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The portal shimmered open just beyond the Tolaris border, spilling me into the cool morning air. The scent here was different from Red Moon, pine, iron–rich soil, and something faintly smoky that clung to the wind. I’d been here before, but stepping onto this ground now felt heavier, like the land itself remembered the blood spilled on it. The guards stationed along the treeline stiffened when they saw me, but they didn’t draw weapons. One of them nodded curtly before shifting back into wolf form and bolting toward the heart of the territory, no doubt to announce my arrival. By the time I reached the main clearing, Zion was already walking out of the packhouse. He was taller than I remembered, his broad shoulders squared under the weight of the Alpha mantle. His golden–brown eyes flicked over me, taking in every detail. Behind him, Theo emerged, his dark hair neatly tied back, posture crisp in a way that screamed Beta.
“Envy,” Zion said, stopping a few feet away.
“Zion.” My voice was even, though my heart ached at the subtle change in his scent, loss lingering beneath the usual clean cedar and wind.
Theo’s gaze shifted between us but stayed silent, standing just off Zion’s shoulder like a
true second.
I took a breath. “Marcus is gone.”
Zion didn’t flinch, but the muscle in his jaw ticked. He nodded once. “I felt it. The bond to him… broke.”
Silence stretched for a moment. Then he said quietly, “I won’t pretend I’m not… grieving. He was my father, despite everything. But…” He met my gaze fully, his voice firm despite the rawness beneath it. “…I also won’t pretend I’m blind to what he did. To you. To my pack. To everyone.”
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Theo’s head dipped slightly in agreement, but his eyes stayed on me, as if measuring my
reaction.
Zion stepped closer, close enough that I could see the faint shadows under his eyes. “I’m sorry, Envy. For letting things get so far out of hand. For not stopping him sooner. For… not saving you.”
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The sincerity in his voice was heavy, and I knew how much it cost him to say it.
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“You’re Alpha now,” I said quietly. “You have the chance to make it right. For them. For yourself.”
His lips pressed into a tight line, but he nodded. “I will.”
For a moment, we just stood there, two people linked by a past neither of us had chosen, facing a future that might finally be free of Marcus’s shadow.
Theo cleared his throat softly. “We’ll spread the word to the pack. They need to hear it from us.”
I nodded, taking a step back. “Then I’ll leave you to it. I didn’t come here for politics. Just
closure.”
Zion’s eyes softened, and there was something in his voice when he replied, something that sounded almost like gratitude. “You have it. And Envy… thank you.
With that, I opened the portal back to Red Moon. As the swirling magic closed behind me, I realized I wasn’t carrying the weight of Marcus anymore. I’d left it here, in the heart of the pack he’d once ruled. The portal deposited us just outside the Red Moon gates, the familiar scent of our territory curling around me. The sharp weight in my chest from the trip to Tolaris had dulled to something lighter, unfinished business finally put to rest. Haiden and Levi were waiting for me, leaning against the low stone wall near the
entrance. Levi’s mouth curved into one of his small, steady smiles.
“All good?” Levi asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. All good..”
Haiden pushed off the wall, slinging an arm loosely around my shoulders as we started toward the village path. “Good. Now let’s go see our boy before he’s completely corrupted Macey with glitter bombs and bad ideas.”
The orphanage sat at the edge of the village, painted in bright, sun–faded colors and always smelling faintly of cinnamon biscuits from the kitchen. As soon as we stepped through the gate into the yard, I heard them, Elliot’s laughter ringing out, high and unrestrained, tangled with Macey’s squeals. He was in the middle of the grass with a small knot of kids, half of them chasing him, the other half pretending to be “the enemy.” His
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blonde hair caught the sunlight as he spun away from Macey’s reach, dodging her with the kind of agility only kids and pups could manage. The sight of him, laughing, running, carefree, did something to me. After everything he’d faced in the last twenty–four hours, seeing him like this felt like proof that he was finding his way back to himself.
Macey spotted us first, her eyes lighting up as she waved frantically. “Envy! Haiden! Levi! Come play!”
Elliot turned at her call, and when his gaze landed on us, his whole face lit up. He sprinted across the yard, not slowing until he crashed into me with enough force to make me stumble back a step. I wrapped my arms around him, breathing in the warm, sun- soaked scent of his hair.
“You okay?” I murmured.
“Better than okay,” he said, pulling back just far enough to grin up at me. “Macey says I’m the fastest runner here. And I told her you said I’m the smartest, so I win both.”
Levi chuckled and reached down to ruffle his hair. “Sounds like you’re making friends and
enemies all at once.”
“That’s how you know you’re doing it right,” Haiden said with a grin, already eyeing the game the kids were playing like he was about to join in and take it way too seriously.
For now, though, I just let myself watch Elliot, standing there in the sunlight with Macey tugging at his sleeve and the other kids shouting for him to come back and play. I took a seat in the sun to watch the kids while Levi and Haiden went back inside to prepare lunch for everyone. Layah materialised beside me, stretching out in the sun. “You know, pup or not, that’s one cool kid.”
“He is, isn’t he?”
“I think he likes Macey.”
I giggled. “Yeah, I think Macey likes him too.”
Layah smirked, her eyes tracking the two of them darting around the yard. “Love in the making.”
I was about to tease her back when the air shifted, sharp, wrong. My skin prickled, and the
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familiar tang of blood and unfamiliar wolves hit my nose. The first snarl came from beyond the fence. Then another. I shot to my feet, my wings unfurling, just as the gate splintered inward, the wood shattering under the weight of a massive rogue wolf. Screams erupted, high, terrified cries from the children as more wolves surged in behind the first. Their eyes were wild, foam at their jaws, the stink of desperation rolling off them.
“Inside! NOW!” I roared, running for Macey and Elliot. Layah was already moving, magic sparking off her paws, but there were too many shapes in the treeline. The packhouse was too far, and the orphanage was being overrun.
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