51: Council summon

RitaI don't know how long the thoughts lingered, hovering around the rigid walls of my heart and pulling at me, at my every breath and consciousness, that I even forgot how stinky this cell was, and then every other thing around me.They faded into nothingness as fresh heat curled up around me. Just when I heard the gates opening, only that it made my chest race violently when I saw two guards walking up towards me.I recognized them instantly, the same ones who had dragged me down here, the same ones who had locked me away like I was nothing.Their faces were carved from stone, unreadable, merciless. Their dark livery clung to their bodies, every movement of their chests rising and falling with a quiet, controlled menace that made something cold twist deep inside me.I was supposed to be used to guards storming up to me with their strong demeanor and hateful glares, but somehow this was different.With the awareness of the council summons, it wasn't anything like Marvin ordering me

Last Updated : 2026-03-24

52: His order

MarvinI don't know what had come over me as I sat there, listening to every single word the council of elders had to say, their voices blending into a suffocating weight in the room. I waited patiently, though patience was the last thing I felt, just to understand where all of this was heading. And honestly, I already knew I would eventually come to that aspect of the pack, omegas and guards gossiping so loudly, careless tongues wagging without restraint.Because if they hadn't, this entire matter should have remained strictly within my jurisdiction, handled under my authority alone. Not completely off, though, because Renz had a hand in propelling me into honoring this meeting, if not I wasn't sure I would be seated here.After their brutal and merciless conclusion on Becky’s case, something inside me shifted, something firm, unyielding. I had come to the solid conclusion that I was going to rule with a different hand altogether. I refused to be the kind of leader whose decisions

Last Updated : 2026-03-25

53: Music to my ears

RitaThe guards held me bound, securing me in place even after Alpha Marvin left the room.Something in the atmosphere unsettled me, charged as the room felt tense, with the elders still seated. Their hateful glares filled me and swept around my body, and somehow it unsettled me, in ways I can't fully explain.But I refused to show it. I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction. I wouldn’t let them see how deeply it affected me. I was innocent of whatever crime I was accused of, and somehow, something told me they knew I was, but because of their deep-rooted hatred and the believe that I was a curse among them, they had decided to judge me wrongly.Just anything to end my very existence. The realization weighted heavier on my chest, making something inside me to crack violently.The guards didn’t release my wrists either. They didn’t move an inch. They stood there like statues, their hold firm and merciless, as though I were nothing more than a prisoner cursed to remain under the weight

Last Updated : 2026-03-26

54: His presence 2

“Mind opening your eyes?” His voice came again, softer this time, yet filled with insistence, pulling faintly at my consciousness.I stirred at the sound, my body responding sluggishly, and this time, I forced myself to blink. But the sudden brightness that flooded my vision was overwhelming, sharp and blinding, forcing my eyes shut again almost instantly.A faint humming sound reached my ears, low and distant, followed by the sensation of something damp pressing gently against my forehead. This time, it wasn’t cold. It carried a slight warmth… no, not just warmth… something deeper, something comforting, as another layer of heat wrapped around it.I felt it.I craved it.It was so dear, so strangely alluring, that it sank deep into me, curling into places I didn’t even realize had been aching. And without realizing it, I forced my eyes open again, slower this time, blinking repeatedly as I tried to adjust to the brightness that filled the room.Shapes began to form.Blurred outlines s

Last Updated : 2026-03-27

55: First attack: Never going to be light

MarvinBack in my room, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that this wasn’t just coincidence. It sat wrong in my chest, heavy and unrelenting. How could we suddenly have an attack in Silvermoon, right at the borders, and still have no trace, no identity, no presence, of whoever dared to cross into our territory?When I had paced the entire northern border earlier, I didn’t pick up a single scent. Nothing. No lingering trace, no foreign smell, nothing that could suggest rogues or outsiders. It wasn’t even that they were subtle, it was worse. It was like they didn’t exist at all.I didn't catch any scent, or any dead body, or any blood, yet we were attacked. Two of my warriors were badly wounded and currently at the pack clinic, and I'm not sure they would survive either.It sounded strange in a way and still unsettling. When I had stared at Rita through that window, Kendrick was howling violently in my head and almost surfaced, and the reason I had left the window. Something shifted in m