Astrid’s POV "What's in that direction?" The taller of Nox's men asked, his finger pointing toward the center of the rogue camp. His voice held a careful neutrality that made my teeth itch. Spies trying to play casual always did. "That's where they keep the prisoners." I kept my own voice flat, even as my eyes tracked the movement of guards below. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the camp, perfect for counting patrols without being spotted. It had taken us nearly a day to get here. Something I would have achieved in hours, alone. I’d metal signaled my wolf to stay at a much distance. "Right in clear view? At the heart of the camp?" The disbelief in his voice almost made me smile. Almost. "They do it to deter sympathizers," I explained, brushing a strand of red hair from my face. "Everyone sees if you try to help them. No sneaking around when you're in plain sight of the entire camp. Get caught, and you're shunned—if you're lucky." The st
Nox’s POV The silk sheets whispered against my skin as I sank into my bed, muscles aching—being an Alpha was never the cushy job others imagined it to be. I unbuttoned my shirt, tossing it aside as my gaze drifted to my reflection in the mirror, noting the nearly faded scratch marks across my shoulder. Even though it’s been a day, I could still smell that distinct floral scent. My wolf prowled beneath my skin, unsatisfied with just her lingering presence. We both wanted more. "Can't remember the last time I turned in early," I muttered, my eyes drawn to the empty expanse of my bed. The last time I'd suggested she stay, she'd fixed me with that fierce look of hers—equal parts defiance and something darker that made my blood sing. Her refusal only made me want her more, and the goddess herself must be laughing at my predicament. A sharp knock interrupted my brooding. "Enter," I called out, not bothering to retrieve my shirt. Few would dare disturb me
Nox’s POV The morning sun hadn't yet cleared the mountains when I turned to Hunter. "Triple the guards around the pack house." He nodded, falling into step beside me as we strode through the corridors. The events of the previous night—the cubs, the thrall's visit—had left an unsettling weight in my gut. "The cubs?" I asked, pausing at one of the tall windows overlooking the training grounds. "Fed, washed, and rested." Hunter's expression softened slightly. "Surprisingly resilient for what they've been through. Almost... eager." I filed that detail away for later consideration. "And our friend, the thrall?" "Paid and gone. I made sure he understood the wisdom of keeping his distance from our territory." A ghost of a smile touched Hunter's lips. "We won't be seeing Dick again." "Good." We emerged onto the main balcony, the morning air crisp with the promise of autumn. Below, guards patrolled in precise patterns, but I knew better than to trust in
Nox’s POV "Alpha, they have all arrived." Hunter's voice carried a weight I hadn't heard in years.. I turned from the window where I'd been watching shadows lengthen across the courtyard. "Tell me, what time is it?" "The moon is just starting to appear." Hunter's eyes flickered to the darkening sky, then back to me. "A fitting hour for what's to come." "And everything is in place?" I kept my voice neutral, though my wolf prowled beneath my skin, eager for what lay ahead. Hunter shifted his weight, a tell from our childhood days that he wasn't entirely comfortable. "Yes... but I still think there's more to be done, given how high the stakes are tonight." His jaw tightened. "Too many bad ideas floating around." A smirk tugged at my lips. "Those bad ideas are what makes it exciting." I straightened my jacket. "The thrill of not knowing what's going to happen next." "You're beginning to scare me, Nox." The use of my name rather than my title spoke volumes
Nox’s POV Chaos erupted instantly—chairs scraping, claws extending, growls filling the air. "What sorcery is this?" Kora leaped to her feet. "Guards, to arms!" "Whoa, whoa!" Vad raised his hands in mock surrender, his grin mirror-identical to my own, if I was in his shoes, which I wasn't. "Everybody hold on. I'm only here in an observing capacity. After all, the host is my brother, and this is still my house." "So that's how you do it," I mused, though I'd suspected his presence. Not this early, perhaps—but my brother had clearly mastered the art of concealment even more than before. "One lost brother fighting their kind," Kora snarled. "Unforgivable." I noticed Willa hadn't even flinched at Vad's appearance, and I wasn't sure if that pleased or concerned me. Vad's smile turned cruel. "Their kind? Oh, you mean the dark roams. Yet you all managed to defeat them. There are so few of them left, they're literally extinct." "Everyone calm down," I co
Nox’s POV The pressure in the council chamber thickened as the drunk's voice quivered, each word dragged from his throat. "I got to know Pack Leader Eamon during a raid on the eastern villages of the Moonviel Pack years ago. We were being led by Rogue Leader Thadeus then..." Finneas's face darkened, a deep frown etching lines across his forehead. "What?" The drunk's fingers trembled against the floor. "Yes, it was so brother…" He swallowed hard. "A chance encounter—or rather, an unlucky one on a full moon night. Thadeus was..." His voice cracked. "Thadeus was energetic as ever with his speeches, rallying us for the raids. It was going well at first. He was a good wolf—the only reason he agreed to that raid was because we got word of a cargo caravan moving supplies through the Cull Path." "Those were dark times. I had barely passed being a cub. Finneas remember—we had no food. Our camp was starving, wolves turning on each other. Thadeus never wanted that future for h
