Seraphina's point of view
Rumors move faster than wolves.
I learned that within a week.
At first, they came as whisperslow voices that stopped when I entered a room, eyes sliding away too quickly. Then they grew bolder. Questions wrapped in concern. Doubt dressed as loyalty.
"Is she ready to lead alone?"
"Maybe the Ironfang Alpha saw something we didn't."
"She's young. Too young."
Each word struck like a stone thrown at my back.
I didn't turn around. I didn't show them how much it burned.
Instead, I trained.
Before dawn, when the world was still quiet, I was already in the yard. Blade in hand. Muscles aching. Sweat soaking through my clothes. I pushed my body until my arms shook and my lungs screamed.
Pain was simple.
Pain made sense.
"Again," I muttered, circling my opponent.
The warrior across from meTalon, one of our strongesthesitated. "Alpha, you've already beaten me twice."
"Again," I said, sharper this time.
He nodded and came at me fast.
Steel rang against steel. I twisted, ducked, kicked his legs out from under him, and pressed my blade to his throat before he hit the ground.
"Yield," I said, breathing hard.
"I yield," he gasped.
I stepped back and offered him a hand. He took it, respect shining in his eyes.
But respect wasn't enough.
Not when doubt was spreading like rot beneath the surface.
As the warriors dispersed, Elder Thalia approached me, her expression troubled. "You are pushing yourself too hard."
"Good," I said. "Let them see strength."
"They see it," she replied gently. "But they also hear things."
I wiped my blade clean. "From where?"
She hesitated. "Ironfang territory."
My grip tightened.
"Specifically," she continued, "from a woman with a silver tongue and a talent for shadowed magic."
Morrigan.
The name tasted bitter.
"She questions your leadership," Thalia said. "Claims the Ironfang rejection revealed a weakness in your spirit."
I laughed, sharp and humorless. "Of course she does."
"She suggests," Thalia added carefully, "that your emotions rule you. That you would have weakened both packs."
Anger surged through me, hot and dangerous. "She doesn't know me."
"No," Thalia agreed. "But many will listen anyway."
I sheathed my blade and turned away. "Let them talk."
"Seraphina," she said softly. "Rumors left alone grow teeth."
I stopped, breathing in slowly. "Then I'll give them something stronger to believe in."
By midday, the village buzzed with restless energy. I could feel it in the way wolves moved, the way they watched me from the corners of their eyes. Loyalty was still therebut it was being tested.
I called a gathering.
They filled the central square, warriors, healers, scouts, elders. My father stood near the back, arms crossed, his gaze steady.
I stepped onto the stone platform and raised my voice.
"I know what's being said," I began.
A ripple of surprise moved through the crowd.
"I know some of you are questioning whether I can lead without a mate at my side."
Murmurs spread. No one spoke.
I held their gaze. "Strength does not come from standing beside someone else. It comes from standing when you are alone."
Silence.
"I was rejected," I continued, voice calm but firm. "That was not my shame. It was his."
A few nods. A few growls of agreement.
"I will not chase Ironfang. I will not beg for alliance. Nightwind stands strong because of who we are, not who we bind ourselves to."
My father's chest lifted slightly, pride flickering in his eyes.
"If anyone doubts that," I finished, "they are free to challenge me."
No one moved.
No one spoke.
The silence stretched, then broke with a single voiceTalon's.
"She is our Alpha," he growled. "And I would follow her into any fight."
Others joined in. Fists hit chests. Voices rose.
Relief washed through mebut it was thin, fragile.
Because I knew this wasn't over.
That night, I dreamed of fire.
The forest burned around me, flames licking at the trees, the sky red with smoke. I ran, heart pounding, searching for somethingsomeonebut every path twisted into darkness.
A child cried.
I spun, dread clawing at my chest. "Hello?"
The crying grew louder, sharper, full of fear.
Then a voice, smooth and cold, whispered in my ear.
You will lose everything.
I woke with a gasp, sweat soaking my skin.
The room was dark. Silent.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to calm my racing heart.
"Just a dream," I whispered.
But my wolf paced restlessly, unsettled.
Something is coming, she warned.
The next days blurred together.
Training. Meetings. Patrols.
I kept myself busy, but beneath it all, anger simmered. Morrigan's rumors continued to spread, twisting my name in ways that made my teeth grind.
"She's unstable."
"She's driven by pride."
"She would destroy us all just to prove herself."
Each lie sharpened my resolve.
If Morrigan wanted a war of words, she wouldn't win.
I began planning quietlystrengthening borders, securing alliances, studying Ironfang's weaknesses. Not to attack.
Not yet.
But to remind myself that I could.
Late one evening, as I studied maps in my chamber, my father entered without knocking.
"You're thinking about revenge," he said.
I didn't look up. "I'm thinking about survival."
He leaned against the table. "Those two often look the same."
"I won't act without reason," I said. "But I won't be unprepared either."
He watched me for a long moment. "Hatred is heavy, Seraphina."
"So is forgiveness," I replied.
He sighed. "Just don't let it blind you."
After he left, I stared at the maps, my thoughts drifting where I didn't want them to go.
To Kael.
To the look in his eyes that nightconfused, almost panicked.
No. I shoved the thought away.
Whatever spell or lie had guided his actions didn't change the result.
He had broken me.
And I would never be weak again.
Far from Nightwind lands, beneath twisted trees and dying moonlight, Morrigan stood alone in a ruined stone circle. Ancient symbols glowed faintly at her feet.
She smiled as dark magic coiled around her fingers.
"Soon," she whispered. "They'll tear each other apart."
She raised her hands to the sky, chanting words older than the packs themselves.
The moon dimmed.
The forest shuddered.
And somewhere deep in the shadows, something ancient stirred
something hungry.
Unaware, I stood beneath the same moon, sharpening my blade, preparing for a battle I didn't yet know was coming.
But it was coming.
And it would change everything.