Page 39

H azel

The scent of blood still lingers in the air three days after, thick and metallic. I’m outside for the first time in days as I watch the battlefield breathing in uneasy silence.

The bodies are being cleared, the wounded are being tended to in the healer’s tents, but the weight of war is still fresh, pressing heavy on my shoulders. Victory doesn’t feel like triumph—not when Eldon escaped.

He will return one way or another.

I know it.

And this time, he will come back with more numbers, more savagery. We have to get back to the drawing board.

Thinking of that, Kieran fills my mind. The moment we had on that same table in the war room. And his fury and ruthlessness on the battlefield. The way he always had his eyes on the kill. It sends blood rushing between my legs.

One of the healer’s apprentices changes my wound dressing. Ayana is right next to me, also being tended to. I grit my teeth every time I have to watch Ayana’s wound be dressed. Getting tended to outside is different. It feels like I’m some green goddess recuperating after done Olympian war.

And again, I curse this seal. It’s the reason my wolf is not healing me properly.

I glance across the field and spot my Adonis of a Mate. He’s shirtless, glistening in the warm sun, his hair grown out, done strands falling over his eyes. I can’t tear my eyes away. He’s irresistible in all the best ways. And he’s mine.

“Girl. You are drooling a river.” Ayana snaps me out of my fantasy and I shut my mouth.

“I don’t blame you, though.” Her eyes following the direction I was staring in.

Kieran takes a shirt from one of the young trainees.

We watch him answer a question. He ruffles the pup’s hair before pulling the shirt over him.

I bite my lip, missing every contour of his body as it disappears behind the black T-shirt.

“Yeah,” I swoon. He’s my Mate. My wolf tips in pride.

“So…you guys okay now?” Ayana nudges my shoulder.

“Yeah…our relationship has been neutral, if anything. He’s been stuck to me like glue because that is the only way to strengthen my wolf. I wonder if it’s working. With our bond strained, our relationship still an ember in the works, I wonder if my wolf is still able to draw strength from him.”

“Hazel, with the way you’re looking, I’d say it’s working. And there’s nothing neutral about your relationship. You look like you want to eat each other up.”

We laugh at that and she lays her hand on my thigh. “Look, he’s coming over.”

Kieran is jogging over to me. A smile breaks out on his face when he reaches me. My chest skips several beats at the absolute beauty that he is. The sun is right behind him, casting a halo around him, like I need a reminder that he’s the light of my life.

“You doing okay, baby girl?” he asks, squatting to my level. My face heats up. I could get used to this, but it’s still so new, and I can’t hide how shy he makes me.

“Alright, I'll give y’all some time,” Ayana giggles as she stands to leave.

But we all stop in our tracks when we catch the smell .

Nightclaw.

My head snaps up just as my guards open the gates to reveal the two figures walking into the Moonfang estate.

Magnus and Elara Callister.

My parents.

Most likely sent by Alpha Jag.

The entire front yard goes tense. Conversations cease. Eyes dart toward them, filled with suspicion, wariness.

I straighten, my expression hardening, and take a step forward, the warriors moving to flank us instinctively. Kieran raises a hand to stop them.

Magnus surveys the aftermath of the battle with a calculating eye. His broad shoulders are set, his expression unreadable, but there’s something assessing in his gaze as he looks at the Moonfang warriors.

His eyes don’t miss a detail, just like always. So I know he’s sizing us up. He’s making sure of our strength.

Elara, however, isn’t looking at them.

She’s looking at me, her worry is so visible in the lines around her eyes, and those creasing her forehead.

What do they want with me? My wolf growls, protective of me, ready to spill blood to make sure Magnus doesn’t hurt me again.

My body is rigid, my wolf still like carved stone, on alert, ready to lend me as much strength as she can. But I can feel the storm raging inside me nonetheless. I haven’t seen them in over two years.

“Callister,” Kieran says evenly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Magnus’s gaze snaps to his. “I wasn’t expecting to come.” His voice is deep, calm, but there’s a worry to it. “But circumstances have changed.”

I narrow my eyes and add. “Is that so?”

His jaw clenches as he looks at me. He doesn’t say anything to me, but he continues talking to Kieran.

“Eldon’s forces will come again. And not just for you.

” He steps forward, eyes sharp. “He’s expanding his reach.

I have intel that suggests he’s already sending scouts toward the Nightclaw borders. ”

I don’t react outwardly, but my mind moves fast. I can tell right off that there are details he is choosing not to disclose.

Eldon’s rogues were never just about Moonfang.

