Kaia

The metallic sting of blood was the first thing to hit me. It coated my tongue, thick and heavy like honey but with a sharp iron kick that made my stomach lurch.

'Kaia.'

The voice was a ghost of a memory. Soft. Safe. Like a mother's hug before the world went to hell.

"Mom?" I tried to ask. My jaw felt unhinged, too heavy to move. No words came.

"Kaia, I said wake up!"

The softness shattered. The voice was loud now, vibrating against the concrete walls. I blinked, the overhead lights searing into my retinas. I went to rub my eyes, but I didn't have hands.

I had paws. They were huge, heavy, and matted with white fur. Only the white was gone. It was replaced by a deep, crusty crimson that bled into black. I looked down. A goat lay in a heap of shredded meat and white bone. My stomach did a sick flip, even as my nose twitched, craving more of that earthy, raw scent.

I licked a patch of red off my fur. It tasted like life. It tasted like the best thing I'd ever had.

"Kaia," the voice barked again.

I stood, my claws clicking and sliding in the puddle of gore. I tried to run toward the sound, but a heavy jerk nearly snapped my neck. I looked back. A thick steel chain was bolted to my rear leg, anchoring me to the center of the bloodbath.

'You need to turn back,' Astra's voice crackled through the speaker in the ceiling.

"How?" I tried to scream. A sharp, pathetic bark was the only response.

'Focus. Picture your skin. Picture your bones moving back. Do it now.'

I closed my eyes and tried to remember being a girl instead of a monster. I thought of my blonde hair and my hands.

Then the world broke.

My ribs snapped inward, grinding against each other. My skin felt like it was being scorched off by a blowtorch. I screamed, but it was half-howl, half-sob. The sound of my own bones reshaping was like dry wood snapping in a fire.

Then, silence.

I lay on the cold floor, gasping. My skin felt raw and sensitive, every inch of it pressed against the freezing concrete. I was naked, shivering, and smelled like a butcher shop.

The door creaked open. Astra didn't look at the mess. She just draped a heavy wool blanket over my shaking shoulders. She didn't say a word as she hauled me up and led me to the elevator. The hum of the machine felt like a heartbeat against my bare feet.

I remember my bed. I remember the smell of clean sheets and Astra pulling pajamas over my limp limbs.

"Just sleep, Kaia," she whispered.

I went under before my head even hit the pillow.

A fist pounded on my door, echoing like a gunshot.

"Kaia? Your father is waiting."

I bolted upright. My head throbbed with a rhythmic, dull heat. My pajamas were soaked in sweat, clinging to my skin. I looked at my hands. They were clean. No blood. No fur.

Was it a dream?

I swung my legs out of bed. The carpet felt strangely sharp against my toes. The air felt heavier. I could hear the hum of the ceiling fan like it was a jet engine, and the scent of the guard outside: stale coffee and cheap spice. It hit me like a physical wall.

"Miss Kaia? Now."

"Coming," I croaked.

I threw on a sweater and jeans, my skin itching with a restless energy I couldn't explain. I walked down the hall, and for the first time, I felt the house watching me. I could smell every guard in every corner: their sweat, their leather holsters, the oil on their guns.

My father's office was a tomb. Dark wood, cold air, and the massive Lykaois crest carved into the wall. No photos of me. No photos of Mom. Just the symbol of the wolf.

"Sit," he said. He didn't look up from his desk. He never did. "You're late."

I sat on the edge of the hard chair, my heart drumming against my ribs. I tried to give him the fake, polite smile I'd spent years perfecting, but my muscles felt tight. Aggressive.

"Now that you've shifted, Kaia," he said, finally looking up. His eyes were like two pieces of flint. "You must choose a mate."

Mate.

The word didn't just hit my ears. It hit my blood. Deep inside, something that wasn't quite me growled in recognition, pacing behind my ribs, waiting to be let out again.

"Mate? What do you mean?" I tried to keep my voice steady. "Like a friend?"

I knew I was playing dumb. I just wanted to see him blink. He didn't.

"No," he said. His voice was like a blade. "A soulmate."

I stared at him. The silence in the room felt heavy, pressing into my lungs. The man who had kept me locked in this house for years, treating me like a prisoner, suddenly wanted me to find love?

"You want me to date?" My words were sharp, dripping with sarcasm. "How am I supposed to do that? Is there an app I don't know about?"

I thought of Cain and Selene. The way they had pressed their faces into each other's necks last week. The raw, animal hunger in their eyes. Was that how we did it? Just sniffing each other like dogs?