Nox’s POV I’d anticipated a lot of fallout, but not this. Fuck! Silence punctured the council chamber, thick with implied pressure and disbelief. My jaw clenched, muscles coiled tight beneath my skin as I watched Willa—her frame vibrating with a rage so pure, so concentrated it could slice through steel. But only visible enough for me to tell. Somehow, they had escaped—not by magic, but by conscious layout. Even with the young woman’s gifts as a seer, no strange power had intervened after the smoke flared. This had been deliberate, every step mapped out. The shockwave that came with it had sent a few Alpha tumbling. And Willa… she wasn’t startled. With all Eamon had revealed about her father, it was impossible to tell which emotion churned within her the most. Was it hatred? Wrath? For once I feared her thought. The dagger remained where it was, untouched—for now. But I knew, without a doubt, that if the moment had been hers, she would not have he
Willa’s POV "Home?" The word escaped me like a challenge. "What do you mean, home?" The aftermath of Eamon's revelation churned inside me like a poisonous brew. Emotions twisted and coiled, threatening to break through the fragile barrier I'd constructed. Eamon's claims about my father—they burned, not with divulgence, but with a fury that threatened to consume everything in its path. What if the claim was true? The thought flickered and died. Truth or lie, nothing could justify the devastation. Not what he'd done to me. Not what he'd done to Astrid. Not the cubs torn from their mother. Not the lives destroyed in his wake. I locked those thoughts away, deep in the darkest recesses of my mind. A place where emotions became weapons, where pain transformed into something. Vad's eyebrow arched. "Whoa," he drawled, his voice a silk-wrapped knife, "those frown lines could topple kingdoms." I stepped forward, I was in leather pants and a shirt now. Good fo
Nox’s POV My body coiled tight, steel cables ready to snap, every sinew screaming to tear Eamon apart. Rage crackled deep in my chest like electricity—one heartbeat, two— I didn’t even realize I’d moved until Eamon’s voice stopped me cold. “Not. Another. Step." Eamon's voice was glacial. My claws ached to sink into his flesh, my wolf howling in frustration. Willa’s wide eyes met mine, and I saw the fear there—the fear I never wanted to see on her face again. But beneath it, there was anger too, a fire that hadn’t been extinguished. It made my chest tighten, a sick mixture of fury and helplessness. “Let her go,” I growled, my voice raw and guttural. Eamon smirked, his claws flexing against her skin. “Oh, I don’t think so. You make one wrong move, and I’ll slit her throat right here.” Willa winced as his grip tightened, and my entire body tensed, the mate bond hammering through me like a second heartbeat. My wolf pushed harder against my control, despe
Nox’s POV The night pressed down like a curse, sharp and unforgiving. The air was thick, heavy with ash, and carried the weight of a thousand untold stories. It reminded me of sharp fangs sinking deep into flesh—relentless, excruciating, and unyielding. Rest was a luxury we couldn’t afford, and complaints felt pointless now. Once this ends, Willa will learn the truth about what indeed happened to the second man she had been accused of killing. Draven was on it already, and I'm certain she would get the hang of it quickly. Maybe there was a bright end to this after all. My eyes swept across the maw of the mountain. The Ash Eyes Pack. Once, they were revered. Legends spoke of their lands—a paradise enriched by volcanic soil that made their harvests plentiful and their people untouchable. But that was all gone now, like ash falling from the sky and disappearing into the wind. No one spoke of what had happened. It was as if an unwritten rule had silenced their me
Willa’s POV The Blood Moon would be here soon, I thought, tightening my grip on the hilt of my dagger. If we survived this night, perhaps we'd celebrate it at last, instead of merely surviving under its light. Maybe this time, it would bring renewal, not more bloodshed. I tore my eyes from the heavens to face the land before me: Gerald’s Way. “What is this place?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, though the tension crackling through the air ensured everyone heard me. “This,” Nox replied, his voice smooth, almost indifferent, “is where it all started for Eamon.” Vad’s lips twisted into a smirk that made my wolf bristle. “This is his true home,” he said, gesturing grandly to the crumbling castle perched on the volcanic mountain. “Where he was born.” The small castle loomed, its jagged towers stretching into the ashen sky. Steam hissed from cracks in the earth, the very air heavy with heat and sulfur. “It’s massive,” I murmured, scanning the da
