a

r, but hung in the upper gloom of th

he dark wound on her neck a stark, lipless mouth. The silver had left a blac

snagged on the splinter

ould sense the stains on their souls, the guilt they carried like tumors. The Rogue's was a blazing red inferno of grief a

s of the silver was a memory, as was th

the place where my heart had been. It wa

he despi

imple, brutal thin

nd the whispers of the old O

Moon Pack stood on the precipice of annihilation, its warriors decimated by rival clans, she had summoned her

d came wit

tal contribution to force Silas's hand. They bound him with a magic

of the pack, destined t

ady given to another-a hig

Selene, an act that carved a can

he submitted to his cold authority. She sought to awaken the wo

suffocation of magic and duty. His heart did not

ore the contract ever bound her to Silas, a secret she took to her grave. Some whispered my true f

before she could hold me, her final breath

out within a year of her death. Silas had branded them traitors and banished the

d Omega, Nana, re

na had murmured to me years ago, her voice thin as cobwebs. "Wh

ana, my child's eyes

ng more than any blow. "No, child. He drew a long, slow breath. He l

did no

the pack. He gave her the keys to the mai

d

e nursery, my blood carrying the tain

ed the nurs

nching the bridge of his nose a

ed Nana t

e a physical force that made Nana's knees buckle. "I will grant you ten

e as one would

yes and looked down up

t, lived as a walking error, and

or of rust. The television eventually dissolved into static, its flickering life replaced by a dull, humming grey screen. The silenc

ir in the room seeme

st gave a sharp, violent tug, a

ead toward th

ent watching my own flesh grow cold. But now, I

llway. The footfalls were heavy, me

that

was

steps away from the truth now. Would he smell the blood? Or would he walk