ANMELDENPOV: LyraThe challenge came at midday.I was training with Vara in the center of the camp when a wolf stepped out of the crowd and threw a blade at my feet.The blade stuck in the dirt.The camp went silent.I looked up.He was tall. Broad. His arms were covered in scars and his eyes were cold and hard. He wore the mark of the Bloodmoon pack on his chest."My name is Torin," he said.I straightened."I know who you are."He smiled. It was not a kind smile."You have been here for two weeks. You have trained with our warriors. You have eaten at our tables. You have slept under our roofs."I said nothing."But you are not one of us. You are not Bloodmoon. You are not a southern wolf. You are a northern queen who thinks she can walk into our camp and claim our loyalty."I met his eyes."I have not claimed anything."He laughed."You have claimed everything. You have claimed our Alpha's ear. You have claimed our warriors' respect. You have claimed a place at our fires."He stepped closer
POV: LyraThe blade came within an inch of my throat.I caught the wrist and twisted. The knife clattered to the stone floor. I drove my elbow into the attacker's chest and heard the breath leave their lungs in a rush.They hit the ground hard.I pinned them with my knee and looked down at their face.Vara.She stared up at me with wide eyes and blood on her lip."You," I said.She did not struggle."I had to know."I pressed my knee harder into her chest."Know what?"She met my eyes."If you could be killed."---I held her there for a long moment.The camp was silent. The warriors who had been watching from the shadows stepped forward. Jaden burst out of his tent with his sword drawn and his eyes wild."Lyra—""I am fine."He stopped.Vara did not look away from me."You left your flank open," she said. "You have been here for a week and you still do not know the camp. You still do not know who watches you. You still do not know who wants you dead."I released her.She sat up slowl
POV: LyraI woke to the sound of blades.The clash of steel on steel rang through the camp, sharp and relentless. I was on my feet before my eyes fully opened, hand reaching for the knife beneath my pillow.Old habits.I pulled on my boots and stepped out of the tent.The camp was alive.Warriors trained in the center of the valley, their movements precise and brutal. No wasted motion. No hesitation. A woman with a scar across her face disarmed a man twice her size and had him on his back in the dirt before he could blink.She looked up.Our eyes met.She did not bow.I held her gaze and said nothing.---Alpha Kael appeared beside me with a cup of something steaming in his hand. He offered it to me without a word.I took it.The liquid was bitter and hot and it burned going down. I did not flinch."You are up early," he said."I am up when I need to be."He nodded slowly."Good."We stood in silence for a moment, watching the warriors train."Your wolves are skilled," I said."They h
POV: LyraThe great hall was quiet.I sat on the throne with the crown of the High Alpha on my head and the weight of every pack pressing down on my shoulders.The fire burned low in the hearth.Shadows danced on the walls.The only sound was the wind outside the windows.Jaden stood at my right.Becca stood at my left.Selene stood behind me with a scroll in her hands and a look on her face that was serious and steady."The reports are in," she said.I nodded."And the southern territories?"She hesitated."The Bloodmoon pack has been gathering warriors. Their scouts have been seen near our borders. They have refused every attempt at negotiation."I leaned back."Then they have made their choice."She nodded."It appears so."I looked at the fire."Good."---The next morning I called a council meeting.The Alphas gathered in the great hall with their advisors and their warriors and their maps.I sat at the head of the table with the scroll in my hand and the crown on my head and the
POV: LyraThe great hall was quiet.I sat on the throne with the crown of the High Alpha on my head and the weight of every pack in the known territories pressing down on my shoulders. The fire burned low in the hearth and the shadows danced on the walls and the only sound was the wind outside the windows.Jaden stood at my right.Becca stood at my left.Selene stood behind me with a scroll in her hands and a look on her face that was serious and steady."The reports are in," she said. "The Frostfang have settled into the alliance. The borders are secure. The packs are at peace."I nodded."And the western territories?"She hesitated."There has been no word from Colt since you left. His wolves have scattered. His camp has been abandoned."I leaned back."Then he kept his promise."She nodded."It appears so."I looked at the fire."Good."---The next morning I walked through the territory alone.The sun was warm on my face and the air was clean and the wolves around me were laughing
SELENA’S POV“Now, my Queen, shall we finish the murder you began?”Ian's voice came from the man standing before me, but the smile on his face belonged to someone who had died centuries ago.I couldn't move.His eyes were silver now, and the dark mark beneath his skin had spread across his throat. Even the way he held his head had changed. The man I loved was somewhere inside that body, trapped behind memories neither of us understood.“Let him go,” I whispered.The first King tilted his head.“After all this time, that is what you ask of me?”“I am speaking to Ian.”“Am I not Ian?”He stepped closer. Ian's familiar scent reached me, mixed with the cold smell of rain on stone. My heart recognized him even when his eyes did not.“I know you can hear me,” I said, looking directly into his face. “You told me you would never let the crown decide who I should love. Don't let it decide who you are.”For a moment, his fingers twitched.Then he grabbed my wrist.Pain shot through my arm as b