Astridl’s POV How did I end myself in this situation? I could just punch him and get this over before I regret my next action. But I couldn't bring myself to say the word, to act like I used to. His eyes were still on me, waiting. Gods, he was waiting, and the thought that his eyes were this focused on me, the thought of what my answer would do to my body made me nearly curse out. “Say it, Astrid.” Goddess, why can't he just… “Give me more.” I couldn't care about what we were doing—who he was. “I am at your service,” he grunted, and then he reached between us, his finger snagging the latch of my carry-on and he yanked them off. Metal met the floor. And then the one on my thigh. More daggers off. Then he reached for my pants. He pulled on them hard enough to lift my hips. Buttons popped free, tossing onto the floor. “Goodness,” I murmured. He barked out a short, harsh laugh as he shoved my pants down until one leg was completely free, and
Astrid’s POV Once this was over, my family could finally rest, knowing the man who destroyed their lives would breathe no more. A part of me dreamed of escaping with Asher, finding a home beyond the sea—somewhere far from this chaos. This wasn’t home. It never had been. But first, there was work to be done. Willa would get her pack back. That was why I’d joined the fight, after all. And if I wasn’t mistaken, her relationship with the Alpha might not end, not even when the war ended. I knew the dynamics shifting around me. Willa would likely become the Alpha's Luna, and the tension between Starfall and Moonviel might dissolve into an unexpected alliance. Maybe even merge. Packs up north had done it before. Not that it mattered to me. My focus was singular: kill Eamon and complete my revenge. Then I'd be gone. Everything else—the alliances, the titles, the futures of others—was irrelevant. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. I c
Willa’s POV Justin's lifeless body lay crumpled on the floor, a pool of crimson spreading beneath him. Astrid didn’t so much as glance at her handiwork as she secured the bloodied fabric back onto her hip—a lethal weapon I'd only just witnessed—gleamed with a deadly shimmer, the embedded daggers barely visible against the rich fabric. She stepped away from the mess, spitting outside the open window like it had been nothing more than a chore. I’d seen that fabric with her but never known it to be a weapon, or so. Vad, on the other hand, seemed invigorated, the gleam in his golden eyes unsettling. His gaze landed on the man who’d called Nox his cousin and that smirk of his grew. "The people you hoped would help you crawl onto the throne are nothing but weaklings," Vad snickered. He stepped over Justin’s corpse without hesitation, his boots smearing red across the floor. "You should’ve stayed in the shadows where you’ve been hiding all these years…” Vad turned.
Willa's POV The air, already heavy, seemed to grow denser as the council members filed in behind the Deacon whose face had gone several shades paler, his composure crumbling like wet paper. The unfamiliar man—their uncle, I guessed—looked utterly stunned, his disbelief written across every line of his face. My gaze flicked to Vad, who was watching him with that infuriating smirk, as if savoring the man’s discomfort. He looked like one who already regretted his move too late. But how will I know, judging that he was one of their bloodline, who knows what could exactly come off them? Only a few guards remained inside—Marcus and two others. I pulled at my sleeve. So, this had been the brothers’ plan all along? How? When? Was I kept in the dark again? Not that it mattered now. What a family dynamic. “What is the meaning of this?” The Deacon's voice cracked with indignation, like a man who'd just discovered he was nothing more than a puppet.
Willa’s POV It wasn’t that I was used to Vad’s presence—far from it. But recently, my wolf had stopped baring her teeth every time he was near. That shift meant something, though I wasn’t entirely sure what. The room felt charged, and I couldn’t tell if it was the tension or just Vad’s inherent ability to turn a space into a pressure cooker. I had come in looking for Nox, expecting a quiet moment. Instead, I found Sylvia, and to my surprise, Vad. Hunter had acted strange earlier, avoiding my gaze when he told me where to find Nox. But soon it made sense. Astrid’s expression gave it all away the moment I walked in on her. The rumor. Of course, there was always a rumor when it came to me, but this one didn’t sting. This one was different. My wolf purred at the thought, and I cursed myself as a flush crept up my neck. My sweater sleeve became an anchor as I pulled it over my palm, pretending to focus on something—anything—other than the weight of Nox’s gaze.
Nox’s POV "How do you know?" I prompted, my voice low and measured. Her lips curved—not quite a smile, more a razor's edge of knowing. "Because I can still feel that cold, shivering stare on me since I arrived. It's a sensation you don't forget.” “Unbelievable," Vad muttered, swirling the amber liquid in his glass before throwing a few into his mouth. “What?" Sylvia's eyebrow arched, a challenge wrapped in silk. "You find something amusing?" “No?” Vad drawled. “It’s always something with you. Ever so dramatic." I watched the interplay, my wolf prowling beneath my skin. Something was off. Vad's unusual calm wasn't lost on me. My twin had always been the type to unravel spectacularly when things didn't align with his vision—a mirror of my own younger self, only I'd learned to temper that rage into something more surgical. "Forgive my brother," I said dryly, rubbing my temple, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "He was dropped on his head enough tim