Elowen truly believed her words and didn't take them to heart. He turned to leave.
Narissa called out to him. She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window carved into the cliffside den, bathed in the warmth of the dawnlight filtering through ancient runic stone, her voice soft as she spoke, “Dad, this is the last time I will call you.”
For a brief moment, Elowen seemed to see a reflection of his younger days with Astrid. His mind wandered for a moment.
Snapping back to reality, he looked at his daughter, his expression softening somewhat. “Once you're mated, stay calm. Whatever mistakes you make after that, no one will be there to help you.”
Narissa lowered her gaze, a faint, sarcastic smile playing on her lips. On the fifth day, everyone was busy preparing for Liora’s Moon-Day celebration.
Narissa, on the other hand, spent her coin collecting all the moon-stones that recorded Drake’s betrayal and arranged for the herald-ravens to circulate them across every clan territory.
She even went as far as purchasing spell-mirrors on the high cliffs where pack members often gathered, determined to let everyone know about the affair between Drake and Liora.
Moreover, during this time, she had thoroughly investigated the events where Liora had framed her and now, with irrefutable evidence carved by seers into memory-crystals, it was clear that Liora had orchestrated everything herself.
By the time the truth came to light, they would likely already be on their private island-sanctuary, as Elowen had planned to publicly acknowledge Liora's lineage during her Moon-Day celebration that night.
All of this was no longer her concern. She had already booked her place on a departing sky-ship and was on a flight overseas to distant wolf tribes beyond the Spirit Sea.
Meanwhile, on the island-sanctuary, Drake had searched for Narissa everywhere, but couldn’t find her. Eventually, he learned from Evan that she hadn’t come because she was feeling unwell.
Drake was stunned in surprise, “Narissa’s not feeling well?”
Evan, with a hint of impatience in his eyes, replied, “It’s just an excuse. She’s probably off somewhere throwing a tantrum.”
Hearing this, Drake couldn’t hide his concern, “Aren’t you worried about her?”
Evan, with an air of indifference, was slightly taken aback by his sudden concern. He gave Drake a look and said, “She’s always been spoiled and temperamental. It’s probably just another tantrum over Liora.”
He paused, then glanced at Drake curiously, “But you, why are you suddenly concerned? Today’s Liora’s Moon-Day, don’t make her upset.”
Drake’s expression darkened, his gaze toward Evan filled with displeasure. “Evan, Narissa is your own sister.”
He furrowed his brows, his fists tightening in frustration. “She’s been acting off these few days and now she’s suddenly gone from home. Didn't you think about these things?”
Evan stood frozen, as if struck by lightning. The smile on his lips froze and he remained silent for a long time.
Drake didn’t wait for him to respond. His face darkened further as he repeatedly attempted to reach Narissa through the clan-link stone, but the link remained cold and unanswered.
For some reason, since the morning, an overwhelming sense of unease gnawed at him.
The unease that had been building inside Drake reached its peak when he learned that Narissa had not arrived. His mind began to replay everything that had happened recently and a wave of guilt washed over him.
In the past few days, due to Liora’s Moon-Day, he hadn’t had much time to spend with Narissa. It was only now that he realized Narissa had barely spoken to him lately.
Once she returned, he promised himself he would spend more time with her. But before he could even begin searching for her, his messenger hawk returned with a scroll from his steward. “Alpha Kingsley, your connection with Lady Liora is spreading across the realms. You’d better take a look!”
He paused, confused. What could be going on with him and Liora? But as soon as he unrolled the scroll, his mind went blank.
The magic-mirrors around the realm were flooded with numerous intimate recordings and memory-crystals of him, spreading across every territory. The clan-songs were filled with wolves questioning his relationship with her.
Without hesitation, he turned to his steward. “Silence the bards immediately. Stop all rumor-songs. We can't let Narissa find it out.”
As he spoke, his voice trembled with anxiety. He kept telling himself that these things could never reach Narissa. “If we act quickly, Narissa won’t find out.”
But the next moment, his steward’s trembling voice shattered all his hopes. “Alpha Kingsley, the rumor-songs are too loud right now. The packs are spreading them faster than we can silence them.”
Drake, furious, hurled the scroll to the ground, his face dark with rage. “Useless!”
He scrambled to use his influence to silence the clans, but no sooner had he suppressed the rumor-songs in one region than they erupted again in another. His frustration reached its peak and he quickly engraved a rune-message into a link stone, hoping to send it to Narissa.
‘Narissa, everything you see is false. I have nothing to do with her, please believe me.’
Drake couldn’t bear the thought of Narissa, who had always despised traitorous mates, seeing the truth. He couldn’t imagine how furious she would be.
But after sending the rune, Drake froze completely.
The stone pulsed once—
and then dimmed.
A message carved itself across its surface:
‘This link has been severed.’
It seemed Narissa had blocked him from her soul-bond stones.
