Third Person’s POV


    s


    As his words fell. Ss’s lips descended on Freya’s, a kiss that burned with a desperation only an Alpha could wield. It was as if he wanted to pour every ounce of his devotion into her, branding her with the truth of his vow.


    The next morning, Caelum awoke with a pounding headache, the kind that wed behind his eyes like talons. His mind was foggy, fragments of the night before blurred into nothing but the bitter aftertaste of alcohol.


    “What happenedst night?” he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. He could barely recall lifting his ss, let alone what followed.


    “You’re awake,” Aurora’s soft voice came from beside the bed. She stood there, the Bluemoon Pack’s Beta’s daughter,posed yet faintly flushed. “You drank too much. It took everything I had <i>to </i>drag you to bed.”


    “Is that so?” Caelum frowned, rubbing his temple. He remembered drinking, but the rest was a haze- swallowed whole by the dark.


    “When did your tolerance slip so low?” Aurora teased lightly, though her eyes glimmered with something unreadable. “I don’t recall you being this easy to topple before.”


    “Maybe…st night was simply too joyful,” Caelum answered tly. “I lowered my guard, let the drink take me.”


    Aurora tilted her head. “Then you should guard yourself better. Today–do you have time? I’d like you toe with me to the hospital.”


    The Alpha of Silverfang stiffened slightly. “Are you unwell?” His tone carried an edge of concern, though suspicion lingered beneath.


    Aurora’s lips curved faintly. “No. It’s nothing serious. Just a small check–up.”


    Caelum nodded, though unease slithered at the edges of his mind. Why would she smile so brightly if she were truly sick? Why did her words feel rehearsed?


    At the hospital, Aurora signed her name for an appointment in the women’s ward. When her number was called, she nced back at Caelum with a serene expression. “Wait for me here.”


    He gave a curt nod, his Alpha instinct urging him to follow, yet restrained by herposure. Something


    felt off.


    Aurora disappeared behind the door, returning minutester before heading for a blood test. Caelum’s sharp eyes caught the flicker of satisfaction that crossed her face, subtle, but unmistakable. His frown deepened.


    Meanwhile, Freya sat at herputer, her jaw tight as she worked through corrupted footage. <b>Her </b>fingers flew across the keys, the wolf within her urging patience as she reconstructed the fractured video frame by frame. Slowly, the murky shadows gave way to rity.


    |||


    <b>173 </b>


    09:24 <b>Wed</b><b>, </b><b>17 </b><b>Sept </b>C


    7%


    <b>+5 </b>Free Coins


    Her pulse quickened when a figure emerged on the screen–a woman’s silhouette. The grainy image revealed little more than the curve of her face, the tilt of her jaw, but it was enough.


    The woman lit a cigarette, the ember ring briefly before fading into the dark.


    Freya’s eyes widened, her pupils narrowing sharply. She leaned closer, heart pounding. She knew that profile. Knew it in her bones.


    Aurora.


    Even blurred, even half–hidden by shadow, it was her.


    The footage continued. Another figure approached–a man. From the broad frame and uniformed outline, Freya recognized him as the co–pilot whoter perished in the mes. Aurora moved, a small flick of her hand, tossing something unseen.


    The screen captured a spark, a sudden re of fire, before the drone’s camera drifted away, leaving only fragments of the tragedy behind.


    Freya’s body trembled with restrained fury. Her gaze locked on the frame, on the careless motion of Aurora discarding the cigarette, and her vision blurred with unshed tears.


    If Aurora had not cast away that ember… there would have been no fire. No inferno to consume so many lives. No chaos to swallow her brother whole.


    Eric


    Her hands clenched into fists so tightly that the sound of her knuckles cracking echoed in the quiet room. She had endured lies, endured betrayal, endured watching Caelum im another under the guise of “gratitude.” But this… this was different.


    Aurora had not only stolen her ce as Caelum’s so–called savior–she had stolen her brother.


    Freya’s wolf stirred, a low growl rumbling deep in her chest, vibrating with the need for vengeance. Her amber eyes burned as she seized her WolfComm and dialed Ss Whitmor’s number.


    He answered quickly, his voice steady,manding, the Irond Coalition Alpha always attuned to her calls. “Freya? What’s wrong? Your voice-”


    “Ss,” she hissed, her words sharp as fangs. “I need you to track Aurora. Find out where she is, right now<b>.</b><b>” </b>


    “Of course,” Ss replied instantly, though concern edged his tone. “But Freya, your voice sounds strained. Are you-”


    “It’s not my body,” she snapped, hey breath shaking. “It’s the truth. I know who caused the border fire. I know who destroyed everything”


    Silence fell for half a heartbeat before Ss’s voice darkened. “Aurora”


    “Yes!” Freya’s voice cracked with fury. “If not for her, that ze never would have started. If not for her, Eric wouldn’t be missing, wouldn’t have vanished into smoke and ash. If my brother-” She bit <b>back </b>a <b>sob</b>, her throat tight with grief and rage. “…If my brother is gone because of her, I will not <b>rest </b>until she <b>pays</b><b>. </b>I will drag her into the mes she lit and make her choke on the ashes.”


    <b>2/3 </b>


    09:24 Wed, 17 Sept W


    ? ?? 7<b>% </b>


    s


    Ss’s growl resonated through the line. “Then we will make her pay. Whatever it takes, I will stand beside you. Wait for my word.”


    The call ended, leaving the room in silence but for the sound of Freya’s heavy breathing.


    Her gaze returned to the screen, to the frozen frame of Aurora tossing away her cigarette. Her vision blurred with fury as tears burned her eyes, and her heart clenched with grief <b>so </b>sharp it felt like ws piercing her chest.


    She had never hated anyone like this. Not when Aurora stole her title as Caelum’s “savior.” Not even when Caelum chose another over her. Those had been wounds of betrayal, of broken trust.


    But this… this was different.


    This was blood.


    And blood demanded blood.


    Freya’s wolf surged, pacing inside her chest, snarling for justice. Her fists trembled as she whispered to the empty room, her voice raw and venomous:


    “Aurora… you will pay for what you’ve done. With your life, with your pack’s honor, with every drop of blood you thought you could spill without consequence.”


    The screen flickered, the image frozen on Aurora’s shadowed face, the ember of her cigarette ring before the fire consumed it all.


    Freya’s eyes gleamed with tears and rage. The time for patience was over. The hunt had begun.


    J