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EVE

T he smell of roasted meat and a bonfire greeted me before I even reached the Moonstone Plateau. The sounds of laughter and clinking mugs echoed through the crisp evening air, so different from the somber, tense gatherings I’d grown used to among the Heraclids.

Here, the energy was lighter, warmer, alive with a sense of belonging.

Still, I hesitated at the edge of the clearing, pulling my cloak tighter around me. My footsteps faltered as I took in the sight: dozens of shifters mingling in easy fellowship, plates piled high with food, children darting between the legs of adults who didn’t mind their antics. The bonfire crackled at the center, casting golden light on faces lit with genuine smiles.

This was nothing like the Heraclids. Their feasts were cold affairs, more about posturing than connection. I felt like an alien here, unsure of how to step into the orbit of something so …

Pure.

Logan appeared at my side. A wash of calm came over me at the sight of him. Which was kind of ironic, considering how he put me on display in the kitchen. As if I’d ever cut an animal in my life.

“Tonight is to welcome you,” he said, quiet enough that only I could hear.

I swallowed hard and forced a smile. “A feast in my honor? That’s a first.”

“You’re not a prisoner here, Eve,” he said, his tone firm but not unkind, “even if your place here remains a question. Enjoy it.”

Enjoy it. Right.

As I followed him into the crowd, heads turned. Curious eyes swept over me, some kind, some guarded. I caught snippets of conversation: whispered words, soft laughs, murmurs that stopped as I passed. My skin prickled under the weight of their attention.

This felt an awful lot like the gathering for visions on Heraclid lands, except I sensed no bitterness or menace. And no one was blowing in my face.

Logan walked with purpose, nodding and clasping hands with his packmates, exuding the calm authority of a leader among family. The pack bond between them pulsed in the air.

We stopped near the fire, where a group had gathered to greet me. One by one, they approached Logan, exchanging formal handshakes and beating each other’s chests, their faces lighting up with smiles. It was simple, familiar, yet filled with meaning.

The shared heart of Orion.

A young woman with chestnut hair stepped forward, her eyes warm as she repeated the gesture with me. Her grip was firm but not forceful, and when her hands brushed mine, a fleeting thought went through my mind. I suddenly realized it wasn’t my thought.

It was hers. She’s stronger than she looks. Brave, too .

My breath caught. How am I hearing this?

I shouldn’t have been able to. I wasn’t in their pack, and moreover, she was talking about me, not to me.

As another shifter greeted me—a man with sharp eyes and a stiff posture—something darker seeped into my awareness. She’s a two-faced betraying piece of shit. A Heraclid in our lands? Logan’s out of his mind.

The words hit like a blow and I pulled my hands back too quickly, earning a raised brow from the man before he turned away.

I tried to keep my expression neutral, but my insides churned. Was this pack always this open with their thoughts during their greetings, or was this something new?

Something to do with me?

“You okay?” Logan’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

I forced another smile. “Fine.”

His eyes stayed on mine for a beat too long, as if he didn’t believe me. Then he nodded. “Stay close.”

The pack greetings continued, more faces and names blending together. I caught glimpses of their thoughts like whispers through the pack bond. I tried to focus on the good, the glimmers of kindness that shone through the cracks of my own self-doubt.

This pack was different. They laughed together, teased one another, looked out for each other in a way I’d never seen before.

I caught myself wondering what it would be like to be one of them.

Logan stepped forward, the firelight casting his broad shoulders in sharp relief. He raised a hand and the noise of the gathering quieted immediately.

“Orion,” he said, taking on the role of commanding alpha. “Tonight, we welcome someone unique to our lands. You’ve heard the whispers. You’ve seen her.” He turned his head toward me, and the weight of expectation settled over me like a blanket. “Eve comes from the Heraclid pack, but her being here isn’t about our past grievances. It’s about our future.”

His words echoed. No one dared to speak, not even a whisper. Ever so slowly, I felt something that didn’t belong to me moving through my consciousness, a vibration threading through my very being. It wasn’t audible, but it was real.

The pack bond.

I heard him through it, his communication with them suddenly including me too. Thoughts and emotions swirled faintly at the edges of my awareness, and I couldn’t tune it out.

Trust me. Let her prove herself.

The pack bond whispered his thoughts, causing ripples among the wolves around me. Some were hesitant, their wariness tangible. Others radiated a cautious acceptance, their trust in Logan outweighing their doubts about me.

His voice broke through the bond, clear and resolute, but this time it wasn’t directed at his pack .

They need to hear from her.

The thought hit like a thunderclap in my mind. The words were reverberating as if they’d been spoken aloud. How could I hear him so clearly?

Logan’s focus didn’t waver. He was reading his pack, sensing their unease, their uncertainty, and the threads of curiosity tangled between. He sifted through it, like a leader sorting through the pieces of a puzzle, finding ways to knit them back together.

She’s an outsider, but she’s here for a reason. They need to believe it. She needs to believe it.

My stomach clenched at the weight of his thoughts.

He turned his head. “Eve, will you address Orion?”

Please speak well. Please let them see what I think I see. His thoughts weren’t intended for me, and yet there we were. I was tapped into him. And he needed this from me.

It was a small price to pay for all he’d done so far.

But what was I supposed to say? There was no vision, no prophecy. I wasn’t delivering a message from some distant force—I was delivering myself.

I cleared my throat and stepped forward while a voice in my head screamed at me to run instead. I gripped the edge of my tunic as I forced myself to speak.

“I have only just arrived,” I began. “Already, what I’ve seen has opened my eyes in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”

The words sounded hollow even to my own ears. I swallowed hard, trying to gather my thoughts as the heat from the fire pressed closer.

