Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends novel Chapter 204

Chapter 204

Arta

Music, laughter, and the comforting crackle of dezens of fires stretch between the three massive

mess halls. The celebration is connected by torches that burn with golden flames, casting warm light

across the smooth, polished stone.

I stand at the edge of the main gathering hall, watching the festivities unfurl.

The submissives did a great job using nature and skill to decorate in a way that both feels like it’s

part of the mountain and exuberant at the same time.

Spruce trees line every entrance, their branches draped with dried orange slices, cinnamon bundles,

carved wooden ornaments, and braided ribbons made from woven grasses. Evergreen garlands wrap

around rough–hewn beams, dotted with clusters of holly berries and pinecones gathered by the

children earlier in the week.

Wooden tables stretch nearly the length of each mess hall, covered in thick woven tablecloths

crafted by a few of the Saturn packs‘ skilled crafters. The metal serving dishes Ranosom crafted are

overflowing with roasted chestnuts, fresh candied fruit, smoked elk and venison, hand pies, braised

vegetables, warm bread, and a few other seasonal dishes.

Children squeal as they duck and weave around adults playing various games while their parents

make only half–hearted attempts to stop them.

I smile as one tiny pup tackles another into the floor in an overzealous tag.

“That’s cheating!” the pup on the floor says as he stands to dust himself off.

“No, you’re just slow!” the other replies impishly.

“I am not!” the first pup cries.

“Then prove it. Catch me,” the other challenges.

The offended little boy’s whines disappear, and a look of determination fills his face as he launches

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Chapter 204

himself at his companion.

Daughter erupts around them.

Inside, the juveniles have claimed an entire corner for themselves.

Girls from Ironclaw sit beside boys from Ashfang.

Nightbane teenagers joke with Stone Ridge wolves as though they have known each other their

entire lives.

Before we came to the mountain, they would have been taught to be insular, to see anyone outside of their pack as people to be cautious of. Enemies. They would have grown to judge and war with each other, with only the potential of mating with someone out of their packs as a point of peace.

My wolf stirs quietly. So, you finally see.

I let my gaze drift over every face. The adults who spent years believing neighboring packs were

monsters now share pitchers of mulled cider. Liam scowls at something Elliot says, but the gesture

falls quickly, and a smile breaks through.

Bitter enemies with a bloody history, now allies. Friends.

Hunters among shifters, sharing the same goals.

My heart races as an idea forms. No, not an Idea, something deeper than thought, a knowing that

pulls at the strings of every essence of me.

Rick’s words circle my mind. We are keepers of balance.

I

Yeah, I think I finally do, I reply.

This misfortune may have been forced on us, but what if it was also inevitable? What if when the

syphers were driven to extinction, and the council stepped into places, the true problem wasn’t their

desires for power? What if it was the separation, the distortion of balance.

This is our chance to restore it, my wolf says.

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