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CHAPTER 87: PAST SHADOWS
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-03-14 14:50:22
Bab terkait
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 88: COUNCIL'S ULTIMATUM
HAILEY The council hall was thick with tension. I stood at the room's center, which seemed to press in on me with its high-stone walls and carvings of old wolves. The councilors sat in a half-circle, their eyes sharp and merciless. Amenia's roar echoed soundlessly inside my head as my fingers danced at my sides. Do they have the nerve to call us thus? I grumbled under my breath, "I don't like it either." My gaze ran over the faces before me: elders who spoke for packs from all over the realm, all of them said to be impartial and clever. But their impartiality seemed questionable at best today. Elder Aldric began to speak, "Queen Hailey," his voice as cold and smooth as a diamond. "You have been summoned to discuss the future of our people. The present dispute with Azure must remain unresolved. I retained my composure by crossing my arms. "If this concerns challenging my decisions or actions—" I was interrupted when Elder Mirabel held out her hand. "Your Majesty, this is not a trial.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-14CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 89: SHADOWS OF BETRAYAL
HAILEYThe night storm was relentless. Wind howled like a lost wolf as rain sheets beat against packhouse windows. Anxiety curled around my stomach like a knife as I walked nervously around the living room. Turtela lay in her bassinet, interrupting silence every now and then with gentle coos. While his wolf fought to be free within him, Ryan hunched over the couch in locked jaw and staring away, my breathing as silent as could be, voice riding over rain's pounding drone to cut "I don't like this." My eyes flew at Ryan when his head shot round. He was on his feet. "We've closed up the defenses, but neither do I. There are two patrols. We'll see if Azure tries anything. Arms crossed over my chest, I said, "That's not enough."With arms crossed on my chest, I said. He is too cunning and too unstable. We should have— The tension was broken by the roar of a crash followed by the screaming shrieks of wolves outside. In an instant, Ryan jumped up, his stretched body prepared to defend. "Stay
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-15CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 90: AZURE’S END
HAILEY I arranged and stationed different men at Azure's place, and we took the fight to him; to me, he's done enough, and his reign needed to end once and for all.It was a sea of mayhem on the battlefield. Wolves and shadows fought their growls and snarls, blending with the shouts of combat. The sky above swirled with dark clouds that seemed to show the chaos below, and the air was heavy with the pungent smell of magic and blood. I stood there in the middle, my body pulsing with strength. The carnage was illuminated by the silvery glimmer of the moon, which hung low in the sky. Amenia, my wolf, was a raging force inside of me, and her wrath gave me power. The atmosphere of pure malice emanated from Azure's shadowy figure, which stood towering and uncompromising across the battlefield. I shivered from head to toe when I heard his thunderous laughter, which irritated me to my core. "Is this all you have, Queen?" he taunted, his voice brimming with disdain. "You think you can stop me?
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-15CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 91: A WOLF AMONG DRAGONS
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATERJADENI gazed into the limitless crimson sky from the edge of the volcanic cliffs. Like a living beast, the molten rivers below me churned and surged, releasing heat into the atmosphere. It felt new today even though I had stood here a thousand times before. Heavier. Because I had to make a decision today. That's what the Dragon King wanted me to think, anyway. With my nails sinking into my palms, I let out a quick exhale. My mother, the Queen of All Species, had called me home. Not just me. Jackson and Jermaine, too and that includes Alexia. After Eighteen years of silence, she had finally come to the conclusion that we were important. Twenty years without the warmth of our parents, a mother's hug, and strangers reminding me every day that I do not belong in their world. My hair stood on end at the thought. She was unknown to me. Not at all. Except for the regular taĺes spread about her, I knew nothing.My only knowledge was that Mother had thrown us aside as if
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-16CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 92: THE WEIGHT OF A CROWN
QUEEN HAILEY The grand hall of the Ivory Citadel felt colder than usual. I sat on my throne, my hands lightly gripping the armrests, but there was no comfort in the gesture. No sense of power. No reassurance. The crown upon my head felt heavier than it had in years, as though the weight of my choices had finally found a way to crush me. The summons had been sent. Jaden was coming. Jermaine had answered from the Faes that he'd come back home. Jackson… I closed my eyes, inhaling slowly. Still no word from him and Alexia at all. A mother should not have to summon her own children like they were mere subjects to be called before a throne. A mother should not have to wonder if they will even answer. Yet, that was what I had become. Not just a queen. A mother in title alone. And it was my fault. For Eighteen years, I had been haunted by the echo of a choice I could not take back. I had told myself it was necessary. I had told myself it was the only way. That if I had not let