“I’ve never felt anything like this. The natural way you connect to each other. ”

Some of the wolves tilted their heads, their expressions softening slightly. Encouraged, I pressed on.

“Here, you’re more than individuals gathered into a pack. I feel it amongst you.”

The tension eased, replaced by a wave of curiosity rippling through the bond. I caught hints of their emotions—surprise, pride, even skepticism—but no longer any simmering anger. My words were landing well and they could hear the truth in them. That gave me the courage to go on.

“You don’t just live together, you build each other up. The way you support one another, the way you’ve welcomed me despite your reluctance… It’s?—”

I stopped, suddenly self-conscious. I wasn’t used to saying these kinds of things, wasn’t sure if it was enough or too much.

“It’s something else.”

A blush rose to my cheeks.

I glanced at Logan, whose gaze was intense. I felt his approval, a quiet strength filtering through the bond.

“I don’t know what my place is here yet, or if there even is one,” I admitted. “I can see why you fight so fiercely for this pack. Why it’s worth protecting. In Heraclid lands…” I hesitated, searching for words that suited the moment. “Everything was about power, about who could rise above the others.”

The reaction at the name Heraclid was immediate. A ripple of unease spread through the crowd, bristling along the edges of the bond. I felt it in the air, sharp and prickling. My heart raced as I realized I’d hit a nerve.

They waited for me to go on .

“It’s not like this,” I stammered, my palms growing clammy. “It’s a massive pack. Thousands across the pack lands and more who are based in human cities. It’s an entire operation, ruling with fear. There isn’t connection like what you have here. That’s the beauty of being in a smaller pack. It’s easier to…” I faltered, searching for the right words. “It’s simpler this way, staying a small and close pack. And that is worth cherishing.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake.

A wave of anger crashed through the bond, slamming into me with the force of a physical blow. Wolves shifted in their positions, their postures stiffening. The warmth I’d felt earlier evaporated, replaced by a cold, simmering hostility.

I staggered back, and Logan was at my side in an instant, his hand gripping my arm. “You don’t know what you’re saying,” he hissed.

“I didn’t mean to—” I started, my words tumbling out in a rush.

“Not only did you imply we’re lesser, but you suggested we should stay this way. Weakened. Reduced. Separated from our birthright.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I protested, though my confidence wavered. “I just meant?—”

“Stop,” he said, his grip tightening slightly.

Behind him, a few male shifters stepped closer. I recognized the move as one the enforcers did to support their alpha.

“She shouldn’t be here,” one muttered, loud enough for me to hear. “We can escort her to the borders on your command, Alpha. ”

“Hold up,” another shifter said. “Logan brought her for a reason, and he hasn’t had a chance to tell us what it is. You should all trust my brother, and listen to him.” He crossed his arms.

This man was Logan’s brother? He hadn’t introduced himself to me during the pack greetings, but I’d overheard someone call him Rhys around the bonfire.

Cracks were forming in the pack’s unity in how they felt about me. I’d been here for all of five minutes, and I was already breaking what Logan had built.

Logan turned, his voice rising above the murmurs.

“Sit down, everyone,” he instructed, the alpha authority in his tone brooking no argument. The enforcers hesitated but obeyed. They didn’t take their eyes off me.

Logan turned back to me, his expression unreadable as he addressed me in a way that was clearly meant to send a message to his pack.

“There is much you don’t know about Orion yet, Eve. This pack…”

He paused, taking a deep breath before his declaration filled the sky.

“This pack,” he said, turning to face the crowd of gathered wolves fully, “is more than what you see here. We are more than hunters and caretakers, more than stories whispered about the Orion of old.”

The pack leaned forward, the simmering hostility redirected into rapt attention. The air grew charged, electric with the anticipation of his words.

“Our bloodline carries the legacy of strength, of leadership. Once, the Orion pack stood among the greatest. We didn’t just protect our lands—we set the example for what a pack could be. Others looked to us for guidance, for wisdom, for hope.”

I watched him, caught between awe and an ache in my chest as his passion poured out, filling every corner, reaching every soul. The bond hummed, his connection to them palpable.

“That legacy was fractured. Torn from us.” He paused, his eyes darkening. “And while some would say it’s too late, that Orion will never rise again, I say they are wrong .”

A rumble moved through the crowd, low and growling. He stepped closer to the crowd, commanding. “This is not the end. It is a new beginning. A new birth. I will raise this pack from the ashes. I know many of you believe them dead, but I will find my brothers, and together we will lead Orion to the place it was always meant to be .”

The bond surged, a roaring tide of energy that nearly knocked the breath from me.

Logan raised his hand, and silence fell, as though the entire pack were holding their breath. “We will reclaim our power, rebuild what was stolen from us.” The fierceness in him made me quake. I had never heard or seen him like this. “We will stand among the Shadow Moon packs as leaders again. Not because of what we once were, but because of who we’ve become.”

The plateau erupted into noise—cheers, shouts, a cacophony of celebration. Wolves clasped each other’s shoulders, their bond alight with a shared purpose so powerful it seemed to thrum in the very mountains around us.

I watched it… but I felt none of it.

Their bond pulsed with pride and joy. It was a wall I couldn’t penetrate, a language I didn’t speak. Some wolves shifted, filled with the spirit of Logan’s call, running around the surrounding rocks, nipping and howling with reckless abandon.

Logan led me to the side of the plateau. “I’m not angry,” he said. “My pack needs me now. You’ll understand if I keep my distance for a bit.”

I nodded, hands trembling at my sides as I took a small step back. Whatever hope I’d had of finding my place here felt like it was slipping through my fingers, and I had no idea how to get it back.

I wasn’t sure I could.

Worse—I didn’t know if they would let me live once they knew the vision I had seen.

The death of Orion.