My father's eyes darkened. His fingers began to drum on the desk. Tap. Tap. Tap. "Don't be ridiculous, Kaia. Your wolf is white. You need a black wolf mate."

I felt a chill. Great. My dating pool just shrank to nothing.

'Mate.'

The word echoed in my skull. It wasn't my father's voice. It was deep, vibrating in my marrow. I looked down at his hands. His nails were jagged, his skin spotted with age. That voice didn't belong to him. It felt like a dream I'd forgotten.

'Selah?'

'Yes.'

Her voice was a low vibration in my skull, restless and sharp. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I dug my nails into the leather armrest, the material popping and tearing under my grip.

'You're really in here?' I whispered into the dark corners of my mind.

"And as your father," he cut in, his voice snapping the thread of my thoughts, "I won't let your mate be anything less than an Alpha."

My stomach turned. This wasn't about love. It was a transaction. I felt a sick flicker of pride that he thought I was worth an Alpha, but it was drowned out by a wave of dread.

"Father, I don't-"

"I've already made the arrangements," he said, his voice rising to drown me out. "The future Alphas of the four packs will each have their chance to claim you."

The room tilted. I gripped the chair to keep from sliding off. I was a prize. A piece of meat dangled in front of four predators.

"Four?" I breathed. "I didn't even know I was a wolf until a week ago."

"You will meet every candidate," he said, his face a mask of stone. "And then you will choose."

I raised an eyebrow. There was always a catch with him. I could feel Selah pacing inside me, her claws scratching at the walls of my consciousness.

"For a normal wolf, the bond is simple," he said. A spark of something like life finally touched his eyes. "But you are like your mother. You aren't ordinary. You have to engage with all of them before the choice is made."

My breath hitched. He never spoke about her. Never.

"Engage?" I asked. "What does that even mean?"

"I'm sending you away." He stood up, looming over me like a judge passing a sentence. "You'll spend one month with each pack. Voreios, Anatolikos, Notios, and Dytikos."

The thought of leaving this cage made my blood sing, but I knew him too well to trust the gift.

"And do what?"

His lips twitched. It wasn't a smile; it was a threat.

"Study them. Their history. Their strength. Figure out which Alpha is powerful enough to hold you. Then, you pick."

A punch to the gut would have been kinder. He was selling me for my utility, not my heart.

"Strength?" I asked. A spark of heat flared in my belly. "You mean I'll be training?"

He nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. "Selene and Cain were supposed to take you. But they're... occupied. You'll go alone for the first month."

"Occupied?"

"They're mating," he said. He sounded annoyed, as if they were late for a meeting instead of drowning in a primal bond.

My skin flushed hot. I thought of the "bleeding episode" from last week. The heat in my blood that wouldn't die down.

"I'm not going alone," I whispered. The thought of the open world without a single person at my back felt like a death sentence.

I didn't look away. I watched his spine stiffen as I spoke.

"I don't know what I'm doing," I said. My voice cracked, but I hardened it. "Cain is my trainer. I'm not going anywhere without people I trust."

My father's eyes were chips of ice. "In their current state, they are unstable. Distracted. They're useless to you."

"Those are my terms," I snapped.

I took a breath and immediately regretted it. His scent-bitter and overbearing-filled my lungs. I'd been a prisoner in this house for seventeen years, and the idea of the road felt like peeling back a fresh scab. I didn't know Selene well, but she was the only one who didn't treat me like a broken tool. And she wouldn't go anywhere without Cain. They were a single, pulse-pounding unit.

"Fine," my father said. His voice was flat. "You're dismissed."

He didn't order me out like a servant. He just let me go. I walked out with my heart thumping against my ribs, the taste of a small, terrifying victory like copper in my mouth.

That night, sleep was impossible. The shadows in my room felt heavy, pressing down on me. I pulled my laptop into bed, my fingers hovering over the keys. If I was going to be around real wolves, I needed to know what was coming.

I found a site crowded with stories. Millions of hits. My eyes skimmed the titles, and a flush started at my chest and crept up my neck.

Alpha Maximus. 23 million reads.

I clicked. My breath caught as I read the first page.

"Tell me, kitten, how badly do you want me?"

The words felt like a physical weight. The description of his scent, the way his muscles moved, the raw, predatory hunger. My skin prickled.

"My mind screamed to run, but my body betrayed me. I was slick with arousal."

