After he left, she hired a lone tracker from the border packs. Watching the figures moving outside the carved stone window, she spoke in a calm tone, “Keep an eye on him.”
On the first day, she received an update about Drake’s whereabouts. He had gone to her mother’s trading hall, picked up Liora and then the two went to a mountain guest-den, not returning to the main den until late at night.
The following updates were a series of intimate and suggestive illusion-visions captured in spirit crystals. She stared silently at the stuffed pelt-creatures in the room. With a steady hand, she cleared them all out and cast them into the hearth-fire.
The next day, she learned that her brother had known all along about Drake’s affair with Liora behind her back and that he had even gone across the distant seas to buy a moonstone necklace for Liora.
She read the raven-carried message without a flicker of emotion on her face. She began to pack up everything in her mother's den and erased all traces of herself, even cutting herself out of the woven family tapestry and replacing it with Liora.
On the third day, she sold all the clothes in the three large travelling chests. When Drake and Evan walked through the door of the great hall, they froze upon seeing the packed gear.
Drake's right eyelid twitched involuntarily, a wave of frustration rising in him, as if something was slipping out of his control.
He strode toward Narissa, his eyes fixed on her with a look of unease. “Narissa, what are you doing?” His tone was tight with tension.
Evan glanced around and when he noticed many of the cloaks and robes were gifts he had personally given her, his brow furrowed in surprise. He looked at Narissa, waiting for an explanation.
Narissa felt their probing gazes on her, her heart tightening involuntarily. She maintained a calm demeanor, her expression giving nothing away. “We're about to get engaged, so I thought I'd start packing.”
The two of them relaxed, not giving it much thought. Evan casually took out a carved wooden gift box, revealing a moon-pendant inside. “This is the one I got for you from distant lands beyond the Silver Mountains.”
Narissa glanced at it for a few seconds, recognizing it as the same pendant he had given to Liora. Her tone was distant, “Thank you.”
Evan frowned at her cold response. In the past, Narissa had always been thrilled to receive gifts from him. She would always smile brightly when he brought something back.
He suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he’d seen her smile.
Drake, noticing her lack of enthusiasm, raised an eyebrow and took out a bright red engagement robe. “I know you don’t want to go out, so I thought I’d pick this one out for you.”
Narissa stared at the robe for a few moments. She had seen this robe in a painted likeness before, on Liora.
Narissa had always preferred softer, lighter colors. Only Liora would like such a bright color. Seeing she didn’t smile, Drake felt a pang of anxiety. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
“I don’t like such bright colors. This color is something only Liora would like.”
Upon hearing this, Drake's expression froze. His face shifted between different emotions before he finally spoke, “I thought you she-wolves would like something like this. I’ll take you to pick something you like instead.”
Narissa’s smile was faint. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not like I’ll need it.”
“How could you not need it...” Drake started to protest, but just then, both their message crystals vibrated with pale light. They checked their crystals, exchanged a glance and then turned to Narissa. “We have to step out for pack duty for a while.”
Not long after they left, Narissa received spirit-visions of them visiting Liora.
It was the Winter Moon Feast and her father had taken Wilde out for a pilgrimage to the high Moon Shrine, leaving the den eerily quiet. Meanwhile, at her brother’s private hill-fort, skyfire spells lit up the night sky. In the vision, Evan was gently ruffling Liora’s hair with a look of fondness.
Narissa stood alone on the stone terrace, gazing at the skyfire lighting up the heavens. She thought to herself, if they no longer loved her, then she wouldn't need them either.
On the fourth day, she sold all her clothes for moon-coins, which she sent with a caravan to orphaned pups in famine-stricken border packs. As she looked around at the empty room, Elowen returned and was taken aback. “What's going on here?”
Narissa casually replied, “We're getting engaged. I’m just tidying up in advance.”
Ironically, the household maid had sensed she was about to leave, yet her family remained unaware.
Elowen truly believed her words and didn't take them to heart. He turned to leave.
Narissa called out to him. She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window carved into the cliffside den, bathed in the warmth of the dawnlight filtering through ancient runic stone, her voice soft as she spoke, “Dad, this is the last time I will call you.”
For a brief moment, Elowen seemed to see a reflection of his younger days with Astrid. His mind wandered for a moment.
Snapping back to reality, he looked at his daughter, his expression softening somewhat. “Once you're mated, stay calm. Whatever mistakes you make after that, no one will be there to help you.”
