LOGINAmanda was changing. Her laughter, once quick and unguarded, had dulled into silence. Her eyes no longer sparked with defiance when Tessa sneered; they only hardened, walls building brick by brick. Instead of completely retreating into the shadows, Amanda trained harder. Cassian had started with simple sparring, teaching her stances and counters, but she pushed him for more. Where once she stumbled and giggled at her clumsiness while training, she now demanded another round, another drill, another bruising strike until her knuckles throbbed red."Again", she panted, fists up, sweat streaking down her temple.Cassian arched a brow, catching her next punch easily in his palm."Amanda, you’ve been at this for two hours. At this rate, you’re going to collapse", he told her, concern etched into his face."I said again", she repeated, her voice sharp enough to slice.For the first time, he didn’t joke back. He just let her punch, his chest tightening with something he couldn’t name.---Sta
Amanda woke to silence. The room was still, the pale gray light of dawn creeping across the curtains. For a moment, she didn’t move, her body heavy with warmth and the lingering memory of the night before. The ache of the bond still throbbed inside her, but softer now, soothed by the reckless, desperate closeness she had shared with Skylar. She reached for him, but her hand touched only cool sheets. Her eyes snapped open. The space beside her was empty, already long abandoned, but his scent still clung faintly to the air: pine and smoke, sharp with the edge of his wolf, but the man himself was gone. Amanda sat up slowly, her chest tightening with each passing heartbeat. She told herself he had just stepped out, that he would come back, but as the minutes stretched into an hour, reality carved itself sharp inside her. She defeatedly swung her feet over the edge of the bed and slowly began her day.When she finally saw him again, it was in the main hall. Skylar stood with Tessa, his exp
Skylar’s rage tasted like iron on his tongue. The next day’s training session should have been routine. The younger wolves sparred under the sharp eyes of their instructors, the sound of fists hitting pads and bodies hitting the mat echoing through the hall. But Skylar wasn’t really there, not fully because Amanda’s voice haunted him."I hate you."He’d heard insults before. He’d taken worse from enemies, rivals, even his father, but this… this was different. It burrowed under his skin, clawed at his chest, burned like fire in his veins. Because the bond screamed that it was a lie, that her words were a wall she built to protect herself from him. But what if it wasn’t? The thought drove him mad."Focus, Skylar!", the trainer barked as Skylar’s opponent lunged at him.Skylar moved on instinct, his wolf rising too fast, too vicious. He slammed his partner to the mat, pinning him with a snarl. His claws lengthened, his teeth sharpening as his wolf howled for release."Skylar, stop!", the
The ache came in waves. At first Amanda thought it was just her imagination, her nerves playing tricks after everything that had happened. But the longer it persisted, the harder it became to ignore. It started with jealousy. A sudden, sharp pang that wasn’t hers when Cassian had casually ruffled her hair during training. It jolted through her chest like fire, gone as quickly as it came, but it left her breathless and unsettled. Then came the anger, not hers either. A boiling rage that surged when she’d passed Skylar in the hallway at school and found Tessa clinging to his arm. She had felt his fury as though it were her own, even while his face remained carved from stone. And worst of all, desire. Flickers of it, raw and unbidden, burning under her skin in moments that had no reason to spark such heat. They weren’t her feelings, she knew it. She recognized them for what they were: his. The bond was bleeding through again. After the third night of restless sleep, Amanda broke down. Sh
The council chamber was heavy with tension. Dozens of Alphas sat around the long oak table, the air thick with the scents of dominance and unease. Maps were spread across the surface, pins marking borders and territories, crimson circles drawn where the rogue wolves had struck in recent months. Samuel stood at the head of the table, shoulders squared."These attacks by the rogue wolves are no longer isolated incidents. They are deliberate, coordinated", he said, his voice measured but firm. His finger tapped against one of the crimson circles."They test our borders, retreat when pressed, only to strike again where our patrols are weakest. That is not the work of scattered rogues."A low murmur rippled through the chamber. Alpha Dorian of the Frostfangs frowned."You’re suggesting they’re organized?", he asked."I’m saying, someone is guiding them", Samuel replied, his golden eyes sweeping the room.The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Then Samuel’s gaze landed, del
The quiet after the cafeteria standoff was almost worse than the noise. Amanda could still feel the weight of Skylar’s burning gaze on her as she pulled Cassian down the hallway, her hand clutching his sleeve tighter than she intended. Her heart was a wild drumbeat, her breath shallow. Only when they reached the empty stairwell at the far end of the school did she stop, spinning on him."What was that? Are you trying to make things worse?", she hissed, her voice sharp.Cassian leaned against the railing, arms folded, his grin infuriatingly relaxed."What was what? I was just standing in the cafeteria and Skylar happened to be there too", he shrugged."Don’t play with me", Amanda snapped."You were provoking him. Everyone saw it, you were practically begging for a fight."His eyes glinted. "And if I was?""Cassian!", she shoved a hand through her hair, frustration bubbling."You can’t do that. You can’t antagonize him. What if you piss him off? What will that mean for you? For your fat
The world didn’t just explode, it ignited the moment Amanda’s palm pressed against the rune stone, the glowing carvings burst into blinding light. The once faint gold turned molten silver, lines of fire racing through every rune until the entire stone blazed like a beacon against the twilight sky.
The dream returned again.It began the same way it always did: with silver fog curling around her bare feet, a forest bathed in moonlight and a whisper that wasn't a sound but a sensation crawling under her skin. Then she saw it, the wolf, massive, silver as starlight. Its fur shimmered like frost
Dinner at the Blackthorne estate was like a formal affair. The long mahogany table stretched down the center of the grand dining hall polished so clean it gleamed in the candlelight. The chandelier above flickered with golden fire and servants in muted tones moved like ghosts between courses. Amand
By the end of her third day at Moonridge High, Amanda knew exactly where she stood, beneath everyone. It didn't matter that her new stepfather was practically the richest man in Moonridge. It didn't matter that she wore the same uniform or walked the same polished halls, she sat alone at lunch, eve







