MasukMorganaBeing married to Dave felt like a dream come true. Our union was a no-brainer because it offered our families a chance to retain power within the strongest elite families of the Southern Werewolf Pack. I had spent my entire life training and preparing for the day I’d become his luna and queen, but that was taken away from me during the mating ceremony.When the Moon Goddess declared Ayla as his fated mate, I felt my spirit shatter beyond reason. Someone with no family in the pack and no ties to the elite families had been picked over me. Dave readily accepting her as his mate made things a lot worse, as it showed he was happy with the choice.I couldn’t sleep during their first night together. While they spent time together in Dave’s chambers, I felt like the walls were closing in on me, so I spent the next few hours planting seeds of discord.I spoke to my father and mother about how disrespectful it was that I had been tossed aside for a mere omega and recounted the experien
EmilyRagnar’s public declaration might have inspired unwavering respect for Ayla throughout the kingdom, but it really made me feel marginalized and taken for granted.I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something strange about her and her children, and it was infuriating that I couldn’t pinpoint what made me feel that way.When she walked through the gates for the first time, there was an aura around her that made my blood run cold while the hairs on my body stood on end.Since that day, I’ve watched her closely, thoroughly irritated by her ‘helpless little lady with no one to look out for her’ act.Her scent was strange. I’d never seen her shift into her wolf form, but I could tell there was absolutely nothing helpless about her, especially because of the way her eyes glistened whenever she talked about her children.I could see the fierceness she kept under wraps, and I was willing to do anything to see the person she was hiding beneath the façade.Lionel’s acceptance enra
RagnarAs the guards and I sped through the woods in our werewolf forms, I thought about my conversation with Emily. When I followed the Moon Goddess’s instructions to go into the woods to find Ayla and the kids, I hadn’t considered that her arrival would upset Emily this much.The sun had climbed into the sky, lighting our path and filling me with an unfamiliar warmth. My paws struck the earth as I ran, sending dust and snow scattering around us.I had expected some questions, but I wasn’t expecting anything like the exchange we had back at the palace, and I started thinking about how to resolve it.I had to find a way to make Ayla feel safe enough to integrate into Storm society while reassuring Emily that Ayla’s presence didn’t pose a threat.Neither of those tasks seemed to have a definitive solution, and that filled me with anxiety.Emily had never openly challenged my decisions, which meant this was a sensitive subject for her, and I couldn’t let Ayla walk straight into Dave’s o
Ayla“Mom! Mom! Mommy!”Snow’s excited voice pulled me out of sleep.I slowly sat up and looked around the room in confusion.She wrapped her fingers around my wrist and tried to get me to stand up.“Come, Mommy. Leo’s in the kitchen.”Her excitement made my drowsiness disappear as I rubbed my eyes and stood up.I picked her up and held her in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head on my shoulder.Relief washed over me as she hummed a tune from a lullaby I had taught them when we were in the sanctuary.The experiences of the last few hours came back in a rush, but the thought of my children being safe kept me sane as I walked slowly toward the kitchen and found Leo at the kitchen table talking to an older woman who chatted with him as she cooked.I leaned against the doorway and watched as he giggled whenever she exaggerated her actions, replying with animated expressions of his own.Snow wiggled out of my arms and ran to join him at the table.I watched
DaveMorgana entered the training grounds, and Sebastian left, muttering something about a few errands to run before joining the others.I couldn’t blame him. If I saw a woman in mourning black, carrying a blood-red box toward me across a misty training field, I’d want to make myself scarce, too.“I’ll make sure everything is going as planned,” he mumbled, lowering his gaze as he greeted her.“Morgana, I don’t have time for this,” I said as she got closer.She walked past me, placed the box on the ground, and turned. The veil she wore made it hard to see her face and read her expression, but there was something about her tone that made my blood run cold as she spoke.“Red is my family’s color. We have different heirlooms passed down throughout the generations, and I want you to have this one.”She lifted the box and opened it. Inside sat a quartz ring that glistened under the moonlight.I arched an eyebrow and picked it up.“It’s beautiful.”I studied the ring with an impressed look w
AylaI looked around, trying to steady my breathing as my heart pounded against my chest.“Where did she go?” I asked, confused. “Where are you?!”My voice echoed through the woods, and something screeched in the distance. I slapped my palm over my mouth when I remembered her warning about waking the torturers.I was already dealing with enough anxiety and emotions I could barely put labels to; the last thing I wanted was to make things worse by waking whoever could make this experience even worse than it already was.The sound of a wolf howling in the distance sent shivers through my body as I moved around the clearing with slow, steady steps, trying to see if she had walked down a different path. But my gaze fell to the spot where the lightning had struck.I stared in awe as smoke slowly wafted from it. The smell of burnt earth and ash filled the air.I sneezed, stepped back, and turned to stare at the wall behind me.My eyes widened in shock at the sight of an enormous wall of soli