This was about power. About dominance.

And if he was targeting Nightclaw now…

Our silence must give something away because Magnus presses on. “We can’t hold them off alone,” he states plainly, aware that we know the implications of the picture he has laid out for us. “Not without an alliance.”

The tension in the air thickens instantly. Kieran looks at me like he’s waiting for my reaction. Like he’s giving me the floor to respond.

I let out a sharp breath. “You want Nightclaw to fight alongside Moonfang?”

Magnus’s gaze flicks to me with no warmth at all.

“That’s the only way we survive.”

I hate that I know he’s right.

But that doesn’t mean I trust him.

Kieran speaks up now, picking up on my disdain for him. Even my wolf’s hackles are raised. “You expect me to believe that after all this time—after everything you’ve done to her—you suddenly care about an alliance?”

His gaze hardens. “I expect you to understand that if we don’t fight together, we all die.”

I clench my jaw, my wolf growling in warning.

I don’t trust him.

I don’t trust Nightclaw.

And I sure as hell don’t trust any deal that suddenly puts them at our borders.

My voice cuts through the silence. “I have nothing to say to you.” Because even in this situation, he is still stubborn in his pride.

Magnus looks at me. Really looks at me. And for the first time since his arrival, something flickers in his gaze—something almost like regret.

It doesn’t last.

“You may not,” he admits. “But your mother does. ”

Elara finally speaks, her voice soft but firm. “Hazel, I need to speak with you…” she looks at everyone within earshot then adds, “alone.”

I turn to Kieran and Ayana.

I don’t respond right away. There’s something worrying in Elara’s gaze, something that makes my wolf stir.

Then I say, “My Alpha mate will be present.”

It feels good to finally say that to Magnus’ face. To throw the shame he made me swallow back at him.

A hush falls over the courtyard.

The warriors freeze.

Even Magnus’ eyes widen slightly.

Elara studies me, her green eyes sharp—a different color than mine. Then, slowly, she nods.

“As you wish.”

Kieran gestures for us to follow, leading us inside while the warriors remain tense and alert with Magnus outside.

The moment the doors close behind us, I feel the weight of the conversation settle over my shoulders.

Elara stands before me, her expression tight with exhaustion, but her green eyes hold not just desperation, but likely relief.

She reaches for my hand and I run to her arms.

“Mom,” I whine into her shoulder. “I’ve missed you, Mom,” I cry.

“My Hazel. I should have come sooner,” she says softly.

I would never forget how she tried to speak for me when I was being punished before the entire pack. The last time I saw her was when I told her I was leaving the pack for Broadstone. I would never know the things she suffered after I left.

“I fight every day for you, my baby. I tried to get them to reverse their decision. I tried. I tried…”

“Shh, I know, Mommy. I know. It’s okay. I’m okay.”

She pulls back and gives me a once-over, smoothing her hands down my arms. I wince at the pain and her eyes water.

“I’ve heard the stories. They said you were a force. You lead your own troop?”

I nod, pride overflowing with my tears. “I was great on the battlefield, Mom. They respect me now. It’s …” I turn to look at Kieran. “It’s been the worst without you, Mom. But it’s getting better.”

She looks at Kieran too and turns back to her, her lips quivering. No words come. She only manages a nod.

She steps closer, gently cupping my face like she used to. “I know you're angry. I know you have every reason to hate what happened…and your father. But right now, I need you to listen to me.”

Her hands tremble slightly, but her voice is steady.

“If we don’t stand together, we will fall. Eldon isn’t just coming for Moonfang—he’s coming for all of us. And if we don’t stop him, he’ll use the Nightclaw warriors he takes to come back for Moonfang.”

I close my eyes briefly, swallowing against the knot in my throat.

I exhale slowly.

Before I speak, Kieran holds my shoulder.

“What is your Mate hiding from us?” he asks.

I’m about to curse at him for interrupting, but I see my mother’s face change. And then the ghost of a smile teases her lips before she speaks.

“Nightclaw is without an Alpha. Jag is dead, killed in the attack by Eldon's men. We seek an alliance. We request to annex with Moonfang.” So that is the real reason they are here.

That means Nightclaw is exposed like a headless animal, without the power of an Alpha, they will fall to any attack. Joining Moonfang as part of the pack automatically gives them safety from the rogues.

Kieran nods and steps back. “I’ll consider it if my Luna wills.”

I nod without hesitation. Eldon must go down.

Her breath shudders, relief flickering across her face.

My mom nods, squeezing my hands on hers.

“That’s all I ask.”