جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

Later, after the meal had finally wound down and the pack had dispersed in various directions—Anna found herself on a stone balcony overlooking the eastern grounds.The moon hung heavy and bright, three days past full but still commanding. Cold air bit at her skin, carrying the scent of pine and distant snow. She wrapped her arms around herself, breathing deep, letting the crisp air fill her lungs. Freedom. When was the last time she'd felt this? Standing under an open sky, no bars, no guards, no eyes watching for signs of guilt she didn't carry? The wind tugged at her hair, and for just a moment, she let herself feel small against the vastness of the night. Small, but not trapped, never trapped again."Brightest night after a Supermoon," came a voice behind her, smooth and unhurried. "I must say, quite the view."Anna's heart jumped—she hadn't heard him approach, hadn't caught his scent on the wind. She spun to find Jebediah standing a few paces back, two wine glasses in one hand,

Anna woke in silence — the deep, unhurried kind that only visits you when you slept without worry.She yawned so thoroughly it felt as though her body was shaking off weeks of accumulated tension, not merely a single night. What a relief, she stretched her arms wide, her joints popping softly in a satisfying rhythm, each small sound a little declaration of surrender from muscles that had finally, gratefully, let go. "What a night" She lay still for a moment longer, staring up at the vaulted ceiling of her chamber — a ceiling adorned with carved ivory rosettes and soft cream plasterwork that caught the pale morning light filtering through the silk drapes.The room smelled faintly of cedar and something floral, like fresh gardenias resting in a warm space. She hadn't stayed anywhere this exquisite in her entire life, and even in the soft fog of just waking, she could feel the difference. The previous night's cold had crept in so gently, so soothingly, that it settled over her li

---Late afternoon arrived carrying a deceptive warmth amid the cold — the kind that whispered of false comfort, the sort that made a man consider going bowling bare-chested before the bitter chill reminded him of his foolishness. The sun hung low and diffident in the grey sky, casting long shadows across Mooncrest's ancient stone buildings, as though reaching for something it could never quite grasp.Several kilometers from the Estate, within the fortified walls of Mooncrest's conference hall, sat Jebediah. Not in the grand hall above, where long oak tables bore the weight of alliances and territorial grudges, but below it — down a narrow stairwell that most men instinctively avoided without quite understanding why. A dark room, deliberately so.A single candle burned at the center of an ancient table, its flame standing impossibly still, throwing amber light in a tight circle and surrendering everything beyond it to shadow. For Jebediah, darkness was not absence, it had weight,

------- "That smell! What is that smell!?" The voice didn't just growl — it shook the cave walls. Before Emmett could react, the force grabbed the air around him and flung him. He crashed into the far end of the cave wall so hard the rock cracked behind him, dust raining down like snow. His back screamed, his ears rang, he tasted blood. There was a momentary Silence. Then — "Ozeth." The voice dropped lower, which was somehow worse. "You didn't tell me you brought a bloodhound into my domain." Jebediah said nothing. He just stood, hands folded behind his back, lips curved into the faintest smile — as though he had expected every single second of this. But Emmett wasn't done. He peeled himself off the floor, joints cracking, chest heaving. His vision swam but his feet found the ground. His fists curled, his body shifted into a fighting stance before his mind caught up to it — and he was already moving forward, teeth bared, when Jebediah's hand cut sharply through the air. Stop.

---Both Jebediah and Emmett stayed the night with the Storm-Fangs. Emmett observed their culture — dwindling in number, maybe, but rich in everything else. Their battle style, their customs, their silences that carried meaning. But the most astonishing thing was their meal. One filled belly from their table could , without doubt, prolong a man's life by two decades. The food was rich, organic, medicinal — the kind that felt less like eating and more like being restored. The Storm-Fangs were considered the top of the great families for a reason.Supper was a whole roasted bird, herb-crusted and steaming, laid out across wide clay dishes on a low table. They sat on the floor — all of them — Lord Nikolai and his three sons, Jebediah, and Emmett, arranged in a loose circle with food between them and firelight above. Jebediah had found his way back without explanation, wearing a satisfied expression and carrying a small jar of something dark and preserved that he set down and did not offe