บททั้งหมดของ The Moon Chose Me Twice: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 18

(Charlie)The stack of paperwork on my father's mahogany desk threatens to topple over. It’s a physical manifestation of the chaos consuming the Silverwood Pack.I rub my temples, trying to massage away the headache that has taken up permanent residence behind my eyes.Being an Alpha isn't about power. It isn't about glory. It’s about logistics, egos, and the crushing weight of a thousand lives depending on you."Acting Alpha Charlotte," my secretary, a nervous beta named Jen, peeks her head around the door."Alpha Greyson from the Eastern Territory is on line two. Again. He wants to know why our border patrols have doubled near the river.""Tell him it's standard protocol during the harvest moon," I lie smoothly, signing a requisition form without looking at it."And tell him if his scouts cross the river line again, 'standard protocol' will involve teeth."Jen blinks, surprised by the venom in my voice. "Yes, Alpha."She closes the door. I drop the pen and exhale, sinking back into

(Charlie)Alpha Ryker is exactly as Rohan described. A savage in an expensive suit.He sits across the metal table in the negotiation tent, picking his teeth with a splinter of wood.His eyes, yellow and predatory, track my every movement. He doesn't look at my face. He looks at my neck, then my stomach."So," he grunts, spitting the splinter onto the floor. "The Silverwood Pack sends a breeding sow to do an Alpha's job."My guard, a stoic wolf named Torin, growls low in his throat. I raise a hand to silence him."And the Ironclaw Pack sends a leader who is apparently threatened by a pregnant woman," I reply, my voice cool and steady.I lean forward, placing my hands on the table. "Let's cut the posturing, Ryker. You're testing our borders because you think we're weak. We aren't."I slide a document across the table."This is a renewed trade agreement. Favorable terms for your southern supply lines. In exchange, you pull your raiding party back five miles. Today."Ryker looks at the p

(Kaleb)The needle pierces my skin, pulling the edges of the rogue’s slash together.I don't flinch. The pain is grounding. It’s a sharp, hot reminder that I am alive, even if I don't particularly want to be.It distracts me from the image burned into my retinas. Charlie, kneeling in the dirt, covered in blood that belongs to me."You should take the painkiller, Alpha," the pack doctor, Aris, murmurs. His hands move deftly over my ribs. "This wound is deep. It cut right through the... ink.""No painkillers," I grunt, staring at the ceiling tiles of the trauma room. "I need a clear head."I need to remember.I close my eyes and I’m back on that forest road. The smell of burning rubber. The coppery tang of blood. The way Charlie looked at me, confusion warring with relief.Why did you save me?Her question haunts me. She thinks I hate her. She doesn't know that leaving her on that road to follow the extraction team back here felt like tearing my own heart out."Alpha?"I open my eyes.

(Kaleb)The grandfather clock in the hallway chimes two a.m. The sound vibrates through the floorboards of the Alpha study, deep and mournful.I’m sitting at my desk, a single lamp casting a pool of yellow light onto the leather surface. The house is silent. Madilyn is upstairs, comatose and pregnant, the "fragile Luna" resting after her ordeal.For the first time in more than six months, the static in my head is gone.There is no hum. No vague, sweet scent of roses clouding my judgment. No compulsion to go upstairs and hold her hand. There is only silence.I’m not resting. I’m hunting.In front of me sits a small, velvet-bound journal and a leather pouch. I lifted them from her vanity while the nurses were changing shifts.I open the pouch first and tip the contents into my palm.Purple and gray leaves that crumble to dust. I bring them to my nose. The scent is faint, musky and sweet.Dreamshade.I recognize it from the restricted texts in the Alpha library. It’s a mild hallucinogen