“So,” I asked, around a huge mouthful of bread, “how did you start the fire?” Nana Baspy grinned, looking up at me as she ladled spoonful after spoonful of extra stew into Ares’s bowl. “Nobody has seen my shifted form in quite some time, little wolf. When I heard the commotion outside, and I realised what was going on, it was easy enough to blend in with the fight – and grab an oil lamp in my mouth, and smash it against the Pack House in the midst of the brawl.” She shrugged like it was nothing, finally putting the ladle down when Ares’s bowl started to overflow. “And then I ran here, following a more direct route than you. I sent your Grandpa Attie over as soon as the fight started, in case I couldn’t make it back in time.” She beamed, proud of herself. “But I did.” I grinned back at her, swallowing a burning spoonful of stew. “I’m not surprised he’s so tired, then,” I said, looking over at Grandpa Attie and raising my eyebrows. She shook her head fondly, nudging him beneath the ta

With Ares gone, I tried to pull myself together. I tried to be the Young Luna I had once been. I’d been born for this; I was a fighter, a survivor.And yet every part of me had crumbled. I ate and slept and trained and planned, but a part of me was missing. My heart was lost, taken from me the moment I’d made the decision that had changed everything.Without Ares, I was alive – but I wasn’t living.“You’ll be all right, little wolf,” murmured Nana Baspy, taking my hand and squeezing it. “You did the right thing.” Only she and Grandpa Attie knew the truth. I bit down on my lip. Hard.Mum nodded her assent. “Absolutely. He couldn’t be trusted, sweetheart.” Her hard expression softened somewhat, and she leant over the table towards me. Our relationship had changed, perhaps irrevocably; I knew now what she was truly capable of, and I understood the lengths she would go to in order to protect her pack from any perceived harm.But what I had done to Ares… Maybe it wasn’t what she’d done tha

My heart beat hard in my chest. “How did you find me?” “It wasn’t hard.” Her scowl deepened. “The Greyhide Canyon Pack have weakened the defences your idle little pack have on their eastern side.” She stepped closer, jabbing her finger into my chest. Her nail was sharp; my brow furrowed and my upper lip curled back from my teeth. “It was easy enough to bypass the Warrior Wolves patrolling the line between Blue Moon’s and Winterpaw’s land.” “Careful,” I snarled, though I was more angry that my parents were still trusting Greyhide’s nonsense letter over my word and leaving this side of our territory weak. “You may have found your way into Blue Moon’s territory, but you won’t be getting out.” Her glassy blue eyes widened; her nostrils flared. “At last,” she said, with no fear in her nasal voice, “you’re starting to sound like a Winterpaw Warrior wolf. It’s a shame you won’t live long enough to make it back there.” “Stop posturing, Omega,” I snapped. “Why are you here?” “Isn’t it obvi

“Tell me what Nazte and Scillian are planning,” I said flatly, “and this – all of this – is yours.”My method of torture was exactly the opposite. I gestured broadly to the table before us, upon which were a myriad of foods, drinks, and clothes. Luezza’s scowl didn’t once let up, but her eyes, usually like hard chips of blue ice, seemed to melt at the sight of the steaming buns and herbal tea.Her hands were knotted tightly to the chair I’d sat her on. Her fingers, which had not once stopped writhing in an attempt to shake off her bonds, at last stilled. She sighed. “Fine.”I frowned at her. Was it really so easy to break her? I remembered what she had been like when I’d first met her, with a scowl that never faltered and eyes full of hatred. Even her sugared words had come out sour.Then again… I had seen the way the Winterpaw Warrior wolves lived. Such a spread had o

‘He – he’s what?’ I frowned at nothing, my senses suddenly more alert than they’d been a moment ago. Luezza had found me so easily…‘Gone missing. I haven’t seen him for four days. Cendres kept talking to me through our mindlink until I was out of range, and he still hasn’t returned.’‘Well, where is he? Does Cendres have any ideas?’‘I doubt he’s gone on a peaceful little fishing trip,’ said Ares dryly. ‘I can only assume that he’s gone to the Greyhide Canyon Pack. He’s not used to being an Omega in Winterpaw; there, at least, he’ll have his status back, if what Luezza has told you is true.’I twisted around, hearing sounds where there were none. ‘Yeah. Yeah, you’re probably right. Poor Cen, though.’‘At least I know where you are,’ Ares agreed, though even from here I could feel a flare of pain through the mate bond, like lightning through clouds, as it struck him. ‘If you went missing... If I didn’t know where to find you… I’d go mad, beautiful.’‘Not that much would change, then.