"Arousal?" I whispered to the empty room.

I tried to look away, but I couldn't. I read about his hands knotting in her hair, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of her throat. Then his hand moved down to his fly.

"Skip," I muttered, my face burning. I shut the tab so hard the laptop groaned.

I tried another one. Alpha Noah. The cover was a guy with no shirt, his veins bulging as he gripped a girl.

"No!" she screamed as his hand crushed her throat. "You. Are. Mine."

He ripped her clothes open. He talked about her body like it was a piece of meat he owned. He told her to get on her knees.

I felt sick. My stomach did a slow, greasy roll as I clicked through title after title. The Alpha's Pet. The Alpha's Toy. It was all the same. Brutal men. Forced touches. Women who screamed 'no' until their bodies betrayed them and forced a 'yes.' They were narcissistic, territorial, and cruel.

I shoved the laptop away, my breath coming in shallow hitches. I stared at the ceiling, my heart a frantic bird beating against a cage. Was this what Cain was behind closed doors? Was this the version of reality waiting for me out there in the dark?

"Is that what it's like?" I whispered to the empty room.

I pressed my palms to my burning cheeks, trying to rub away the heat. I didn't sleep. I just lay there in the silence, shivering, wondering if I was finally leaving my cage just to walk straight into a wolf's den.

Kaia

The heavy thrum of a headache pulsed behind my eyes, the kind that came from sleeping too long in a room that felt like a cage.

"Wake up."

Selene's voice sliced through the haze. I felt her hand on my shoulder, a firm shake that rattled my bones. My eyes lurched open, stinging against the dim light.

"What?" I croaked. My throat felt like I'd swallowed sand. I pushed myself up, my hair a knotted mess. "Selene? What's going on?"

A floorboard creaked near my desk. "We don't have all day, Princess."

Cain was leaning there, arms locked over his chest. He looked bored, but his eyes tracked the way my shirt slipped off one shoulder. A sharp, mocking glint danced in his gaze.

"What are you doing in my room?" I rubbed my face, trying to scrub the sleep away. "Looking for another chance to throw me on the floor?"

He clicked his tongue, a slow, predatory sound. "Tempting. But not tonight."

"Tonight?" I glanced at the clock. I'd crashed after the morning run, falling into a black hole of exhaustion for four hours. "What happens tonight?"

"Confirmation," Selene said. Her voice was stripped of its usual warmth as she hauled me out of the sheets. "Move. Now."

I stumbled, my legs heavy. "Should I change?" I looked down at my wrinkled T-shirt and the gray sweatpants hanging off my hips.

"Don't bother," she muttered, gripping my elbow and steering me toward the door.

As we hit the hallway, Cain's pace matched ours. He didn't look at me. Instead, his fingers grazed the underside of Selene's arm. The spark was instant. Her eyes caught his and softened, a private heat passing between them that made my stomach twist. I felt like a ghost haunting my own life.

We stopped outside my father's office. The heavy oak door was cracked just enough for the cold air to bleed out. Then came the voice-Thorne's. It was a low, gravelly rasp that made the hair on my arms stand up.

"So... she's white," Thorne said. He sounded like he was discussing the coat of a prize horse.

"Yes, Thorne," my father replied. His voice was a blade of ice. "Pure as snow. Selah."

"Is she ready?" Thorne asked, a dark edge to his words. "The warriors are already losing their minds over the links. The future Alphas won't be able to keep their hands off her."

I knew Thorne's type. He was a mountain of scarred muscle and blind loyalty, the man who did the dirty work my father didn't want to get his hands on. He'd spent decades breaking bones for the Kentrikos pack, and he enjoyed every snap.

"She doesn't have a choice," my father stated. There was no emotion in it, just the flat finality of a death sentence. "You're heading up security. Take thirty warriors with you."

"Thirty, Alpha Narcisse?" Thorne let out a jagged laugh. "That's overkill for-"

"That is an order," my father snapped. "Thirty-one, including you. The rogues are circling. I've smelled them. I'm not losing my investment."

Cain's eyes shifted to me. He didn't move a muscle, but he pressed a single finger to his lips. 'Stay quiet,' his look warned.

"I'm no babysitter," Thorne grumbled. "My place is here, breaking the new recruits. Send Gamma Rook instead."

My eyes drifted to the corner of the room. Rook stood there like a statue carved from shadow. He was a man who existed in the silences, loyal and lethal.

