[Third Person].
redith didn’t slow until she reached her bedroom.
Draven had gone the other way—to return her things to the workstation and to summon Xamira’s nanny with strict instructions. And redith knew why.
Xamira, once healed, would not be trusted to remain still without watchful eyes, so Draven wasn’t wrong.
The door closed behind redith with a soft click, and she was t with imdiate silence. Now that she was alone, she straightened—and the calm she had been holding fractured just enough for her to breathe deeply.
"Valmora." The na was not just a call. It was a summons.
Instantly, the heat stirred, coiling low in her chest, sharp and defiant. Valmora surged—not outward, not enough to seize control—but close enough that redith felt her fury vibrating against her bones.
"That ends now," redith said aloud, her voice steady and cold.
Valmora’s presence bristled. "She was a threat," she answered, unrepentant. "I did what you hesitated to do."
redith’s jaw tightened. "You acted without permission," she said flatly. "You took my body. You nearly killed soone while wearing my face."
A low, dangerous growl rolled through her blood. "I protected you."
"No!" redith snapped. "You indulged yourself."
The air in the room thickened as Valmora pushed back, her power pressing insistently, but redith did not yield. Instead, she stepped forward, planting her feet as if she were facing a physical opponent.
"You are my wolf," redith said, each word deliberately. "Not my ruler. And definitely not my executioner."
The presence recoiled slightly.
"A wolf does not overtake its host," redith continued. "No matter how powerful. No matter who you once were."
Valmora flared—ancient pride, wrath, and the echo of a crown that had once been hers. "I am the Wolf Queen."
redith didn’t blink. "And I am the woman who carries you," she replied. "Do not forget that."
Silence followed. Then redith spoke again, quieter, but far more dangerous.
"If you ever take control like that again," she said, "I will denounce you."
The word landed like a blade.
"I will no longer care that you are the Wolf Queen, or I’m the reincarnation of one. I will not honour you. I will not listen to you. I will cage you so deep you will never touch the surface of my mind again."
The presence stilled completely. Valmora did not apologize. She did not retreat out of sha, but she fell silent.
And that silence—heavy, restrained, absolute—was acceptance.
redith exhaled slowly, the tension in her shoulders easing at last. "Good," she murmured.
Then, she moved to the window and rested her forehead briefly against the cool glass, grounding herself. Outside, the estate carried on as if nothing had happened.
But inside her, a line had been drawn. And for the first ti since awakening Valmora fully, redith knew her wolf would not cross it again.
But if it ever does happen, she would not hesitate to give up her title and her powers if that ant she got to remain in control.
---
Not long after, Draven returned to their bedroom and found redith standing near the window, her posture composed but distant, as if she were still listening for sothing beyond the glass.
The mont she sensed him, she turned away and walked toward the sitting area, lowering herself onto the sofa without a word.
Draven followed and spoke first, his tone steady and deliberate.
"The nanny is watching over Xamira," he said. "I stationed a guard outside her room, and the balcony door has been permanently sealed. Patrols have been instructed to keep watch on that balcony as well. If even a fly gets too close, they will report to ."
redith nodded once. That eased sothing tight in her chest.
Draven sat beside her. Silence stretched between them for a mont before he glanced at her, his expression serious.
"How did you know?" he asked quietly. "That Xamira was a shapeshifter. What happened before I ca in?"
At the reminder of her encounter, redith felt goosebumps ripple down her arms. It took her so monts to stabilize herself. Finally, she inhaled deeply before speaking.
"When she went to the bathroom... I felt a pull," she said. "I don’t know how else to describe it. Sothing drew to the balcony."
Draven listened without interrupting.
"I saw a green feather on the floor," redith continued. "And imdiately, I rembered the three birds we saw earlier. The ones fighting in the sky."
His brow furrowed.
"You rember how I said the one in the middle was fierce?" she went on. "That bird flew toward the house."
Draven’s eyes sharpened.
"I also couldn’t stop thinking about Xamira’s eyes," redith said softly. "They always felt familiar. Too familiar. Then I rembered... back in Duskmoor. A green bird with green eyes visited my balcony. I fed it. Talked to it."
She swallowed a lump before revealing, "It was her. That was when I realized it."
Draven’s breath stilled.
"Everything clicked as she ca back from the bathroom," redith said. "And that’s when Valmora took over."
Draven’s jaw tightened.
"Xamira also stopped pretending," redith continued. "She turned into the green bird and tried to escape through the balcony. But Valmora sealed the doors with fae magic. After that..."
redith closed her eyes briefly. "She kept changing. She transford into a butterfly, a rat, a coloured pencil. Then a cat."
Draven shuddered—actually shuddered. "In all my years, I’ve never heard of anything like this," he said quietly. "It’s my fault for adopting her without knowing what she was."
redith turned to him. "This isn’t your fault. No one could have known. She disguised herself perfectly."
Draven leaned back slightly, releasing a slow breath. "Now I understand why Valmora hated her."
"Yes," redith agreed. "Valmora sensed her long before I did."
A small silence fell again. Then—
"I can’t wait for her to wake up," Draven said finally. "I have too many questions. Especially about her parents’ death. Because now, nothing makes sense again."
redith nodded. "I want answers too. And I want to know her true form."
"But we will have to wait until tomorrow," Draven added grimly.
redith accepted that.
Then Draven stared at her for a mont before lowering his voice. "redith, there is sothing important you should know. Valmora taking control like that makes you vulnerable. And it’s dangerous for you, and for everyone."
"She won’t do it again," redith said imdiately.
Draven searched her face. "How are you so sure?"
"Because I’ve warned her," redith replied calmly. "If she ever takes over my body, mind, or soul again without my permission, I will denounce her. I will cage her completely. I won’t care that she’s the reincarnation of the Wolf Queen."
Draven held her gaze for a long mont, then he nodded slowly. "Good," he said. "Because I won’t lose you to your own power."
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