Chapter 197 The pack meeting 1

Chapter 197: Chapter 197 The pack meeting 1

Talia’s POV

The days after I told Piper the truth passed in a blur of activity.

There was so much to do, and so little time. Every moment felt precious, and I did not want to waste a single second.

Piper had moved into her new room on the first floor of the pack house, and I had helped her carry her things.

We had laughed and joked as we moved her belongings, and for a little while, I had forgotten about the weight on my chest. It felt good to be normal, even for just a moment.

And I had watched her face light up when she saw the space. It was not large, but it was hers. It had a window that looked out over the courtyard, and the walls were warm and welcoming.

"It is perfect," she had said, her eyes shining with tears. "I have never had a room of my own before, not to talk of one this big."

I had hugged her and told her she deserved it, and I meant it.

The way she had run her fingers along the windowsill, tracing the smooth wood as if she could not quite believe it was real, had broken my heart and mended it at the same time, because I knew exactly what it felt like to finally have a place that was truly your own.

She had done so much for me, and I could never repay her. But giving her a home was a start.

Her room was close to Jax’s, which made me smile, because I had thoughts, but I did not know if anything would come of that.

Jax was loud and playful, and Piper was steady and kind. They balanced each other out, and I thought they might be good for each other.

But for now, I liked the idea of them being neighbors.

The days that followed were filled with training and preparation.

There was no time for rest, and no time for doubt. I had to be ready, and I had to be strong.

Every morning, I woke before dawn and walked to the training ground with Kaelen. He pushed me hard, harder than he ever had before.

I could feel the urgency in his movements, the same urgency that was burning in my own chest. He knew what was at stake, and he was not going to let me fail.

"Again," he would say, and I would swing my sword until my arms ached.

"Faster," he would say, and I would run until my lungs burned.

"Stronger," he would say, and I would push myself until I could not stand.

My muscles screamed, and my lungs burned, but I welcomed the pain. It reminded me that I was alive, and that I was fighting for something worth fighting for.

I did not complain, and I did not stop, because I could not afford to. I had a mother to save, and I needed to be ready.

I spent my afternoons in the library. The old books and scrolls were piled high on the table, and I read until my eyes burned, as I studied everything I could find about Malachai.

I read about his battles, his victories, and his defeats. I learned about the wolves who had tried to stand against him and failed, and I was determined not to be one of them.

Just like I had studied Alpha Stone before my negotiation with him, I learned about malachai’s territory, his allies, and his weaknesses.

I learned that he was ruthless and cunning, and that he had been hunting Silvertongues for years. He was not like Viktor, he was smarter, and more dangerous.

Viktor had been driven by rage and ego, but Malachai operated with the cold precision of a hunter who had spent decades perfecting his craft. And every page I turned revealed another story of a pack he had crushed, a family he had torn apart, or a Silvertongue he had dragged to the Ashen Lands in chains.

Viktor had been brutal and reckless, but Malachai was patient and calculating. He does not make the same mistakes twice, and I knew that he would not underestimate us.

Which meant that, he would not be easy to defeat, but I did not let that stop me.

Kaelen joined me in the library most evenings. ℯℯ𝑙.

The fire crackled in the hearth, and the shadows danced on the walls. It was peaceful, but there was an undercurrent of tension that never quite went away.

We would sit side by side, studying the map and planning our route. We also traced the path to the Ashen Lands with our fingers.

I closed my eyes and imagined myself walking that path, step by step, getting closer to my mother with every passing day.

In my mind, I could see the terrain shifting beneath my feet, from the familiar forests of Blackmoor Valley, to the barren, cracked earth of the Ashen Lands. And I could feel the heat radiating from the ground and the weight of the silence pressing in from all sides.

I kept memorizing every twist and turn.

"We will need supplies," he said one night. "Food, water, and weapons, because, of course we cannot travel light."

I nodded. "And we will need to move quickly."