"Rook is occupied with the Notios borders," my father said, his shadow falling over Thorne as he leaned forward. "Unless she picks Notios first, you are going, Beta. I want my interests protected in Voreios and Anatolikos."

He didn't mention Dytikos. The omission hung in the air like a bated breath.

"Yes, Alpha," Thorne spat, the words sounding like they cost him a tooth.

"Rook," my father called. The Gamma stepped into the light, his massive frame blocking the doorway. "Before you head out, cancel Kaia's pack ceremony."

Beside me, Selene and Cain went rigid. Their breath hitched, jaws dropping. I just stood there, a cold confusion rooting me to the floor. Cancelled?

"You're dismissed," my father's voice dropped an octave. "We have an audience."

Selene and Cain scrambled back, but I was too slow. Rook yanked the door open. His dark, hollow eyes collided with mine for a fraction of a second-no pity, no heat-before he shouldered past me.

Thorne followed, and he didn't hide his disgust. His lip curled back, baring yellowed fangs in a silent snarl. As he passed, he slammed his shoulder into mine, sending me reeling against the wall.

"Always a gentleman," Cain whispered with a crooked smirk once the hallway cleared.

"Kaia. Cain. Selene. Inside."

I felt like a prisoner walking toward the gallows. I straightened my shoulders and pushed the door open, the others trailing in my shadow.

My father sat behind his desk, as still as stone. But it was the man behind him who caught my breath. He was skeletal, tall and thin with eyes like gray flint. He clutched an ancient, leather-bound book to his chest, his nose wrinkled as if the very air I breathed was tainted.

"Kaia," my father said, nodding toward the stranger. "This is William. Elder of the White Moon."

"Hi," I said, reaching out a hand. It was a reflex, a desperate grab for some kind of normalcy.

William didn't move. He looked at my hand like it was covered in filth and pulled back, his chin tilting up.

"This is highly unorthodox, Narcisse," William said, his voice trembling with disdain. "I strongly advise against-"

"Just do it," my father barked. He looked at me, his eyes two black pits. "Kaia, William is here for your transformation. It's time."

William's cold gaze pinned me to the spot. He flipped the book open.

The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on. William stood behind the desk like a skeletal vulture, his gray eyes tracking my every move with pure, unfiltered disgust. I felt like a bug pinned under a microscope. My father didn't care. He never did. He just sat there, cold and immovable, pulling the strings of a game I was only just starting to see.

William's fingers dug into the cracked leather of his book. He looked like he wanted to spit on the floor.

"This should be followed by a full pack ceremony immediately, Narcisse," William said. His voice was thin and brittle.

I blinked. He'd used my father's first name. No "Alpha," no "Sir." Just Narcisse. I stared at him, wondering who this old man was to speak to a monster as if they were equals.

My father didn't even flinch. He just leveled a stare at the Elder that would have frozen water. "Just do it."

William didn't look away. He held my father's gaze as he began to speak, his voice taking on a rhythmic, haunting quality. "I, William, First-Order Elder of the Kentrikos White Moon, hereby verify you, Kaia Wren Lykandros. Daughter of the blood. Direct descendant of Narcisse France Lykandros."

'Yes.'

Selah's voice purred deep in my chest. She was pacing behind my ribs, her power thrumming through my veins. I didn't understand the legalities of the words, but the way my wolf reacted told me this was the moment my life stopped belonging to me.

"Um... thanks?" I muttered. The word felt small and stupid in the heavy silence.

"Give me your wolf's name," William rasped. He sounded like he was choking on the request.

"Selah," I said. I kept my chin up, making sure he heard the steel in it.

His white brows pulled together, creating deep canyons in his forehead. "And do the witnesses confirm this union? Kaia Wren Lykandros and Selah?"

"Confirmed," Selene and Cain said together.

Their voices echoed in the small office. It felt less like a sacred rite and more like a rushed deal in a dark alley.

"Then it is recorded." William's pen scratched violently against the parchment. He slammed the book shut with a crack that sounded like a bone breaking.

He didn't say another word. He shot one last look of loathing at the back of my father's head and vanished through the door. I looked around, realizing Cain and Selene had already slipped out while I was distracted by the thud of the book.

That was it? Some old man scrawling in a ledger was the big "transformation confirmation"?

I turned to my father, my mouth opening to demand some kind of real answer. "So, what does-"

He raised a hand. He didn't even look up from the papers on his desk. "You're dismissed."

The dismissal stung like a slap.

