When It All Fell Apart

After finishing the northern patrol, I dragged my bags back to Silver Moon territory.

But the moment I reached the entrance, the guards at the gate stepped into my path.

A young, pretty she-wolf stood there with her arms crossed, looking me up and down without a shred of respect.

"This is the Alpha's core territory. Only authorized wolves are allowed inside."

"Outsiders need to leave."

I looked at her face. I'd never seen her before. I kept my patience. "I'm Irene. This is my personal badge. I co-founded Silver Moon ten years ago. Are you sure you've got the right person?"

Behind me, the guards lowered their heads one by one in respect, but not a single one dared let me through.

So it wasn't a mistake.

Someone had given a new order.

The girl studied the badge on my chest, and something close to contempt flickered through her eyes.

"Some she-wolves are all the same. They use the Alpha as a ladder to climb to the top, then sit around doing nothing."

"Eating up the Alpha's resources, squatting in the Luna's seat, actually believing the whole pack belongs to them."

She raised her voice on purpose. Every guard within earshot went dead quiet.

I stared at the freshly issued silver badge on her chest.

New warrior. Marlene.

I filed the name away.

When did the pack start letting in someone with this little respect for how things work?

I was about to call for the elder in charge of pack law when she beat me to it.

"What, you got a problem?"

"Don't think just because you've got some old badge you can walk in here and boss people around."

I looked at her, ice cold. "Silver Moon code, section seven. Unauthorized changes to warrior protocol and disruption of territorial order are grounds for Council punishment."

"Since you think you're qualified to make decisions for this pack, go stand in front of the Elders first."

I turned to the elder handling internal affairs. "Revoke Marlene's warrior badge. She's not fit to remain in core territory."

The elder didn't move.

His head stayed down. His voice was strained. "I'm sorry, Lady Irene. As of now... you no longer have that authority."

I went still.

Behind me, Marlene burst out laughing.

She even stepped closer, dropping her voice just low enough for me to hear.

"Oh, sweetheart. You really didn't know?"

"Silver Moon isn't yours to run anymore."

"Starting today, the one who needs to leave is you."

Her smile was wide and triumphant. Like she'd been counting down to this exact moment.

I ignored her. I pulled out my phone to call Holton and get a straight answer.

That's when a commotion broke out beyond the territory gates.

I looked up.

Holton was walking out from the far edge of the forest. He was carrying a huge armful of white moon roses, freshly picked from the Moon Goddess's flower valley.

He clearly hadn't noticed me.

His eyes passed over everyone and landed straight on Marlene.

The next second, he opened his arms.

Marlene let out a squeal and ran straight at him.

Holton caught her without missing a step. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her cheek into his shoulder, intimate and easy, like two mates reunited after time apart.

And right behind them, carved into the stone monument at the entrance, were the vows Holton and I had sworn the day we built Silver Moon together.

In that moment, I was the one who'd traveled through dust and wind to get home. And somehow I was the one who didn't belong.

I cleared my throat.

Holton's body visibly stiffened. He let go of Marlene immediately.

When he saw me, the smile vanished from his face. His brow knotted tight.

"Why are you back?"

Before I could answer, he was already talking. And the tone was closer to blame than anything else.

"The northern pack's terms are impossible. But this alliance is tied to our entire winter supply."

"If it falls through, we won't have enough herbs or food to get through the season."

"You're the one who's supposed to be good at this stuff."

"So why are you standing here? Go figure it out."

I looked at this man. The same one who'd built the first camp with me in the middle of nowhere. Who'd sworn beside me that Silver Moon would become the strongest pack in the territory.

He felt like a stranger.

So even after they'd kicked me out, they still expected me to clean up their mess.