Astrid’s POVMy palms grew clammy as I drew nearer to the Silvermoon Pack’s relief brigade. My heart thundered in my ears as memories of the past that I had tried so desperately to outrun threatened to overwhelm me. Even though I knew that Killian would not be among them, the very sight of the Silvermoon Pack’s sigil filled me with dread that I thought I had long since buried. Steeling my nerves, I forced one foot in front of the other, willing my trembling limbs to obey. I was nervous because I was afraid that one of them would recognize me, and right now, I’m not in the right capacity to be reminded of the past.Alpha Theron sent me here to keep my mind busy and to stop me from living in the past, a thing that I could never change. I’m not recovering because I’m still stuck in the past. However, instead of finding my new sense of purpose, I ran into my past instead. How I longed to simply turn and flee, to hide my face away from them, but I know I cannot do that. As the leader o
Killian’s POVMy eyes were drawn to Astrid as she stood before me, explaining the procedure around the Emberwood Pack while also showing me the different stations they had set up around the Pack. As I listened to how she orchestrated their relief efforts, I was amazed by the plans she came up with and how fast she was able to set all these things up. Temporary camps had sprung up like blooming flowers, each one tailored to a specific purpose — shelters for the displaced, supply depots, and medical stations, all woven together in a seamless network under Astrid’s watchful gaze. She also assigned different roles to each of her men to have their own individual contributions. In that way, all the needs of the people were met. I’m not surprised that she came up with an organized plan to take the chaos that was left by the rogue attack and transform it into something orderly, something functional. It was that skill that I had always admired in her, this innate talent of organization an
Astrid’s POVI stared at Killian, my expression carefully neutral, revealing nothing of the turmoil raging within me. I could see the desperation in his eyes as he searched my face, seeking some crack in my icy demeanor for some glimmer of warmth that he had once known, but my features were set in an impenetrable mask. I watched as Killian’s hand, which was half-raised aiming to reach for me, suddenly fell back to his side as if scorched by the frost in my gaze. His eyes blinked with a look of longing written so plainly on his face, but I remained motionless, unwavering, unwilling to give in to the temptation. I crossed my arms as I waited for him to say a word. He is the one who pulled me out here. Is he just going to stare at me all day?“H-How have you been?” Killian finally spoke in a soft, unsure voice when he saw the impatience that crossed my features. Now that we are alone, he no longer looks like a powerful Alpha. In front of me, he looked like a man walking on eggshell
Killian’s POVIt has been a long day for everybody. We have just arrived at the Emberwood Pack after our long travel, and we are still trying to adjust to the work around this place.We weren’t able to help the Shadowfang Pack much because we had to settle everything. We had to settle our provisions and also build our camps. The night has long fallen, but not all camps have been built yet. As the Alpha, they had prioritized my camp first so I could have my temporary settlement and also so that I could have a good night’s sleep. However, I couldn’t sleep. My conversation with Astrid continued to trouble me. So, I sat on my makeshift desk and started to write so I could do something productive while Astrid kept me awake. In the middle of the night, only the sound of my pen scratching on paper could be heard while an omega shuffled around me, fixing my things and organizing them around the camp since we had only just arrived. I sighed as I turned to another page of the paper. “Alpha
Giselle’s POVThings have been well inside the Pack ever since Astrid had stopped making trouble for us. Until now, she’s still busy at the Shadowfang Pack, and I had no idea when she’s planning to leave and what she is currently thinking. Until now, I have been waiting for the news of her leaving the Shadowfang Pack so I can be ready. I know that as soon as Astrid leaves that place, Killian will rush to see her. That’s why I had to know so I could stop them from meeting or so that I could be there when they meet. Even though I made sure to hide my traces properly, I knew that Astrid would blame me for the accident that happened to her. I’m sure right now she already knows that I was involved in her accident. Drystan must have informed her by the time she woke up about how I lied and that I never met her. I’m sure that would bring suspicions to them. Still, I wasn’t afraid of being blamed for what I did. They can hate me if they want. The feeling is mutual. Even if they have the
Astrid’s POVIn order to cater to the remaining survivors of the Emberwood Pack that needed our help, I woke up at dawn and helped in the kitchen to cook for everyone’s breakfast. I don’t know enough of things around the kitchen; I only know enough not to let myself die of hunger. Although I am good at combat, handling Pack military and Pack affairs, and even knowledgeable in medicine, there are still a lot of things that I don’t know of. Even though I am a woman, I don’t know what women would usually be good at doing. I could break a bone when I dance, I could injure myself with a needle if I sew, and I could make people turn deaf when I sing. I’m certainly not a wife and a Luna material because of these things. The moon goddess really made a mistake in choosing me as Killian’s mate and Luna. It was no wonder why our relationship only ended in a disaster. As volunteers, we prepared today’s breakfast, but we still had to serve the food and also eat last. As I ladled the w
Killian’s POVMy fingers instinctively curled into a fist when I saw Giselle coming. What the hell is she doing here? Why did she follow me?My gaze instantly turned across me to where Astrid was standing. However, instead of seeing her, I saw Nova instead. I was surprised to see Nova holding the ladle and giving soup. I had no idea when Nova and Astrid had switched places. While I was working earlier, I could feel Astrid’s gaze boring into me from time to time. It’s as if she’s trying to read me, scrutinizing every detail. It took me a lot of effort to resist her gaze and to stop the urge to stare back at her. I purposefully ignored her to grant her wish that I would never bother her again. I was afraid that if our gazes met, everything would be over for me. I was afraid that the only resistance I had left, the little thing that I had left for myself to keep myself together without her, would suddenly vanish, and I would be left with nothing. I’ve done a lot of bad things. I h
Killian’s POVAs I was about to answer Giselle, I abruptly fell into silence when a sudden movement in the shadows caught my eye. Before I could react, a blur of motion exploded out of nowhere, a wild, feral snarl ripping through the air. Giselle barely had the time to gasp before she was tackled to the ground. A fierce, snarling figure pinned her down. “Astrid?!” I exclaimed, stunned by the unexpected turn of events. I couldn’t believe that the wild, feral figure that appeared out of nowhere and tackled Giselle to the ground was actually Astrid. I even had no idea where her strength came from. The first time that I met Astrid again here at Emberwood Pack, the first thing I noticed was the great change in her health. Astrid had seemed so weak, so broken, a mere shadow of the vibrant and confident Astrid that I had once known. Astrid is a pure-blooded omega. Her wolf has always been weak, even before, and now she has become significantly weaker. I doubt that Astrid would be abl