LOGINThe stranger's words hung over the clearing like a blade suspended above every head."After twenty years of searching. I've finally found Elena's daughter."Scarlett felt every instinct inside her sharpen.The wolves surrounding the clearing had not come by accident. Neither had their leader. This wasn't an opportunity. It wasn't coincidence.It was a hunt finally reaching its destination.Around her, warriors shifted into defensive positions. The Black Fang Pack immediately formed ranks while Jax's wolves spread outward to protect the flanks. Rachel and Ethan moved without needing orders, placing themselves between the newcomers and the center of the clearing.Lucas never left Scarlett's side.His hand remained firmly wrapped around hers.Steady.Grounding.A reminder that no matter how dangerous the situation became, she wasn't facing it alone.The silver-eyed man studied her carefully. Not with hatred. Not even with hostility. His attention felt worse than either. It felt possessiv
The Alpha's words struck the clearing harder than any weapon."The traitor was one of the Seven."For several seconds, nobody moved.The forest seemed to fall into complete silence.Scarlett felt her pulse pounding against her ribs as she stared at the weathered envelope in the Alpha's hand. Everything she had believed moments ago suddenly shifted beneath her feet.The Council had ordered the destruction. The Council had buried the truth. The Council had hunted witnesses.Yet the betrayal itself had started much closer to home.Among the Seven. Among the very people who had stood beside her mother. The realization made her stomach twist.Around her, reactions varied.Damon looked stunned.Rachel looked furious.Jax appeared ready to start a war.Lucas remained calm on the surface, but Scarlett could feel the tension running through him.The Black Fang Alpha slowly lowered the envelope. His gaze settled on Rowan."You never told them?"Rowan's face had become unreadable. Years of pain
The howl continued rolling across the mountains long after the sound itself should have faded.It carried power.Authority. A warning.Every wolf standing in the clearing felt it.Scarlett watched the reactions around her carefully. The older wolves looked visibly shaken. Even warriors who had faced countless battles seemed unsettled.Whatever the Black Fang Pack represented, their arrival was not ordinary.The injured scout remained on one knee, struggling to regain his breath.Jax crouched beside him."How far behind you are they?""Less than an hour."The answer tightened the atmosphere immediately.Rachel swore under her breath.Lucas folded his arms."They crossed three territories to get here."The scout nodded."They weren't hiding."That detail worried Scarlett more than anything else.Powerful enemies usually relied on secrecy.Only the truly confident marched openly.The mysterious silver-haired woman exchanged a look with Aldric.Neither seemed pleased.Scarlett noticed."W
The clearing descended into a tense silence after Aldric's warning.No one moved. No one spoke.Even the wind seemed to hesitate among the trees.Scarlett's heart hammered against her ribs as she stared toward the forest. The horns had stopped, yet the unease they left behind continued spreading through every wolf gathered there.Whoever betrayed her mother had arrived.The statement refused to leave her mind.For years she had hunted enemies she could see. Rogues. Hunters. Corrupt leaders hiding behind authority.This felt different.This enemy had survived in the shadows for decades.Worse, they had remained close enough to learn Elena's plans before the Council could be exposed.The thought made Scarlett feel sick.Beside her, Lucas remained alert, his gaze sweeping the tree line."They're not moving," he said quietly.Aldric's expression remained grim."They don't need to."Rachel frowned."What does that mean?"The older Alpha looked toward the dark forest."It means they're conf
The woman's words settled over the clearing like a storm cloud refusing to move."Your mother didn't die because she found the truth. She died because someone she trusted betrayed her."Scarlett stood frozen.The world around her seemed to blur at the edges while those words echoed through her mind again and again.Someone she trusted.Not an enemy.Not a stranger.Someone close.Someone who had stood beside her mother while she fought to expose the corruption buried inside the Alpha Council.The thought felt unbearable.Across the clearing, the council representative watched the reaction she had caused with obvious satisfaction.Her smile never wavered.It was the smile of someone who enjoyed reopening old wounds.Lucas shifted closer to Scarlett, his presence steadying the emotions threatening to overwhelm her.He didn't speak.He didn't need to.The warmth of their bond reminded her she wasn't standing alone.Not anymore.Rowan, however, looked as though every old scar inside him h
The silence that followed Aldric's warning felt heavier than any battle Scarlett had ever faced.The Alpha Council.For years, the name had existed like a distant authority, something woven into the structure of werewolf society. They governed territories, settled disputes, and maintained order among the packs. Wolves respected them. Many feared them.Now, for the first time, Scarlett was being forced to consider something far worse.What if the people responsible for protecting the packs were the same people destroying them?The thought settled like ice beneath her skin.Aldric stood motionless near the fractured clearing, his attention fixed on the northern forest. Whatever he saw in the distance seemed to confirm his fears."They moved faster than I expected," he muttered.Rowan's jaw tightened."You knew they were coming."Aldric looked at him."I knew they would eventually find me."The words carried years of exhaustion.Scarlett could see it now. The man wasn't merely hiding. He
The woman standing beyond the fractured opening looked so much like the memories Scarlett carried that her chest physically hurt.For years, she had replayed fragments of her mother's face whenever grief became too heavy to bear. She remembered warm hands brushing tangled hair from her forehead. Sh
The words echoed across the clearing like a hammer striking stone.“Welcome home, daughter.”For a heartbeat, nobody moved.The forest seemed to hold its breath.The fractures stretching across the sky stopped spreading. The wind died between the trees. Even the hunters, who moments earlier had loo
The sound of her mother's voice shattered something inside Scarlett.For a moment, the chaos in the clearing faded into the background. The spreading fractures across the sky, the darkness swallowing the center of the broken gate, the hunters kneeling in worship all of it seemed distant compared to
Golden light exploded beneath Scarlett's feet, tearing through the clearing in blinding waves.The ancient symbol carved into the earth awakened all at once, its lines burning brighter than fire as energy surged through every mark and circle hidden beneath the soil. The ground trembled violently. T