Narissa lowered her gaze, a faint, sarcastic smile playing on her lips. On the fifth day, everyone was busy preparing for Liora’s Moon-Day celebration.
Narissa, on the other hand, spent her coin collecting all the moon-stones that recorded Drake’s betrayal and arranged for the herald-ravens to circulate them across every clan territory.
She even went as far as purchasing spell-mirrors on the high cliffs where pack members often gathered, determined to let everyone know about the affair between Drake and Liora.
Moreover, during this time, she had thoroughly investigated the events where Liora had framed her and now, with irrefutable evidence carved by seers into memory-crystals, it was clear that Liora had orchestrated everything herself.
By the time the truth came to light, they would likely already be on their private island-sanctuary, as Elowen had planned to publicly acknowledge Liora's lineage during her Moon-Day celebration that night.
All of this was no longer her concern. She had already booked her place on a departing sky-ship and was on a flight overseas to distant wolf tribes beyond the Spirit Sea.
Meanwhile, on the island-sanctuary, Drake had searched for Narissa everywhere, but couldn’t find her. Eventually, he learned from Evan that she hadn’t come because she was feeling unwell.
Drake was stunned in surprise, “Narissa’s not feeling well?”
Evan, with a hint of impatience in his eyes, replied, “It’s just an excuse. She’s probably off somewhere throwing a tantrum.”
Hearing this, Drake couldn’t hide his concern, “Aren’t you worried about her?”
Evan, with an air of indifference, was slightly taken aback by his sudden concern. He gave Drake a look and said, “She’s always been spoiled and temperamental. It’s probably just another tantrum over Liora.”
He paused, then glanced at Drake curiously, “But you, why are you suddenly concerned? Today’s Liora’s Moon-Day, don’t make her upset.”
Drake’s expression darkened, his gaze toward Evan filled with displeasure. “Evan, Narissa is your own sister.”
He furrowed his brows, his fists tightening in frustration. “She’s been acting off these few days and now she’s suddenly gone from home. Didn't you think about these things?”
Evan stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. The smile on his lips froze and he remained silent for a long time.
Drake didn’t wait for him to respond. His face darkened further as he repeatedly attempted to reach Narissa through the clan-link stone, but the link remained cold and unanswered.
For some reason, since the morning, an overwhelming sense of unease gnawed at him.
The unease that had been building inside Drake reached its peak when he learned that Narissa had not arrived. His mind began to replay everything that had happened recently and a wave of guilt washed over him.
In the past few days, due to Liora’s Moon-Day, he hadn’t had much time to spend with Narissa. It was only now that he realized Narissa had barely spoken to him lately.
Once she returned, he promised himself he would spend more time with her. But before he could even begin searching for her, his messenger hawk returned with a scroll from his steward. “Alpha Kingsley, your connection with Lady Liora is spreading across the realms. You’d better take a look!”
He paused, confused. What could be going on with him and Liora? But as soon as he unrolled the scroll, his mind went blank.
The magic-mirrors around the realm were flooded with numerous intimate recordings and memory-crystals of him, spreading across every territory. The clan-songs were filled with wolves questioning his relationship with her.
Without hesitation, he turned to his steward. “Silence the bards immediately. Stop all rumor-songs. We can't let Narissa find it out.”
As he spoke, his voice trembled with anxiety. He kept telling himself that these things could never reach Narissa. “If we act quickly, Narissa won’t find out.”
But the next moment, his steward’s trembling voice shattered all his hopes. “Alpha Kingsley, the rumor-songs are too loud right now. The packs are spreading them faster than we can silence them.”
Drake, furious, hurled the scroll to the ground, his face dark with rage. “Useless!”
He scrambled to use his influence to silence the clans, but no sooner had he suppressed the rumor-songs in one region than they erupted again in another. His frustration reached its peak and he quickly engraved a rune-message into a link stone, hoping to send it to Narissa.
‘Narissa, everything you see is false. I have nothing to do with her, please believe me.’
Drake couldn’t bear the thought of Narissa, who had always despised traitorous mates, seeing the truth. He couldn’t imagine how furious she would be.
But after sending the rune, Drake froze completely.
The stone pulsed once—
and then dimmed.
A message carved itself across its surface:
‘This link has been severed.’
It seemed Narissa had blocked him from her soul-bond stones.
