Se connecter“It could be something much larger.” The Alpha King’s brows drew together at this. Victoria noticed this and immediately clarified. “What I’m saying is…” “We still don’t know what’s actually happening inside the Red Moon Pack.” “These attacks may only be one piece of a larger conflict.” She continued. “Over the past few years, the Red Moon Pack has expanded its influence through exclusive trade agreements with several neutral packs.” “Those trade routes generate wealth.” “They also create enemies.” She glanced briefly toward the ministers responsible for commerce. “It’s entirely possible another pack has begun coveting those routes.” “If open conflict would draw the attention of the Royal Capital…” “Then disguising their actions as rogue attacks becomes the safer choice.” Several officials exchanged thoughtful glances. Victoria continued before anyone interrupted. “The increasing frequency of the attacks suggests growing urgency.” “Perhaps whoever is
“It could be something much larger.”The Alpha King’s brows drew together at this. Victoria noticed this and immediately clarified. “What I’m saying is…” “We still don’t know what’s actually happening inside the Red Moon Pack.” “These attacks may only be one piece of a larger conflict.” She continued. “Over the past few years, the Red Moon Pack has expanded its influence through exclusive trade agreements with several neutral packs.” “Those trade routes generate wealth.” “They also create enemies.” She glanced briefly toward the ministers responsible for commerce. “It’s entirely possible another pack has begun coveting those routes.” “If open conflict would draw the attention of the Royal Capital…” “Then disguising their actions as rogue attacks becomes the safer choice.” Several officials exchanged thoughtful glances. Victoria continued before anyone interrupted. “The increasing frequency of the attacks suggests growing urgency.” “Perhaps whoever is be
Maybe the objective was to force the kingdom to look everywhere at once until it became incapable of seeing anything clearly. Victoria’s thoughts shifted toward the west. That situation troubled her almost as much as the drought. The locusts hadn’t appeared gradually. There had been no warning. No signs. No smaller swarms that might have alerted nearby settlements. One day the fields stood healthy beneath the sun. The next… Dark clouds of insects descended from the sky and stripped entire farms bare. It was as though they had appeared out of nowhere. The timing couldn’t have been worse. This year’s harvest had promised to be one of the best in decades. The royal treasury had already begun planning how surplus grain from the western territories would be redirected to support the drought-stricken south until rainfall returned. That strategy should have bought the kingdom enough time to survive. Instead… The west itself had become another battlefield.Agricultural scholar
“Your Majesty.” Victoria stepped forward just enough to speak without raising her voice. “There are several inconsistencies in this report.” The court fell silent. Although she wore the uniform of an ordinary assistant, there was a quiet confidence in the way she carried herself. She didn’t sound like someone offering a guess. She sounded like someone laying out pieces of a puzzle. “We still don’t know why the rogues keep targeting the Red Moon Pack.” She paused briefly. “But I don’t believe these attacks are as simple as hunger or shifting hunting grounds because of food shortages.” Her eyes lowered to the report resting in the secretary’s hands. “The pattern doesn’t support that conclusion.” She continued calmly. “Likewise, our scouts haven’t reported any unusual military activity from the Vampire Domain since their forces withdrew from the border. Their movements have remained consistent for months.” “That doesn’t completely rule them out.” “But at this point, we don’t
Several months earlier, three southern packs had simultaneously reported an unusually severe drought.When investigators arrived, they discovered that the region’s largest freshwater lake had nearly disappeared.The surrounding land hadn’t received meaningful rainfall for almost eight months.Livestock were dying.Fields were withering.Harvests were collapsing.Without immediate intervention, several territories would have struggled to survive the coming winter.The report reached the Alpha King almost immediately.He authorized an emergency deployment of royal mages to create artificial rainfall across the affected region.The operation succeeded.But it demanded an enormous amount of magical resources, manpower, and money.Before the kingdom could fully recover from that crisis, another emerged.A massive locust swarm devastated the western territories.Soon afterward, a plague began spreading through several northern settlements.One disaster followed another without pause.The Do
Carlisle fell quiet for a moment before speaking again.“The biggest obstacle is finding them.”His voice had lost some of its edge, replaced by the calm focus of someone sorting through every option still available.“The good witches have spent centuries hiding themselves from the world. Most people never meet one in their entire lifetime. They avoid kingdoms, avoid politics, and certainly avoid werewolves whenever they can.”He glanced down at the blood-stained earring still resting in his palm.“But if anyone outside the Mage Tower understands curses and artifacts like these, it would be them.”His fingers slowly closed around the earring before slipping it into a small leather pouch.“And if reaching the Sacred Land is beyond our reach…”He looked ahead, already thinking several steps ahead.“…perhaps we should consider the mermaids.”Sylas raised an eyebrow.“The mermaids?”Carlisle nodded.“They’ve existed just as long as the other ancient races. Their archives are older than mo
Victoria’s POVI felt like I was losing my mind in the middle of Carlisle’s constant shifts between warmth and cold distance. One moment he was distant and unreadable, and the next he was right here, overwhelming me completely. My heart struggled to keep up with him, with the way he pulled me in on
Victoria's POV Raquel didn't need to complete her statement. The unspoken words hung in the air, allowing everyone to fill in the blanks with their own assumptions. Speculation spread like wildfire through the hall. What Raquel truly wanted was for everyone to believe that, as Carlisle’s curren
Tori’s POV As instructed, I put on something nice, a dress I had been holding onto, hoping for the day I could wear it in front of Alpha Carlisle, sharing a quiet dinner together. I never imagined that day would come so soon. After washing up and dressing, I applied light makeup to conceal the exh
Tori’s POV The next day, the sun glaringly pierced through the curtains. I couldn't remember when I had fallen asleep the night before, but as far as I recalled, I dozed off in the woods after crying the entire night. But now... I looked around and saw that I was back in the Alpha suite. I was