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-16CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 93: THE BROTHERS I NEVER KNEW
TURTELAMy whole life I had imagined this moment.The day my brothers would come home.The day my family would finally be whole. I had heard so many stories from everywhere, including the media; our mother is Royalty; some praised her for listening to the moon goddess, others blamed her, and now I'd see the truth for myself. Countless times, I've brought up visiting them, but I was never allowed to.And now, as I hurried down the pristine corridors of the castle, my heart hammering in my chest, I was terrified.I had seen their pictures. I'd read the stories about them, heard the court's whispers, and listened to Mother's voice crack with longing when she spoke of them. But I never knew them.Not really.And now, one of them was here.Jaden.I'd imagined this scene a thousand times. In my head, he'd look up, notice me, and something inside of him would shift the way it had for me. He'd smile, maybe tease me about how eager I must have been. He'd pull me into a hug, and for the first t
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-17CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 94: THE RETURN OF A SON
RYANThe doors opened and there was silence. Jaden commanded the space he occupied, standing framed in the doorway and accentuated by the arch over the entrance to the throne room. Turtela remains behind him a shadow, watching all; my angel is so wise beyond her years with so much level headèdness like that of her mother's. Hailey had been afraid no one would like her. That was a silly worry; no one could possibly ever dislike Turtela; they met her and loved her. Jaden was no longer the helpless baby we had been mercilessly forced to abandon; now he was a man. His face was so unreadable, and hard and strong. I knew I should speak up. It is time to step in and keep the peace. But I am unable to. The sight of my son made my heart, which had been wounded by war and betrayal, tighten in excruciating, throbbing grips. My son. I was anchored by Hailey's fingers digging into my palm. For the first time in years, she appeared small when I turned to face her—my mate, my queen. It was as if the
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-17CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 95: LONG OVERDUE HOMECOMING
JERMAINE The smell of home was one I had forgotten existed.But the moment I stepped through the shimmering veil that separated the Fae realm from the mortal world, it hit me all at once—earthy pine, crisp mountain air, and the distinctive scent of packmates still caught in the grounds.Home.For eighteen years, I had lived among the Fae, learning their ways, their magic, and their customs. Queen Tesa had raised me as one of her own, and the realm had been my sanctuary. But never had I forgotten where I came from, never my true family.And now, I was finally returning to them.A grin tugged at my lips as I strode toward the grand castle entrance, my boots barely making a sound against the stone pathway. My heartbeat thrummed with excitement—Mother, Father, my sister, a sister I never got to witness her birth … and Jaden.Jaden.The last I had ever seen of him, we were but babes, innocent of the cruel fate which was wresting us asunder. I wonder what manner of man my brother had becom
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-03-18
Bab terbaru
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 196: INFILTRATION
AUDACUS The moment I stepped through the massive glass doors of Kings Enterprises, the atmosphere shifted. Clean, polished, professional—exactly how humans liked to present their tiny empires. It was nearly funny. The whole building reeked of ambition, desperation, and carefully hidden fear. It smelled like opportunity.I adjusted the mortal guise I was wearing: well-pressed suit, comfortable leather loafers, and a pair of glasses perched low on the bridge of my nose. The perfect image of a struggling investor who'd at last been able to scrounge up sufficient capital to swim with the sharks. Beneath, I smiled. They had no idea.The receptionist greeted me with that rehearsed corporate warmth. "Welcome to Kings Enterprises, Mr.?""Addison," I supplied the alias with ease. "Jon Addison. I'm here to see your investment representative. I'm interested in purchasing direct stock."Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and within a second she nodded. "Right this way, Mr. Addison."It all pr
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 195: LOOMING WAR
RAY The night was mine. The odor of war clung heavy to the atmosphere, and the promise of approaching chaos made my skin crawl, bones moving just below as I stretched through all my shapes. Tonight the game was set, and I, Ray, his most trusted one, had the honor of delivering the king's new scheme. Audacus loomed over us, demonically serene, every inch of him a vision of lethal refinement. That voice, so smooth but colder than winter's cold, was a force no sane man would want to challenge. "Keep them busy," he instructed us, fingers lazily spinning a glass of dark wine as if this plan wasn't going to break the world. "Isolate Hailey and Ryan at all costs. The two of them together are trouble. Alone, they fall apart." A vicious grin crept gradually across my lips. Simple in appearance. Deadly in purpose. "What about the others?" I asked, masking my enthusiasm with polite calmness. Audacus's golden eyes flashed to mine, as cutting as a knife. "The triplets are strong, but unripe. D
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 194: CHAOS
