Complications
Triss watched as Talon squared off with a weaker Psi. It had been a week and Talon still did not fully understand nor trust his Psi abilities. Triss sighed and shook her head as she saw him succumbing to the other Psi. She gently entered their exchange and broke them apart. She then healed them both, and others helped them to the side.
She needed to find a way to help him with this block. She could clearly see his potential, but he was not allowing it to surface.
She was definitely going to have to enter his subconscious and find out what was going on.
Dark Howl had changed a lot. Tar and Jess walked in the capital, surveying the construction and the day-to-day life. Many had talked to them about renaming the Pack, with many wanting to acknowledge their relationship to Silver Moon. Jess was proud, to say the least.
There had originally been six Dark Howl cities; now the remnants of those six had been grouped into three, with them retaining the name of the largest city within the group. The three cities were now Moon Song, Dark Fortress, and Silversmith City. Moon Song had become the largest city, while Dark Fortress was the smallest.
Tar and Jess were currently walking the streets of Silversmith City. There had been problems there with the Pack's artisans, and both were called to mediate. Well, Jess, being an Omicron, was called to mediate, and Tar was there to ensure things stayed calm if mediation failed.
Being away from the mountain stronghold was beginning to become a norm for the two, and the Dark Howl territories were now a second home. Tar had seamlessly fit into his dual role of Beta and spy, and Jess enjoyed all the mediation and travel. Somehow it all worked out perfectly for the soulmates.
They were now focused on their tasks, both observing the streets of Silversmith as they seemingly casually walked its streets. Silversmith was probably the most important city within the Silver Moon Pack's community system. Here Dark Howl, Silver Moon, wandering werewolves, and even Luna Azul Pack members resided. If you could create, you could live within one of the most creative cities in werewolf history. Smiths, scientists, painters, sculptors, engineers — all of them thrived here.
Life in Dark Howl was now built on balance. Warriors trained daily, artisans produced goods for prosperity, and the Pack as a whole lived by a rhythm that mixed tradition with a new hunger for progress. Training was no longer just about claws and teeth, but about discipline, teamwork, and, for some, abilities that blurred the line between instinct and something far stranger.
Tar did as well as Marco had predicted. He had believed in his Alpha and became stronger because of it. He had always been a great Beta, but he was adding to his strengths and becoming even more valuable.
---
Amber's world was shifting too. Her love for Stefan was deepening, their soul bonds drawing them closer with each passing day. Yet with that closeness came unease — she could feel that Stefan was holding back from her. There was something he carried, a secret lodged between them like a blade hidden beneath silk.
And so Amber wrestled with the question that kept her awake at night: should she pry into what he hid, or should she trust him enough to allow him his secrets?
She pressed a hand to her stomach, where life stirred faintly within her, and let her eyes drift shut. For a moment, she allowed herself to daydream. She pictured Stefan holding their twins in his arms, their dark hair tumbling like his, their eyes bright like hers. She saw them running through the halls of the capital, giggling, tiny hands reaching out for their father's strength and her embrace. She saw Stefan laughing in a way he never had before, softened by fatherhood, freed from whatever shadows chained him.
Her heart ached at the image. How could she want something so simple, so beautiful, when she knew — she felt — that he was hiding a truth capable of shattering everything? Was she being selfish to expect openness when she herself was an open book, her heart laid bare only for him? Or was it selfish of him to keep the distance, to guard himself when she had given him everything?
Slowly, methodically, she began to understand what true love demanded — the balance between holding on and letting go, between trust and doubt. She wanted what was between her and Stefan to become beautiful, unique, everlasting. Was that too much to ask for? She prayed not.
She sat in her office, stacks of documents piled around her, thinking about Stefan and her new little sister. They were out training while she played bureaucratic, where was either the fun or the fairness in that? Her stomach shifted, a wave of nausea rolling through her again. Another new, complicated miracle in her life — life growing within her while she fought to hold her world together. Why did everything important to her always come with two sides of the coin?
She sensed Adonis long before he entered. She looked up with the face of a person valiantly fighting back nausea and was met with the mischievous grin of a sibling. She rolled her eyes and rushed to the restroom.
---
Stefan, on the other hand, clung to a different vision. For him, love meant nothing while past hurts defined his every step. Triss had always been like a sister to him, a stable presence when everything else fell apart. But it was her Psi powers that kept him on his chosen path. Without them, he would never be able to hold the court together. Without them, his idea of revenge would crumble. His revenge against Amber — his soulmate.
Even now, as Triss guided him through another treatment, he felt the fracture of his mind resisting her touch. And then he saw it — Alisa, his dead wife, smiling at him. The warmth of her gaze, the comfort of her presence, almost real enough to touch. His chest tightened.
But then, slowly, the vision shifted. Amber's face emerged in place of Alisa's, eyes full of love and pain all at once. The images flickered, transposed, Alisa and Amber merging and tearing apart, two truths battling for space in his mind. His heart thundered. Was Amber his curse, or his salvation? His reason to hate, or his chance to heal?
He gritted his teeth as Triss pressed deeper into his thoughts, guiding them into compartments, tucking away the chaos. But the visions would not leave him. He could feel them layered beneath the surface — Alisa's memory, Amber's bond, his rage, his longing — all woven into a knot he no longer knew how to untangle.
Revenge had become both obsession and addiction rolled into one. He did not care if it devoured him. Why should he need sanity, when those he cherished were already gone? He would see this through to the end, even if it destroyed him.
---
Everything was changing — training, love, cities, even the very roles they all played. Triss knew she couldn't delay any longer.
As she secured the fragile connections of Stefan's mind she thought about her work. She almost shook her head. She would not allow anything to happen to Stefan, even in his single-minded state she would not allow her Alpha, and brother, to destroy himself. This was a promise she made at the start and a promise she was determined to uphold.
As she finished she thought about her other problem. She felt Stefan's mind settle and become tranquil as she continued to think about how she could resolve the next situation. Talon's block wasn't just stubbornness; it was something buried deep, something festering. She placed a hand on her chest and resolved that the next time he faltered, she would go into his subconscious and uncover the truth. He did not want this, but she knew he needed it.
They would see it through together, like allies should.
Triss shook her head. One day their Pack would walk without so many complications. For now her gaze rested on her Alpha. She would stay with him until his mind had fully stabilized and she could sense his thoughts were as clear as cool spring water.