the last Nightspire

Alpha Darius’s Reflection

The fire crackled softly in the hearth of Alpha Darius’s office, casting flickering shadows on the walls. The room was quiet except for the occasional rustle of papers on his desk. In his hands, he held an old report—one he hadn’t read in over a year but could recite by heart.

The Nightspire m******e.

Darius leaned back in his chair, his sharp gray eyes scanning the faded pages. He had read this report a hundred times before, but now, with Aneles—*Selena*—claiming to be the last surviving member of that pack, he found himself questioning everything.

According to the official records, the Nightspire pack had been wiped out in a rogue attack a year and a half ago. The devastation had been total. Men, women, and children… all slaughtered. The report described the scene in brutal detail: blood, fire, destruction. And the culprit? Unidentified rogues, their tracks vanishing before a proper investigation could be conducted.

He frowned, his fingers brushing the edge of the parchment. But then there was the part that didn’t sit right—the witness account. Isaac Frostblood.

Isaac had arrived at the scene shortly after the attack, according to the report. He claimed to have come to Nightspire’s territory for unrelated business, only to find the pack already destroyed. He had told the investigating council that there was no one left alive, not even the Alpha’s youngest daughter. Isaac had been thorough, convincing, and the council had no reason to doubt him.

Yet now, barely a year and a half later, a girl claiming to be Selena Nightspire—the same girl who was declared dead in that very report—stood before him.

Darius rubbed his temples, his thoughts racing.

*Who is this girl?*

She had the confidence and the fire of a Nightspire, but could she truly be Selena? The records were clear. No survivors. And Isaac had… confirmed it.

The thought made him uneasy. Selena’s claim that Isaac had destroyed her clan didn’t align with the official account. The council had sealed the report as a rogue attack and moved on, but what if they had been wrong? What if someone—Isaac—had manipulated the truth?

He stood and walked to the window, staring out at the moonlit forest. The weight of his responsibility as Alpha pressed heavily on his shoulders. If what Selena said was true, then the council had not only failed to uncover the truth but had allowed the real culprit to walk free.

*Why would Isaac lie?* And if he did, *what else has been hidden?*

Darius’s jaw tightened. He couldn’t ignore this, not when the consequences could ripple through the entire pack system. But before he could take any action, he needed proof. Selena needed to prove she was who she claimed to be.

He turned back to his desk, his eyes narrowing at the report. The only way for Selena to prove her identity would be through her wolf. The connection between a wolf and its lineage was unbreakable, and only a true Nightspire wolf would carry the marks of their bloodline—the distinct streaks of silver fur and the piercing green eyes that mirrored Selena’s human ones.

But there was a problem.

Selena hadn’t shifted. Not once since she joined EmberWing. If she truly was who she claimed to be, then why hadn’t her wolf appeared? Was she suppressing it? Was it injured? Or was she… lying?

Darius sat back down, his mind swirling with questions. He couldn’t let this go. If there was even a chance that Selena’s story was true, he needed to uncover the truth—not just for her, but for the integrity of his pack and the entire system of justice.

With a heavy sigh, he leaned forward and began drafting a plan. He would dig deeper into the old Nightspire case, reexamine every piece of evidence, every testimony. And he would push Selena to face her wolf. Only then would he know if she was truly the girl she claimed to be.

*If she is Selena Nightspire, she will prove it.*

And if she wasn’t?

Darius’s expression hardened. Then he would find out who—or what—she really was.