ログインThe eastern wing of the fortress was quieter than the rest, the corridors narrower and the torches spaced farther apart. Lyra walked with Mira's hand in hers, the child's small feet padding softly against the stone floor. Kael walked on her other side, his golden eyes scanning the shadows with the watchful alertness of a wolf guarding its den.Elara's chambers were at the end of the hall, behind a heavy oak door carved with the same wolves running through a forest that Lyra had seen before. Kael pushed it open and stepped aside, allowing Lyra and Mira to enter first.The room was warm, lit by a fire that crackled in the hearth. Elara was in her usual chair, her frost-colored eyes sharp as they settled on the child."Ah," she said, a hint of approval in her voice. "A guest. And a young one at that."Mira pressed closer to Lyra's side, her small fingers tightening around Lyra's hand. Lyra knelt down beside the child and spoke in a quiet, gentle voice. "This is Elara. She is Kael's mothe
The fortress walls rose around them as they passed through the gates, and Lyra kept the child's hand firmly clasped in her own. Mira walked beside her with the quiet trust of someone who had not yet learned that the world could be cruel, her small fingers wrapped around Lyra's with a grip that was surprisingly strong.Roran appeared at Kael's side, his scarred face shadowed by the torchlight. "The guest house has been prepared. But I have to warn you, Varya has heard about the newcomers. She is not pleased."Kael's jaw tightened. "Varya is never pleased. That is her natural state."Roran almost smiled. "True. But she is pacing in the courtyard, and she has already cornered two of the scouts asking questions about the rogues."Lyra felt Mira's hand tighten in hers. She looked down at the child, at the wide eyes that were watching the fortress walls with a mixture of wonder and fear."I need to find somewhere for Mira to stay," Lyra said quietly. "Somewhere Varya cannot reach her."Kael
The rogue's words hung in the cold air between them, and Lyra felt the weight of his desperation settle over her like a second cloak. He had not come for information or gold or power. He had come because he had nowhere else to turn."Your daughter," Lyra repeated slowly. "Where is she?"The rogue glanced back at his companions, and one of them stepped forward, a woman with tired eyes and a child clutched against her chest. The girl could not have been more than five, her small face pressed into her mother's shoulder, her dark hair matted and tangled."She is all I have left," the rogue said, his voice cracking on the words. "Her mother died two winters ago. I have been running ever since, trying to keep her safe. But Aldrian's wolves found us. They have been hunting us for weeks."Kael moved to stand beside Lyra, his hand brushing hers. "Why would Aldrian be hunting you?"The rogue's eyes darted to Lyra. "Because I know what he is planning. I was one of his scouts before I ran. I saw
Lyra's hand flew to the moonstone through the fabric of her dress, her fingers pressing against its warmth as if it could ground her. Rogues, asking for her by name. That meant someone had told them about her. Someone had spread word of the white wolf beyond the borders of the northern territory."Who sent them?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain steady despite the chill creeping up her spine.Roran shook his head, his scarred face grim. "They are not saying. They just keep repeating that they want to see the woman with two wolves. They claim they have information about Aldrian's next move."Kael stepped forward, positioning himself between Lyra and the door. "And you believe them?"Roran's jaw tightened. "I believe they know something. Whether it is true or not, we cannot afford to ignore it. Aldrian has been quiet for too long. That means he is planning something."Kael turned to Lyra, his golden eyes searching her face. "You do not have to do this. I can go in your place. I ca
The fire had burned low by the time Lyra finally stood from the bed, her legs unsteady beneath her. Sena had fallen asleep in the chair across the room, her grey head tilted back, her breathing slow and even. The tea sat cold on the table between them, forgotten.Kael watched Lyra pace the small space, her hands clasped behind her back, her jaw tight. She had been quiet for too long, and he knew that silence was not rest. It was calculation. It was fear wearing a mask of stillness."You are going to wear a hole in the stone floor," he murmured, his voice low enough not to wake Sena.Lyra stopped and turned to face him. "How do you carry everything without collapsing?" She gestured vaguely at the room, at the fortress above them, at the mountains beyond. "The pack, the council, the prophecy. Your mother hiding in that room. Varya hating you for something that was not your fault." She let out a breath. "How do you not break under all of it?"Kael rose from the bed and crossed to her, st
Lyra walked through the fortress corridors with Kael's hand in hers and her mother at her side, and she felt Elara's words pressing down on her like a physical weight. Eleven months. That was all the time she had to figure out what the prophecy meant, to prepare for whatever was coming, to become the woman the white wolf was meant to be. It felt impossible, like standing at the base of a mountain and being told to move it with her bare hands.Kael must have sensed something shifting in her because he stopped walking and turned to face her, his golden eyes searching her face. "Lyra. Breathe."She realized she had been holding her breath and let it out in a shaky exhale. "Eleven months. That is not enough time. It is barely enough time to learn the layout of this fortress, let alone figure out how to fulfill a prophecy that no one fully understands."Kael's hand tightened around hers. "It is enough. We have each other. We have your mother. We have the pack, or we will once they accept y
Sena did not tell Aldrian about the baby. She hid her growing belly beneath loose dresses and aprons. She prayed to the moon goddess that the child would be wolf-less like her, invisible, safe.But the moon goddess did not answer her prayers. She never had.Aldrian noticed the change when she was f
The auction block was made of black oak, stained dark with old blood and older tears.Sena stood on it with her wrists bound behind her back. The blindfold had been removed an hour ago, and the morning sun was cruel, too bright, making her squint. She had not seen the sun in three months, not since
The great hall of Aldrian's fortress was packed with wolves from across his territory, all of them dressed in silks and furs and jewels that glittered in the candlelight. The air was thick with the smell of roasted meat and expensive wine, heavy with laughter and gossip and the clink of goblets. Ta
Two nights before Lyra's eighteenth birthday, the fire came for her.She had been lying on her straw pallet, pretending to sleep while the other slaves snored around her. The restlessness she had felt for months had grown into something unbearable, a pressure building behind her ribs like a storm w