I turned and bolted out of the office, my heart hammering. I caught up to Selene and Cain a few hallways down, their shadows stretching long against the stone walls.

"Wait!" I breathed, matching their stride. "Talk to me. What just happened in there?"

"The pack officially recognizes your shift," Selene said. She didn't stop walking, her heels clicking a fast, sharp rhythm.

"That's all?" I frowned. My skin still felt itchy from the Elder's gaze. "It felt... fast. Like he hated being in the same room as me."

"It's anticlimactic, I know," Selene whispered. She shook her head, her eyes focused on the path ahead. "I have to get to the library. I need to log this in your family's records."

Cain slowed down, his hand sliding into Selene's. He pulled her closer, his thumb stroking the back of her wrist in a way that made my face heat up.

I looked away, staring at the floor. "But why the rush? Why did it have to be tonight?"

"It means you're on the map, Princess," Cain said. He flashed a grin that was all teeth. "Open for business."

Selene swiped at his arm, though she was fighting a smile. "What he means is that you're officially a werewolf in the eyes of the law. You aren't a rogue anymore. You're registered under the White Moon."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. The word "registered" made me feel like a piece of livestock.

"More importantly," Selene continued, her voice dropping to a softer, more serious tone, "you're legally allowed to hunt for a mate. Every territory will see you in their records now. The Alphas will start making travel plans for us."

My stomach did a slow, sickening roll. "So the pack ceremony is next?"

She nodded as we reached my bedroom door. "Once that's done, you'll have the link. You'll be able to hear us, and we'll hear you. It keeps things private when we're on the road."

"The link?" I leaned against the doorframe, trying to process the idea of voices in my head. "Like... telepathy?"

I'd read about this in those trashy stories, but the reality was terrifying. The thought of every wolf in this house having a key to my thoughts made me feel naked. They'd already seen me shift; they didn't need to see my secrets, too. Especially not Cain and Selene. I definitely didn't want a front-row seat to whatever was happening between them.

Cain's fingers were tracing slow, lazy circles on Selene's elbow now. She bit her lip, her breathing hitching as they shared a look that was purely carnal.

"Sort of," Selene said, her voice a bit breathless. "It's communication. You learn to toggle it. You can shut it off, just like you do with her."

I looked inward. I had no idea how to shut Selah up.

'As if I'd let you,' Selah teased.

I could feel her mental grin, a warm, fuzzy vibration in the back of my skull. She was loving every second of my panic.

Selah, shut up. This isn't a joke.

I could still feel her laughing as I watched Cain lean into Selene's space, his scent of pine and predatory heat filling the small hallway.

I was pretty sure my head was just a cluttered mess of nerves and static right now.

'I am staying out of that disaster,' Selah muttered.

"That makes one of us," I said. I gripped the cool metal of my doorknob and shoved the door open. "Thanks for the talk."

Selene gave me a small, pitying smile. "Get some sleep, Kaia. Goodnight."

I stepped inside and clicked the door shut. A sharp, bitter pang of jealousy twisted in my chest. Watching them was exhausting. Their bond was so easy, so heated, and so full of a life I didn't recognize. I bit down on my lower lip, the skin sensitive under my teeth.

Outside of Cain and the wall of muscle that made up my father's security team, I'd never actually spoken to a guy. Not for real.

I wondered if anyone would ever look at me like I was the only thing in the room. I wondered if my skin would ever buzz under a touch that didn't feel like a threat or a chore.

Was there actually someone out there who would love me?

I guess I was about to find out.

I tried to keep that thought buried deep where no one could find it, but Selah wasn't about to let it slide.

'Mate,' she whispered. The word felt like a promise and a tease all at once.

You're useless, I thought back.

"So..." I let the word hang in the empty room, my lips tingling as the sound died away.

Kaia

The morning light burned. I forced my heavy eyelids up, meeting Selene's bright stare across the library table. Another history session meant two hours of her voice buzzing in my ear while I fought to keep my head from hitting the wood.

"Are you even in there?" she snapped. She puffed out her cheeks, the picture of a frustrated sister. "This matters, Kaia. You have to pick the order. Four territories. One path."

I rubbed the dull ache in my temples. The weight of my father's expectations felt like lead in my veins. "I have to visit all of them anyway. Does the sequence really change the end game?"

Selene leaned back, her pen tapping a restless rhythm against her chin. "It might. The first Alpha you visit gets the first chance to impress you. An advantage. But," she paused, her eyes searching mine, "if you have a true mate out there, I guess the order is just a formality."

