(Iris)The night stretched on, each tick of the clock a slow drip of agony. I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of the hours pressing down on me. The waiting was both excruciating, boring and nerve-wracking. The room was dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of the moon filtering through the thin curtains. The shadows danced on the walls, creating shapes that seemed to taunt me with their ever-shifting forms. Nervous energy buzzed through me like a swarm of angry bees, making it impossible to find any semblance of peace. I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position, but the anxiety gnawing at my insides wouldn’t let me rest. Every creak of the floodboards, every rustle of the leaves outside, set my heart racing. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only thirty minutes, I felt Jasper stir beside me. He moved closer, his arm snaking around my waist from behind. His touch was warm and familiar, a small comfort in the midst
(Elias)The night air was cool, a welcome respite from the stifling heat of the day. I stood on the balcony, staring out at the moonlit landscape, lost in thought. It had been a long time since Seraphina and I had a proper conversation, and I missed the days when we were close. I remembered the times when we could talk about anything and everything. Her laughter would fill the room, and her smile was enough to make me forget my worries. But things had changed, they always did. War had a way of hardening people, building walls around their hearts that even the closest bonds struggled to penetrate. Seraphina had always been strong, but the weight of responsibility and the constant threat looming over us had taken its toll. I saw it in her eyes, the flicker of doubt and fear that she tried so hard to hide. I leaned against the railing, feeling the cold metal beneath my hands. I was confused, and stressed. I wondered if Seraphina felt the same conflict, the same pull between duty a
(Iris)I was awakened abruptly by the intrusive, insistent voice of Elias in my mind. The mind-link we shared allowed him to reach me no matter the distance. His tone was anything but gentle, more like a growl of frustration. “You want to come on your own, or should I send my men to get you?” he demanded. Clearly, Seraphina had completed her part of the plan, and now it was my turn. I took a deep breath, calming the surge of adrenaline that spiked through me. Elias’s impatience was evident, but there was an underlying tension that hinted at something more. “You have to promise our safety,” I replied, my voice steady despite the rapid beating of my heart. This was a non-negotiable term. I couldn’t risk Jasper’s life or mine without some form of assurance.“Sure,” Elias responded tersely. The single word was laced with irritation, barely masking the anger simmering beneath the surface. He didn’t trust me, and I couldn’t blame him. Trust was a rare commodity these days. As I o
(Iris)“You have no choice.” Elias let go of my arm and stepped back, staring at me with a complicated blend of emotions. “Naomi can help us from the inside. But she’s not under your thumb anymore. She can do whatever she sees fit. But I can convince her that you are our best bet.” My words hung in the air, each one carefully chosen to avoid antagonizing him. He looked at me, his expression unreadable. “Sit,” he commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. I complied, perching on the edge of the chair, my mind racing with potential strategies. But it soon became clear that strategy was not on his mind. He opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of letters, placing them in front of me. “Father never told me about my mother. Now I know why,” he said, his voice tinged with bitterness. “Mother?” I echoed, and he pushed the letters toward me. I picked them up, my hands trembling slightly as I did so. I began to read, each letter revealing a piece of a puzzle I hadn’t even
(Iris)Again, Elias threw me out. I could tell his anger was growing, and his frustration with the situation only seemed to be getting worse. He wasn’t ready to hear reason, not yet. The situation was spiraling, and every attempt to reason with him seemed to push him further away from the calm and rational leader we needed him to be. I made my way down to the cell where Jasper was being held. I couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment. The stakes were high, almost too high, and we were running out of time. The rift between Elias and Jasper needed to be mended if we were to have any chance at unity. The fate of our pack depended on it, and the weight of that responsibility pressed heavily on my shoulders. The corridors leading to the cells were dimly lit, the flickering torches casting long, wavering shadows on the stone walls. The atmosphere was thick with tension, the kind that comes from too many days of unresolved conflicted and unspoken fears. The guards stationed along the
(Naomi)I didn’t think Caden and Leila suspected me of anything. But that day, they seemed on edge. Their usual calm and composed demeanor was replaced by a tension that hung in the air. I noticed it the moment I stepped up to the dining room. The way their eyes darted around, how their fingers tapped nervously on the table, and their hushed whispers all indicated something was amiss. I tried to stay inconspicuous, blending into the background, but my curiosity got the better of me. Outside the dining room, I paused. Through the closed door, I heard them talking. Their voices were low. My heart raced as I leaned in, straining to catch every word. “We still have one last card,” Caden reassured Leila. “I don’t know why you think Iris will follow our plan; she is his mate!” Leila’s voice was sharp, betraying her frustration. So, Iris and Jasper aren’t following their plan after all. I felt a glimmer of hope. Iris must have convinced Jasper that peace was the only way. He would do any
(Iris)Holding the evidence of the crazy youth of our parents felt surreal. I sat in the dim light of the attic, surrounded by old, dusty boxes and forgotten memorabilia. In my hands, I held Elias’s mother’s detailed diary. The leather cover was worn, the pages yellowed with age, but the handwriting inside was clear and neat, chronicling a life I had only heard about. It seemed to pulse with a life of the past, every word a testament to a time I could scarcely imagine. How could it be that the people I knew as stern, responsible leaders were once so wild and carefree? My fingers traced the delicate script, and I felt a connection spanning decades, linking me to a younger version of our parents. Alice, Elias’s mother, had been sent to our pack as a girl when Lycans were first starting to encounter enemies they couldn’t handle alone. Her diary began with entries from those early days, capturing her initial fear and excitement. She wrote about the strangeness of leaving her home a
(Elias)So, that is how Iris saw me now. Her words echoed in my mind, haunting me. It hurt to hear that she thought I was no longer the person she fell in love with. Every moment we had shared, every promise we had made, seemed like a distant memory, tarnished by the present reality. Was she with Jasper now? Like properly? The thought clawed at my sanity. I could not let that happen. As I paced back and forth, my anger grew with each step. I summon the guards, my voice cold and unyielding. “Lock Iris up in her old room,” I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument. They nodded and quickly moved to carry out my command. When they brought her to me, she didn’t resist. She didn’t plead or cry. She looked at me with no emotion, just acceptance. Her calm demeanor only fueled my rage further. Did she no longer care? Was she so indifferent to our past, to what we once were? “Why, Iris?” I demanded, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and desperation. “Why him? Why Jasper?” She r