جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 30

My Father’s OathThe pack house had never felt more like a prison.I moved through the halls with the quiet grace of someone who had learned long ago to keep his head down. Wolves snarled in the training yards, voices carried from the Alpha’s chamber, but I kept to the shadows. It was the only way I survived here—silent, unseen.But every whisper of Kimberly’s name cut me open.My daughter. My only child.They said she lived. They said she commanded shadows that burned even the Alpha. Some whispered in awe. Others spat in disgust. But all agreed—Kimberly was no longer the broken girl who had left us.I should have felt pride. And I did. But pride was buried beneath a mountain of fear.Because Derrick would not let her live.I had seen the fury in his eyes, the hunger. He would hunt her until the end of his days, and if he caught her… the thought made my chest tighten until I could scarcely breathe.I slipped into my study and closed the door. The walls were lined with old books, scrol

The LetterThe night was thick with silence, the kind that pressed against the skin and made every heartbeat feel too loud.I sat at my desk, the candle burning low, watching wax pool across the wood. The sealed letter rested before me, my trembling hands hovering over it. Kimberly’s name was written across the front in my own hand, steady but desperate.It had to reach her.But if Derrick discovered it—if Catherine or Mona even suspected—my life would be over before the next dawn.I thought of Kimberly’s face when she was small, chasing fireflies with Hannah in the garden. I thought of the night she was rejected, her shoulders trembling, eyes searching for me in the crowd. And I thought of how I did nothing.My silence had been my crime. This letter was my penance.I stood, tucking the letter into a leather pouch beneath my cloak. My footsteps were careful as I left the study, the halls of the pack house hushed but never truly empty. Eyes always watched here, even when unseen.The gu

Luna’s SecretThe moonlight painted the pack house in silver, soft and beautiful—yet Mona knew beauty was always a mask. She moved through the corridors in silence, her golden hair gleaming like a crown, her lips curved in the smile that fooled everyone. Everyone but her mother.Catherine had taught her that power was not only taken with claws and fangs but with secrets. And tonight, Mona held a secret sharp enough to slice through Derrick himself.Kimberly’s father had betrayed them.She had seen it with her own eyes—the trembling hands, the leather pouch passed into Louis’s grip. A letter for Kimberly.She should tell Derrick. That was what any loyal Luna would do. Derrick would roar with fury, strike the traitor down, and tighten his grip on the pack. It would be the right thing. The safe thing.But Mona had no intention of being safe.She slipped into her chamber, closing the door behind her. The fire burned low, casting her reflection in the mirror across the room. She studied he

The Edge of DeathThe air in the clearing burned cold, every breath like glass in my lungs. My body ached, my wounds from the last trial still raw, but Lucien gave no reprieve. He stood at the edge of the circle, shadows coiling around him like watchful serpents.“Again,” he ordered.I forced myself upright, gripping the shadow-blades in trembling hands. Around me, five beasts prowled—monstrosities born from darkness and fear. Their eyes gleamed crimson, their teeth dripping black fire.Five.He’d doubled the trial.I staggered into a fighting stance, my wolf howling inside me, both fear and fury burning through her. We cannot hold, Kimberly. But we cannot fall.The beasts lunged at once.I moved on instinct, spinning, my blades flashing. One fell in an arc of black fire, but claws raked across my shoulder before I could dodge. Pain ripped through me, white-hot. Another beast slammed into my ribs, hurling me across the dirt.I coughed blood, vision blurring. My knees gave way.Lucien’

The BalanceThe cave was silent, save for the drip of water from the ceiling. My body still ached from the last trial, but Lucien gave no reprieve. He stood at the center of the stone floor, shadows curling lazily at his feet like waiting predators.“You’ve proven you can fight,” he said, voice low and commanding. “You’ve proven you can kill. But strength without balance is chaos. And chaos will consume you faster than Derrick ever could.”I swallowed hard, the memory of my wolf facing me in the circle still sharp. “What do you mean?”Lucien’s coal-dark eyes fixed on me. “Your wolf and the shadows both crave dominance. If you favor one, the other festers. If you submit to both, they’ll tear you apart. You must make them one—or you will never defeat him.”The words sank deep.He lifted his hand. The shadows writhed upward, forming a dark circle around me. Then the mark on my palm blazed, and my wolf surged forward, silver light spilling into the clearing until it burned against the bla