They fell silent again.From their hidden point, they could sense movements across the grounds. Dastin’s calculated steps, the Queen’s distant fury and the seer gro







