Third Person’s POV

Velda smirked. “I can’t mimic her meekness. But if I were to bpretend /bto be sweet band /bcoo…”

She crossed her arms, bforced /ba sugary grin, and drawled, “Honey…”

She shuddered dramatically. “Ugh, goosebumps! How does she stand being so

fake?”

Ulrik shuddered too, but the act reminded him of Adide her gentle voice always firm, her posture bstraight /bas a wolf’s pride

g, never bending to please.

Velda strode onto the boardwalk, herbat boots tapping sharply.

It was a pity they couldn’t keep half her assets, but with Adide gone, Velda would be the undisputed Luna.

She no longer had to persuade herself with the title of “secondary mate.”

Ulrik stayed bbehind/b, sitting on akeside bench.

bThe /bparchment he received that afternoon zed like ba /bser, piercing through his mental fog.

Memories, buried by battle and ambition, surfaced slowlyb–/bripples on theke bbringing /bfragments to light.

He remembered the first time he saw Adide at a werewolf gathering, bstanding /bby a floor–to–ceiling window, conversing with

elders.

When bhe came /bto bFrostfang /bto court her, bshe /bsat on a leather bsofa/b, twirling her father’s old badge. “bI /bwant a mate who honors wolf

btraditions/b—no lovers, no breeders. bCan /byou do that?”

He’d pledged his life to her then, his heart swelling with bpure /bjoy.

He brecalled /bthe wedding preparations, the emergency orders on the day of their bonding ceremony.

When he bsaid /bgoodbye to Adide at the pack bborders/b, the bheart/b–wrenching breluctance /bhe still vividly bremembered/b.

At that time, bhis /bbmind /bwas filled with the iplete bbonding /bbceremony/b–he was supposed to fully mark her in the bedroom, yet all he bcould /bdo was watch her figure bgrow /bbsmaller /bin the distance, the white hem of her dress lifted by the airflow, like a silver wolf eager to spread its wings.

Laterb, /bas the campaign bagainst /bthe Northern Tribe bprogressed/b, many wolf warriors perished.

He didn’t bknow /bwhen his turn would be/b, and at that bmoment/b, he stopped thinking about Adide, focusing instead on strategizing with bVelda /band the wolf warriors on how to defeat the enemy.

He witnessed Velda shift into a massive bgray /bwolf, her bws /bbbared /bagainst the Northern Tribe’s wolves.

In bthat /bmoment, he realized female wolves could be so powerful.

+15 Bonus

He began to see Adide’s carefully coordinated scarves and handmade cooldes as relics of a parallel world.

On nights in the trenches eatingpressed rations, he preferred listening to bVelda /banalyze enemy fortifications, watching her

dagger trace battack /broutes in the sand, her eyes reflecting bdetermination/b.

He fell for Velda when she shared her beliefs: bfemale /bwolves needed no special protection–strength was its own shield

Her confidence, her sharp analysis of battle bns/b, bher /bunwavering gaze–she was everything Adide wasn’t.

Her noble life, he understood, was safeguarded by the blood of wolf warriors.

He conveniently forgot the seven graves in Frostfang’s cemetery, bearing Adide’s family names.

bReturning /bto Frostfang, Adide walked past the Packhouse.

The pack grounds bore signs of renovation. The Packhouse band /bbthe /bbAlpha /bband /bBeta residences had all been refitted with new doors, erasing all traces of blood and w marks.

Even the bloodstains on the walls, those that refused to wash away, had been covered with a coat of whitewash.

Elder Halsey had called in favors from distant n members to help unload band /borganize the moving truck.

After the bustle died downb, /bHalsey and Adide strolled the za.

Frostfang used to be lively and bustling, but now it bwas /beerily quiet.

bHalsey /bsaid, “Frostfang’s yours to rebuild. The Omegas bare /bjust bthe /bfew you brought from Bloodmoon, and the wolf guards are rmingly few. You need to brecruit /bnew members. I can help with the Omegas.”

“Thank you,” Adide said. “Jessica and Ivy will handle it.”

“No trouble at all. We’re bDavidson /bkin,” bHalsey /bbsighed/b. “Your father, Alpha bBentley/b, used to bshare /bbattle stories. We were so

proud of him. Now, no Davidsons step into the arena.”

Adide fell silent. “Honores in many forms.”

“Sever ties with the Tenars,” Halsey warned at the pack’s edge.

“I understand.”

“One bday/b, Ulrik will regret this.”

“Maybe,” bAdide /bsaid firmly. “But I don’t bcare/bb./b”

Halsey nodded approvingly and bturned /bto leave Frostfang

bAdide /breturned to the Packhouse and tasked Jessica with recruiting new Omegas bfor /bthe pack, emphasizing the need for careful

selection.

Adide still bresided /bin bher /bold house, which bore no traces of renovation.

bSince /bher departure for Bloodmoon, it had stood empty, save for routine cleaning.

The year with Bloodmoon felt like a nightmare.

Had she not be Alpha Ulrik’s Luna, her family’s fate might have been different.