Mate.

The word hit like a physical spark. Inside my mind, Selah stirred, her phantom fur bristling with sudden interest. She was obsessed with the idea of a match, far more than I was.

"Advantageous," I murmured. I traced my thumb over my lower lip, trying to channel my father's cold, calculating logic. He would head straight for the apex predator, the pack with the most teeth. So, naturally, I chose the opposite. "Notios last."

Mate... find him... 'I hear you, Selah,' I thought, pushing her excitement back into the dark corners of my mind. 'You're desperate. I get it. But you aren't helping me think.'

"Notios last," Selene repeated. She shook her head, her dark curls brushing her skin. She looked baffled, but she didn't fight me. "Fine. It's probably smart. They have two potential Alphas to deal with anyway."

My hand stopped mid-motion. "Two?"

Great. As if four bachelors weren't enough of a headache. Now I was looking at five.

"One pack, twin brothers," she clarified. "The word is the older one is set for the Alpha seat. The younger stays as Beta."

"How much older?" The thought of twins made my skin crawl with a strange tension.

Maybe he is there, Selah whispered. Maybe we find him sooner.

"Four minutes," Selene said. She pulled a crumpled, hand-drawn map toward her and drew a thick X over the Notios region. "That's the gap between them."

I stared at the ink. I suddenly wished I'd listened when my father used to drone on about timing. He always said seconds were the difference between life and death. I didn't realize he meant it literally for a birthright.

"Focus, Kaia," Selene said, rapping her pen on the table. "Who is first? Voreios, Anatolikos, or Dytikos?"

I blinked, the names blurring on the page. "If you were me, where would you go?"

She froze. The pen hovered an inch from the paper as she locked eyes with me. "Cain is the strategist. Not me."

"Cain isn't the one being sent on a tour of the country," I countered. "Tell me what you think."

"Voreios," she said, the word out of her mouth before she could think better of it. She looked down at the map, her face Tightening.

I arched a brow. "Why there?"

She looked up, her gaze steady and serious. "Their females. They don't just run the house, Kaia. They train as warriors. Hard. You'd learn how to bleed and bite in your wolf form. You'd learn how to actually survive a real fight."

Selah sat up at that. The mating talk was one thing, but the idea of teeth and claws? That got her blood moving.

"In wolf form," I echoed. A ghost of a smile pulled at my mouth as Selene nodded.

Cain had taught me how to break a man's nose and how to fire a sidearm. He'd put me through hell in my human skin. But he had never touched my wolf training. He called me a novice, a girl who knew how to throw a punch but didn't know how to hunt.

"Voreios for the training," I said, watching her closely. "Was that your idea? Or did Cain put you up to it?"

The silence stretched. Selene bit her lip, her eyes flickering. "Both."

Her expression shifted, a silent prompt for me to see the truth hiding in the gaps of her words. My jaw clenched as the realization settled in. My father. He would never allow Cain to teach me how to be a weapon in my wolf form. He wanted a Luna, not a soldier.

I slumped back, the chair creaking under my weight. "Voreios first."

"Just like that?" She sounded shocked. I just nodded. She marked the map with a sharp flick of her wrist. "Okay. Second. Anatolikos or Dytikos?"

I held up my palms, letting her take the lead. She didn't give a simple answer; she started talking through the board like a general.

"Dytikos is closer, logistically. But to get from Anatolikos to Dytikos, you have to cut right through Kentrikos. That's a headache. You need Alpha clearance just to breathe on their borders. Though, knowing your father, he's probably already cleared the way..." She trailed off, her eyes tracing the lines of the territories.

"Forget the borders," I interrupted. "Tell me about the people."

She started drumming her fingers again. "Dytikos? They forge the steel. They own the biggest silver mine in the territory. Your father's labs are there, too. Very industrial. But Anatolikos..."

She stopped, pointing the pen at my chest. "Go there second. Definitely."

I didn't actually care about the order anymore, but the spark in her eyes caught me. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

A faint flush crept up her neck. "They're scholars. They focus on history and healing."

I chuckled. It sounded like a nightmare of books and bandages. "And you think I care about that because...?"

"Because their pack has the strongest Luna in the four regions," she said simply.

She didn't have to say anything else. I never had a mother to show me the ropes. If my father's plan was to marry me off to a high-ranking wolf, I needed to see what a real Luna looked like-not just the version my father wanted me to be.

"Fine," I sighed, giving in.

