ust into, where every sound sent a shiver dow

nothing, a mere test of the strength granted by Selene. Bu

er? Or the lurking rogues, eager to leave nothing bu

be standing here. Yet, his act of bravery had earne

beg her mind to erase that memory, to silen

with Otto, ask him to r

om the Beta. When none came, she stepped out of her tattered room,

re the inevitable. The journey would

ed her, a harsh reminder that it had

ill made her way to the kitchen, clinging to a fragile hope that

ace. Dirty dishes and utensils lay scattered across the f

thy of cleaning up such filth. And in th

the silence, more insistent this time. Hunger didn't care for d

y, forcing the food down in hurried bites. But just as she was about to swallow

lance, and she crashed to the floo

ed her gaze upward-straight in

r lowl

halia's eyes. Only hatred,

ou permissi

uelty was allowed to happen. Wasn't she supposed to protec

ed, her voice thick with unshed tears,

e scattered dishes before c

ogs eat

a, sending her sprawling deeper into t

torming out, leaving Alora

now, soaking into t

called home-a home that should have shielded her, protected her. Instea

brought her into this

ey had fou

ng in filth, punished for eat

the trash? Alpha Fl

ed with pride. Her siblings thrived under the honor of their lineage, receiving the respect due

her misery grew, she clung to one hope, her wolf. Only

ched her chest. Swallowing her despair, she forced herself to the sink, scrubbing dishes late into the night, he

reached under the bed for a hidden bucket of water, slipping out to a secluded corner beside her r

collapsed onto her bed, exh

fine it for deeper emotional impact, fluidity

VILLE

cloaking the land in darkness, an omen of misfortune for their kind. No wolves pro

e loomed, thick and oppressive, sinking d

n draped in regal garments, his mother. Shadows obscured her face, but s

joy against the merciless fate that bound them. But when the curse claimed his fath

then cast him into a pit of sorrow, where grief greeted him daily, grief from fallen wolve

Broln," his mother finally spo

" He did not turn to her. His

. They say she's Denovan's d

nd deliberate, resting a g

rt. And for a fleeting moment,

me you took

u

t little peace he held. His

he words left his mouth like venom, his

s. No. Maybe. A half-

rse. The weakest breed of their kin

lp you run the

airs? His mother had q

om his chest as he turned to fac

he bodies after every rogue attack? Hiding from enemies because we

oon's glow. But Riverville? A ghost of its former self. A lifeless place where wolves hun

ge swelling with every thought of their mis

this l

pted from him, a violent storm ready

er than to push further. Without a

to the empty sky, his expressio

ttered, before trudging to his be