The moonlight crept through the tall arched windows of Jaxon's private quarters, shimmering on the glass of half-finished whiskey by the edge of his desk. Maps were sprawled out in front of him, littered with markings, territories, patrol paths, red-inked circles that marked rogue attacks.
He stood in silence, one hand resting against the wooden frame of the window, his eyes unfocused as they traced the treetops in the distance. Shadows moved, but none human, only wind dancing through branches. Behind him, the door creaked open.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Kai's voice cut softly through the quiet.
Jaxon didn't turn. "That's a luxury I can't afford."
Kai stepped into the room, looking at the chaos of papers on the desk. "You're still tracking the rogue attacks?"
"They're escalating. The attack in the south border, same as the one near the eastern ridge. Clean strikes, vanished without a trace." Jaxon replied calmly.
Kai picked up one of the reports. "Still no scent trails?" he glanced through it.
"Nothing. Not even residue. It's like they're being cloaked." Jaxon let out a deep sigh.
Kai frowned. "Dark magic?"
"Possibly, but I hope not." Jaxon said, finally turning towards Kai. His face was drawn, sleepless. "We've faced rogues before, but not like this. These attacks are coordinated and calculated."
Kai hesitated. "So what should we do?"
"I don't know." Jaxon's jaw tensed. "But I feel like the ground is splitting under my feet. Nothing feels stable anymore,not the borders, not the warriors, not... me." He said quietly.
"You haven't talked about her. Not really." Kai asked, concern etched on his face.
"Because I don't know what to say." Jaxon looked down at his hands. "I rejected her, Kai. Sent her away like she was nothing. And now she's back, stronger than ever, and I don't know how to look at her without remembering the day I broke both of us." Jaxon muttered in a low tone.
Kai walked over, voice softening. "Then maybe you need to stop looking back and start asking yourself what you're going to do now. She's here. The attacks are happening. And you're still Alpha. What are you going to do, Alpha?"
Jaxon didn't answer.
Kai's eyes softened. "You still love her, but you know she's not the same girl who left."
"I know," Jaxon murmured.
---
In the Quinn household, Daren sat at the end of the long dining table, untouched tea growing cold in his cup. Across from him, Liora sat with perfect posture, her fingers interlaced over her lap, her smile as polished as ever.
"She shouldn't be back," Liora said smoothly. "Not after everything that happened."
"She's my daughter," Daren muttered.
"A daughter who brought shame and division to this pack. Emery's return will unravel everything we've worked for." Liora scoffed.
Daren's jaw flexed. "She protected the pack in ways no one else could."
Liora raised a brow. "Then she disappeared without explanation. Loyalty, Daren, is proven in presence, not absence, get that through your head."
Daren glanced at her, his grip on the table hardening.
She leaned forward, voice quiet but pointed. "You owe it to Jaxon to stand firm. If you hesitate now, the entire pack will suffer."
Daren nodded slowly, but the guilt burned in his throat.
He had watched his daughter be cast out, watched her walk away with pain in her eyes, heartbroken. And he had said nothing. Not then, not now.
---
In her room, Emery sat by the window, the moonlight casting shadows across her face. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself as if trying to hold in all the things she couldn't say.
She stared out into the night. "Three years," she whispered to herself. "And it still hurts."
"I came back to protect this pack. That's what I keep saying. But deep down... maybe I needed to know if he ever regretted it. If I meant anything to him at all." She thought to herself, reminiscing about the event that happened that day.
Her thoughts drifted back to Jaxon, she could still highlight the traces of his body in her mind, the broad shoulders, the scars he wore like badges, the rise and fall of his chest when their eyes locked. But it wasn't just his body that lingered in her memory. It was their laughter, their happiness.
Her breath hitched. She hated that part of her that still saw him, still felt him.
She still remembered what it was like to be wanted by him but things were different now. He had rejected her.
He had chosen silence when she needed him most.
She closed her eyes. Images from the past danced behind her eyelids, Jaxon laughing in the training fields, brushing wind-blown hair from her eyes, whispering promises against her skin. Promises that shattered the day he rejected her.
Emery let out a shaky breath. "You gave up on me. But I didn't die, Jaxon. I learned to live without you." She muttered, more like a confession.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She stood up and opened the door slowly.
Elara Moonveil stood there, covered in flowing robes of midnight and silver. Her eyes, ancient and wise, held a warmth Emery hadn't felt in years.
"Elara?" Emery exclaimed, gesturing her to come in.
"How are you doing?," Elara asked gently as she took a seat.
"I'm fine but I didn't—" Emery stuttered.
Elara cut her off "I know you didn't call me but I needed to see you and I'm sure you must have some unanswered questions?"
Emery's throat tightened.
Elara came closer. "You were always meant to return. Not as the girl who left, but as the woman who's awakening."
"Awakening?" Emery asked inquisitively.
Elara nodded. "The visions you have been seeing is a sign, of power buried deep within you."
Emery swallowed hard. "I don't want all this, I shouldn't have come back."
Elara held Emery's hands gently. "Emery, I know returning back must have reopened old wounds, but bear in mind that the moon goddess chose you for a reason."
Emery hesitated. But something inside her stirred.