Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 5

“Aria, I’m at the gate. My wolf is pacing—I need to see you. Moon Council Hall in thirty, yeah?”I stared at the glowing text on my screen, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. This was it. Five years of Northbridge Academy, five years of running through the forest together, and today, Ethan Draven and I were finally registering our bond.“You just shifted back from the Manchester airfield, didn’t you?” Graham Cole chuckled from the driver’s seat of the pack transport unit. “That’s a look of a female ready to claim her Alpha.”“Is it that obvious, Graham?” I leaned against the window, the morning sun hitting my face. “It’s the Lunar Equinox. I’ve had this slot booked at the Council for weeks. I wasn’t letting anyone else take it.”“Young love and high stakes,” Graham laughed, pulling the rugged transport unit onto the main trail. “My daughter tried to get a Valentine’s registration, but the Council told her she’d have to wait for the next moon cycle.”“Wish her luck

“High Alpha Magnus’s birthday run is tomorrow. Are you back from your circuit or still hiding in the northern territories?”I stared at the glowing screen for a full hour before I finally sent back a single, cold question mark.“Aria, enough with the lone-wolf act,” Ethan’s next message snapped instantly. “Do you have any idea how much this gala means for the Draven pack’s standing? The entire Moon Council will be watching.”I stepped out of the steam-filled bathroom, my damp hair clinging to my shoulders. I didn't feel the usual tug of the bond—just a hollow, bitter amusement.“We broke the link, Ethan,” I typed, my fingers steady. “I won’t be attending the Alpha’s gala. Take Lila. Take a stray. Take whoever you want.”“Still playing these psychological games? Nobody officially dissolved the engagement,” he shot back. “I’m bringing the Alpha vehicle to your flat at seven. You know Magnus expects you there. Do you really want to be the reason the High Alpha loses face on his birthday?

“It’s a pity High Alpha Magnus mapped out the pack’s bloodlines decades ago,” I thought, the bitterness thick in my throat.Victor was the safe choice for territory management, the steady wolf who followed the scent of tradition. But Peter was the predator. He was the reason the Draven name carried weight across the frozen northern borders. Five years ago, when Magnus stepped back from the front lines of the Moon Council, he’d handed the mantle of power to Peter.But Peter didn't care for the political posturing of the Cheshire Lands. He’d moved to the northern wastes, dominating the professional hockey leagues and expansion territories while the rest of the family stayed comfortable.“Are you shaking, Ethan?” Magnus chuckled, his voice a low vibration. “Scared Peter will put you through the boards now that he’s back?”Peter was only thirty-three, but he carried himself with an ancient, terrifying authority. Back at Northbridge Academy, when Ethan was seventeen, he’d tried to lead a r