“To the Silverstones,”
“To the Silverstones,”
I found it hanging alone, as if the rest of the gowns had stepped back to give it space — or perhaps Juniper had hung it there in the front of the closet for me. The moment my fingers brushed the sheer mesh lace bodice, something inside me stilled. The lace felt like spun moonlight, its flexible boning tracing lines that promised to hold me upright even if my courage faltered.
I lifted it from the rack, and it caught the light, soft and inviting. The dress was long — floor‑length, elegant, the fabric pooling like ink at my feet. When I stepped into it, the world seemed to hush.
The lace‑up back tightened with each pull, drawing me inward, shaping me, keeping my back straight. The high front wrap slit revealed itself only when I moved, a whisper of daring hidden beneath all that composure. It wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.
When I finally looked in the mirror, I didn’t see a girl trying on a dress. I saw someone stepping into a role she’d forgotten she was allowed to play— someone who could walk into an event and feel the room pause, just for a heartbeat.
The dress didn’t transform me. It simply revealed the part of me that had been waiting, a part of me that had been dormant for far too long.
“You look stunning, Tyr,” Willow whispered, opening the drawers of my vanity table and browsing through my jewelry.
“I feel ridiculous…” I mumbled under my breath. “Dressing up like this, getting ready for a ceremony I don’t really deserve, while the twins are still unconscious…”
“You don’t think you deserve it?” she asked as she draped a diamond necklace over my collar.
“Of course, not! I’m not—” I sucked in a steadying breath. “I don’t have what it takes to lead one pack, let alone two…”
“You won’t be,” Willow replied. “You’re leading a single pack, with expanded territory. The Shadowthorne wolves agreed to this merger because they trust you to protect their interests, especially if the twins wake—when they wake up,” she corrected with a look of guilt.
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, Willow.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure the twins were clueless when they—”
“No, Skye told me his father started their training when they were kids,” I interrupted.
“Well, in any case, you have us. Juniper knows their schedule inside and out, Novic will help run the training grounds, and I will do my best to help as much as I can.”
“What if I fail? What if I ruin everything?” I asked her, voice cracking slightly.
Willow laughed, the sound hollow and unamused. “Tyranni, that is never going to happen. You don’t have to be perfect. Do your best and care, just as you have been since I met you, and both the Silverstone and Shadowthorne wolves will appreciate and support you.”
“But—”
“No ‘buts’,” she insisted. “I bet you already have fifty ideas running through that pretty blonde head of how to bring the packs closer together.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but no words came out. Because she was right. I had plenty of ideas on how we could begin to unify the packs.
“Can you maybe tell me something that will actually encourage me?” I asked with a dry laugh.
“Skye and Kairn would be so proud of you,” she replied, growing serious. The words made my heart throb in my chest, but I smiled, because I hoped she was right…
“Tonight, beneath the watchful glow of the Moon Goddess, we stand at the turning point of our generation.” I stood before two priestesses, ours and the Silverstone pack’s, watching them take turns burning herbs that represented unity.
“For too long, our packs have walked parallel paths—close enough to hear each other’s howls, yet distant enough to forget their harmony. Old wounds carved deep lines between us. Old fears built walls where bridges should have stood. Old debts kept us at arm’s length.”
I grimaced, even as I kept my head up and looked straight ahead. Nearly one hundred miles lay between our packs, even if our territories did border. And somehow, I was thankful for that border, even after all that had happened.
The border where the twins caught my scent, and my entire life changed,
“But tonight, those walls fall,” our priestess continued, “Tonight, we rise as one.”
Both lifted the bowl on the altar together; wine laced with herbs and blood that had been collected from the twins.
Goddess, I wish they were here at my side…
“And at the heart of this unification stands our ascending Luna, chosen not by marriage, but by courage, by wisdom, and by her spirit.”
“Luna, step forward,” the other instructed. I complied, letting out a long, trembling exhale as my skirts swished across the floor of the dais.
“Before the Goddess, before every soul gathered here, I speak these truths: Her leadership will heal what many believe unhealable. Her vision will show us a future where strength is shared, not hoarded. Her heart will bind us not by force, but by choice.”
I didn’t know if she truly believed her words, but they honored me, nonetheless.
“Tonight, she ascends not as ruler of one pack or the other, but as the living bridge between them.”
I drank from the bowl, relishing the dark, familiar taste of the twins’ blood. Next came the Silverstone Crest.
I’d only heard of ceremonies like this; nothing quite prepared me for the sting as the silver was placed in my hand. The metal burned against my skin, but I tightened my hold.
It was not only a show of strength to the packs, but a symbol that power came at a cost—a cost I was willing to pay for our new pack.
“Tonight, the Silverstone and Shadowthorne packs are joined. Through blood and silver, we bless the union. May we thrive as one, for as long as the moon illuminates the skies.”
My palm was on fire, but I had been told I had to hold the crest until the ceremony ended.
“Tonight, our packs join together,” I spoke low, but my tone was firm. “As your leader, I will not force anything upon you. Not the Shadowthorne name, not our customs, nor our training. I have no intention of disrupting the Silverstone way of life,” I stated. “Our pack will absorb any debts that remain and assist in expanding border protection for both grounds. Unless asked of me, I will not encroach any further.”
Looking into the crowd, I was relieved to see nods of approval from some of the Silverstone wolves. “I vow to our sacred Goddess that I will do my best to lead with integrity, honesty, and selflessness.”
I wished I had prepared a better speech, one full of hope and happiness, but I was capable of neither in that moment.
“To our Luna!” Violet called out, raising her glass. Cheers and toasts followed, and I finally dropped the crest, reaching for my own glass.
“To the Silverstones,” I added as I raised my cup. "We honor their memory tonight."