~~ANIKA VALERION~~

~~THE SHADOW PACK~~

The guards dipped their heads in a bow as I stepped out of the dungeon, their eyes averted.

I left without giving Joana an answer.

Her plea echoed in my ears with every step I took up the stone staircase, clinging to my skin like the chill of that hellhole.

My freedom… and I’ll tell you everything.

I wanted to know. Gods, I needed to know. How did Conor go from trying to murder me in the woods to signing a marriage pact with my pack’s elders, weaponizing their desperation?

But cutting Joana loose to get those answers? The thought turned my stomach.

I almost made it to the wing when I found the elders waiting in a line outside.

The weight of their gaze pressed down on my shoulders before I even took a step.

The oldest among them, a woman with silver braids, stepped forward.

Her face was etched with the kind of authority that made the air feel heavy.

“Your Highness,” she began, her voice laced with urgency, “the wolves demand justice. The fake claimant has insulted our bloodline. We should end her tonight, before the moon rises again to bear witness to our hesitation.”

I lifted a hand, exhaustion pulling at my bones. The ride from the Eclipse Pack had left every muscle aching, and the storm inside my chest refused to settle.

“Not yet,” I said. My voice came out quiet, but it carried. “Hold off a while longer.”

A ripple of surprise moved through the crowd. Silas, who had been standing behind the group, stepped forward. His eyes searched mine, offering backup.

“As my daughter wishes,” he said, his voice steady despite his hesitation.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “We have waited for a while. A few days will not break us.”

The elders bowed, though I caught a flicker of disapproval in their eyes. They scattered, whispering among themselves.

Silas lingered, studying me with that fatherly concern I was still learning to accept.

“You should rest,” he murmured. “The journey was brutal.”

I nodded, too beat to argue.

Back in my bedroom, I peeled off the velvet gown with trembling fingers, letting it pool at my feet.

I headed to the bathroom to run a bath but realized it had already been drawn—hot water scented with jasmine and herbs.

I sank into the tub with a sigh that bordered on a sob. The heat soothed my muscles, even as my mind raced.

Three nights.

In three nights, Conor would waltz through those gates and demand I honor a pact I never signed. The thought made bile rise in my throat.

And Xander…

I closed my eyes, tipping my head back against the marble.

He had let me go.

No declaration.

No plea.

Just that formal “safe journey, Your Highness.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks, mixing with the bathwater.

A knock sounded at the door, followed by the creak of it opening.

“I need a minute,” I called out.

A throat cleared. “It’s me, Ani.”

Silas.

He stayed behind the screen. I heard him sink into a chair across the room, giving me space.

“I was hoping we could catch up,” he said, his voice warm.

“Maybe run through the woods together since it’s been forever since you shifted… or just talk. About life before we found each other.”

My heart squeezed. He was busting his ass to bridge eighteen years.

I remembered the look on his face when he first learned of Nana’s death. The grief. The way he whispered that it was strange she hadn’t held on longer.

The Healer’s warning about a force draining her life still haunted my thoughts. I had so many questions.

But right now, I was running on fumes.

“I’m dead on my feet,” I admitted. “Maybe tomorrow?”

A pause stretched out, then I heard him stand up.

“Of course,” he said. “Rest up, my daughter. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

The door clicked shut.

I soaked in the tub until the water turned cold. My mind was a mess of questions, heartbreak, and the weight of a crown I never asked for.

Exhaustion finally won out. My eyes drifted shut, my head tipping back against the marble…

Darkness swallowed me whole.

First came the goosebumps prickling my bare skin, then the pitch black pressing against me. The walls felt like they were caving in, inch by inch, squeezing the air from my lungs.

My chest burned.

I couldn't breathe.

I thrashed, gasping for air.

Then came the whispers. Furious.

“You should never have survived it… Now, you’ll bring your home nothing but doom.”

Then, from the heart of the void, she emerged.

My mother.

I had never seen her face before, yet I knew her instantly. The same olive skin, the same curve of her lips, the same fire I caught in my own reflection when anger took the wheel.

She didn’t possess half the traits my father hyped up on the ride from the Eclipse pack.

There was no love in those eyes. Only terrible doom.

She moved fast, snapping right in front of my face. Before I could scream, she pressed a dagger to my throat. The blade was ice against my skin.

“Die,” she whispered, pressing the blade deeper until blood poured from my throat.

I jolted awake with a gasp, water sloshing over the rim of the tub. My hand flew to my throat, half-expecting hot blood.

Nothing.

My heart hammered against my ribs, and I sucked in a few breaths.

What the hell had just happened?