She scribbled the names down, her face glowing with a small sense of victory. "So it's settled? Voreios, Anatolikos, Dytikos, then Notios?"

"Sounds like a plan," I groaned, sliding down in my chair until my chin hit my chest.

Ten minutes. That was all it took for my list to travel from Selene's hand to Thorne's, and then straight to my father's desk. When the summons came, I knew I was walking into a storm.

I stepped into the office, my pulse thudding in my throat. I should have taken this more seriously. Letting Selene play strategist was starting to feel like a massive mistake.

"Kaia." My father didn't look up. He flicked a piece of paper across the dark wood of his desk. It was Selene's map, wrinkled and stained with ink.

Thorne stood in the shadows by the window. His scowl was so deep it looked painful. Usually, he just looked annoyed, but today his steel-gray eyes were alive with a golden, predatory heat. He looked like he wanted to tear the map to pieces.

"These choices," my father said, finally meeting my gaze. His voice was smooth, like silk over a blade. "They are curious."

"They are a disaster," Thorne barked. He took a step forward, his jaw tight. "It makes no sense. Why hit Voreios and then trek to the far edge of the map for Dytikos? You want to cross Kentrikos twice? Do you have any concept of the red tape involved in moving through those borders?"

I didn't look at Thorne. I kept my eyes on my father. He was the one holding the leash. "I know it's a lot of paperwork. But I'm not changing my mind."

My father laced his fingers, leaning his chin on his hands. He looked like he was watching a bug under glass. "Tell me why."

I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to stay steady. "Cain's training isn't enough. I'm a novice in my skin and even worse in my fur. The Voreios pack are killers. I want to learn how to fight in wolf form so I can actually defend myself for once. Besides, I know their shipping ports are a mess right now. If I'm there, I can talk to them. Fix the tension."

"That is none of your concern," Thorne snapped. His fists were white at his sides.

My father held up one finger. Thorne went silent, though his chest heaved with a low, frustrated breath. "Go on, Kaia."

"Anatolikos has the strongest Luna in the regions," I said. I felt Selah's ears perk up at the mention of power. "If I'm going to lead, I need to see what real strength looks like. I need to be better than her."

I didn't wait for him to respond. "Dytikos is for the weapons. I want to see their new silver tech. And Notios..." I hesitated, knowing this was the thin part of my lie. "Notios is the biggest threat. They have the numbers."

"Then go there first," my father challenged.

"No. Because of the twins," I said. "They haven't settled who takes the Alpha seat. If I go there last, the dust will be settled. I'll know exactly who I'm dealing with."

I looked down at my boots. My heart was hammering against my ribs. I waited for the laughter or the lecture. The silence in the room was suffocating. I could hear Thorne's teeth grinding from across the room.

Finally, my father leaned back. The tension snapped. "Thorne. Prepare the route."

Thorne flinched like he'd been slapped. "Narcisse, listen to reason-"

"Make the arrangements," my father repeated. His eyes never left mine. "She has no idea what she is doing, but let her walk the path. She will learn that every choice carries a weight. Some weights break bones."

My skin burned. Part of me was relieved, but the sting of his words tasted like copper. He didn't believe in me. He just wanted to watch me fail.

"But-" Thorne started again.

"You are dismissed," my father said.

Thorne turned on his heel. He didn't say a word, but the look he gave me as he passed was sharp enough to draw blood. I gave him a tiny, sharp smile. A small win, but I'd take it.

Once the door clicked shut, my father reached into a heavy desk drawer. "Kaia. Take this. A gift before you leave."

"Leave?" The word felt cold. I'd spent my whole life in these halls. No matter how much I hated his shadow, the thought of being cast out made my stomach turn.

He set a small black box on the desk and slid it toward me. "You are my daughter. You will always have a place here. Wear this. It will keep the border guards from asking too many questions."

I opened the lid. A thin chain sat on the velvet. Two charms hung from it. One was our White Moon Sigil. The other was a strange shape-a half-circle sliced by a triangle. I reached out to touch it, then froze.

"Is this silver?"

Selah growled deep in my mind, a warning vibration that hummed through my bones.

"Platinum," my father said. His voice softened, just a fraction. "Your mother hated silver."

My breath hitched. That was twice in one month. He hadn't spoken of her in years, and now her ghost was everywhere.

"My mother," I whispered, looking up at him. "Tell me about her. Please."

His face turned to stone again. The brief flash of humanity was gone. "You are excused."

