Ellie POV
The Moonstone packhouse had always felt grand to me — towering windows, stone walls that caught the light, the soft scent of pine from the forest pressing close around it. But today, standing at the threshold with two sleepy boys balanced on my hips, it didn’t feel intimidating.
It felt like coming home.
I hadn’t planned to move in. The apartment had been comfortable, my little sanctuary, but after Alaric’s announcement and the whispers that followed, privacy had become a fragile thing.
People stared longer when I walked through the market now. They called me Alpha’s daughter in hushed tones, half awe, half curiosity.
I was still getting used to it.
Inside, the packhouse was alive with the sounds of morning. Someone was baking — the scent of cinnamon and honey drifted from
