It all begins when a silver dagger goes missing.
For her entire life, a human named Cora Gabris has known that lycans were searching for her, as she was born as a Ruby -- a human that, when turned into a lycan, will become much stronger than any of...
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Cora, for a long time, considered miracles to be something that only happened to other people. Especially since her life was full of dedication and sacrifice. Not that she wasn't grateful; it was just a part of her life.
But for the first time ever, she wondered if this was what a miracle felt like.
To learn that she was staying crumbled all of the emotional walls that she built, her excitement cascading. Everything seemed different now. The land she stood on might be a place that she would live for decades; much longer than the life she had lived so far. She of course felt bad for Naila, but it was hard to not feel relieved.
As bittersweet as it was to realize that Cora was replacing her familial circle with whomever would become her mate, it felt like her parent's sacrifice was paying off.
I wish I could thank them. I wish they could live here with me, to live in the world they sacrificed for. They rarely got to leave the farm, and now I get to live in a giant mountain of stone, forests waiting for me to explore.
The haze of reprieve clouded her mind so greatly that she barely remembered what happened after Ludovic gave his speech. Even the journey up the stairs and back to her room was lost in a mental fog. She packed her clothes in a daze of relief, and it wasn't until she had stood there for many minutes, in silence, that everything fully sank in.
To that, she let out a shaky sigh as her eyes welled with tears, although they didn't fall.
She was staying, and she didn't quite know how to process it. Permanence, and looking forward to life, was foreign to her. And she already loved the sensation.
The door to her room opened, and Mina walked in. "Hey, Cora. How's the packing going?"
"Without a hitch," Cora said, looking at the canvas bag that she used to prepare herself for their journey to Ingram. "I just packed a few dresses, since you told me Ingram would have everything else. I also have the journal you gave me. Oh, a quill and ink," Cora said, going to the desk in her room, sliding open the wooden drawer with a grin.
She had decided to start writing her life's journey down, beginning with her parents. She wanted to ask Hilda everything she could about the world that her family grew up in, as there was little chance she'd ever actually visit. And while Hilda would be parting on her own journey soon, Cora thought it couldn't hurt to ask a few questions before leaving. She could fill the rest of the journal with her adventure to Ingram.
Her parents did so much, and it felt important to document how their sacrifice paid off.
If all went well, Cora would never be near Grimshaw or Steigen Pack for the rest of her life. She'd go to Ingram, claim her life as a lycan, and return here, back to her new home.
"There's another thing you'll be bringing, but Rasha will be the one to deliver it."
"What's that?" Cora asked, tying up her bag, which rested on the bed that had been neatly made.