The coldness was back. I grabbed the box, the metal pressing into my palm. "Thank you," I said, but the words felt like ash.

...

Days later, the library felt like a cage. History books sat heavy and forgotten on the table. I traced the grain of the wood with my fingernail, my mind miles away from dusty dates and borders.

"Kaia." Selene snapped her fingers, the sharp sound echoing off the stone walls. Her brows were pulled tight. "Focus. You head to Voreios territory first. You need to know who you are walking into."

I leaned back, my eyes narrowing. "First, tell me what happened in the woods the other morning."

Selene looked down, her hazel eyes darting toward the stacks of books. She fumbled with the edge of a page. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She thought I was digging for gossip about her and Cain. I let out a breath and leaned in closer. "When I shifted. When you saw Selah for the first time. You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"Oh." The tension in her shoulders dropped, and a soft pink crawled up her neck. "Sorry. I just... I've never seen a white wolf before. Neither had Cain."

"How would you know what Cain saw?"

"Through the link," she said, as if it were as natural as breathing.

I stared at her. I remembered her mentioning it before, but the concept felt like a wall I couldn't climb. "You just... talk in your heads?"

She looked at me with a pained kind of patience. "It's a mental bridge, Kaia. You share thoughts, images, even a flash of how someone feels. You've really never felt it?"

"The only thing in my head is her," I said. My voice felt small. Selah was a constant hum in the back of my skull, but she was a part of me, not a guest.

"Selah." Selene's expression softened. "It fits. Snow. She's... you are beautiful in that skin."

Heat rushed to my face. Inside, I felt a low, vibrating warmth. 'See? She has taste,' Selah hummed.

'You aren't a cat, stop purring,' I snapped back.

'I am not a cat,' she grumbled.

"Your eyes, though," Selene whispered, leaning across the table to peer into mine. "They didn't change. Every wolf I've ever seen gets those deep blue eyes the moment they turn. Yours stayed the same."

"Is that bad?"

Selene slumped. "I don't know. I'll keep digging through the old texts, but white wolves are rare. There isn't much written about things that aren't supposed to exist."

The disappointment was a dull ache in my chest. "Thanks anyway."

"Anyway," Selene said, shaking off the heavy mood. She tapped a diagram on the page. "The Silverback Pack. Their sigil is-"

"One more thing," I cut in. I needed the truth. "That morning, when you and Cain bolted into the trees. Why did you leave me?"

She reached out, her hand light on my arm. "We thought you needed space to settle into your skin. To breathe. Besides," she paused, a teasing glint in her eye, "your wolf is a little slow. She needs time to catch up with you."

'Slow? I will show her slow,' Selah hissed.

"Cain and I went for a run," Selene continued, her blush returning. "Running with your mate... or the person who might be your mate... it's how we bond. It's primal." She shook a textbook at me. "Which is why you need to pay attention. Your match could be waiting in the North."

"I'm thrilled," I said. My voice was bone-dry.

"Sure you are." Selene rolled her eyes. "Fine. The leaders are Alpha Faelon and Luna Calantha. Their inner circle is Beta Arawn and Gamma Jarek. They have two kids. Lorcan is the heir. Then there's Ravenna."

I frowned, trying to map out the politics. "If they have a future Alpha and Luna already, why am I bothering with a visit?"

"Ravenna will likely be traded or mated out to another pack. Siblings don't lead together, Kaia. Lorcan takes the seat. Ravenna... well, she's a different story."

"Sounds like she's getting the short end of the stick just for being a girl," I muttered.

"Maybe. But for now, you'll be training with her."

My interest spiked. "She trains the warriors?"

"She trains everyone," Selene said. There was a flicker of something like respect, maybe even envy, in her eyes. "They say she's the most brutal instructor in the territories. She has no interest in the politics of being Alpha. She just wants to fight."

"I want to learn from her," I said. The words felt right the moment they left my tongue. In my mind, Selah stood tall, her tail giving a sharp, eager flick. 'Finally. Someone who bites.'

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Selene warned. "Training won't start until the competition is over."

"What competition?"

"The males," she said. A strange look crossed her face, half-amused and half-wary. "I can't really describe it. You just have to see it for yourself."

"I'll bring my popcorn," I said, leaning back. The sarcasm was there, but the knot in my stomach had finally loosened. A strange sense of calm washed over me, a quiet hum that told me Voreios was the right move.

I just hoped I was ready for whatever Ravenna had waiting for me.