AUDACUS The council chamber stank of old magic and old pride. It clung to the stones, bleeding into the mortar like the blood of all fools who'd ever sat upon high thrones and imagined that they were invulnerable. I was in the center, hands clasped behind my back, the gravity of a century measured in the loose bend of my shoulders. Ten wizard elders stood around me, faces etched with lines made of centuries, eyes filmed over by complacency. The robes flowed over the marble floor as they shifted to stand nearer, as if attitude itself might distort fate in their direction. "Audacus," the oldest, Master Callum, said, his voice husky with a challenge never breached in all his years. "Your arrogance does not belong here. You are not welcome." A smile flared at the edge of my lips. "Arrogance is the right of the already triumphant. You just haven't quite caught up with reality." Whispers circulated around the circle, soft, trembling shivers from tired old gods in mortal flesh. I could
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 193: AUDACUS
AUDACUS Been out again in the mortal world feels so surreal but good, it's been so long, too long really but the night tasted sweet. Sweeter than a vow. More bitter than deceit. I stood beneath the crooked arm of a dying oak, one hand leather-gloved, the other bare, tracing my finger along the cold curve of my ring. The dark stone pulsed softly beneath my fingers, full of the quiet, slow hunger I always kept just beneath my skin. The world was still tonight. Even the wind had enough sense to whisper not when I heard it. I could sense the earth beneath my feet, the shift of shadow as it crawled towards me, drawn like a moth battering itself around its own funeral place. The shifter was late. It was always so with beasts bound by fear and not by love. Still, I was impressed by its cunning. Its guile. The art of slinking in and out of hides like leaves from a book. Finally, the beast emerged out of the woods. A distorted shape, wrapped in the stolen form of a man — the fifth, I thi
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 192: HE'S COMING
LOGAN The air reeked of blood, pungent enough to slice through bone-deep exhaustion. I arrived too late for the battle, but just in time for the cleanup. Marissa stood with her arm raised over the shape-shifter's deformed body, which collapsed at her feet like a crumpled flower. Its body shook as if even death would not claim it cleanly. Her sword dripped with black, noxious ichor. I'd wanted to feel proud — darn it, I was proud — but my wolf howled inside my chest walls, screaming for vengeance. "Are you alright?" I pressed forward, ready to catch her if her legs gave out under her. Marissa cleaned the knife on her hand, jutting chin as if the fighter I knew her to be was finally free of that cage she'd been holding herself in. "It won't be the last." That solitary stark truth weighed between us like a boulder. "Not if I have any say in it," I growled. And I meant every damn word. ISAIAH The scent of smoke still hung in the air, seeping into the stone walls like an unwelcom
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 191: MOTHER'S CHOICES
TURTELA The castle had never been this still, not really. Even at midnight, its old bones vibrated with the thrum of wards and remembrances. But tonight, after the fight, after blood and smoke, the stillness was oppressive as ever. It lay on my chest like a heavy hand, smothering the wolf inside me who trotted in ceaseless circles, anxious and watchful. I should have stayed in my own chambers. Should have soothed myself with a hot bath or the echoing sound of dad's voice up and down the halls. Instead, my own feet led me out, past the marble pillars, to the garden where everything was bathed in moonlight. And she was there. Serenia. Sitting on the stone bench like it was her own, as if she had burst forth from the earth itself, dark hair falling like silk down her back. She was so still that I almost mistook her for another statue, some forgotten relic the old kings had left. I did not sneak up on her. I wanted her to hear me coming. I wanted her to know that I was not afraid.
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 190: A DAUGHTER'S VERDICT
ISAIAH The moment Hailey's call brushed my thoughts, I felt it — the shift in the air. There was no desperation in her tone, no panic, but resolve. And that scared me more than any battlefield ever managed. I arrived in the courtyard as the moon carved silver wounds in the stone. My steps faltered as my gaze met hers. Serenia. The last time I'd ever seen her was under other skies — when I'd lost all hope of having a mate. When fate woke me up, I'd never expected that she would be bound to me again, or in this manner. She was now by Hailey's side. Not as an enemy. Not even as a stranger. Her eyes settled on me, hard and unflickering. "You came," she said. I cleared my throat, finding my balance. "Your mother summoned me." Her lips curled into a semblance of laughter, but there was no warmth behind it. "Oh, naturally she would. Always the Queen, always the commander." I started to open my mouth in defense of Hailey — habit — but Serenia raised a hand, stopping me. Her voice so
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 189: CREDIBLE ALLIANCE?
HAILEY The moon hung low in the heavens, casting a silver glow across the courtyard. The air was thick with anticipation, a silence that reeked of danger waiting to happen. I stood alone, senses heightened, muscles bunched and prepared to move. I was startled by a sudden stir within the shadows. A figure emerged, veiled in the shadows, moving with lethal grace. I recognized her immediately—Serenia, daughter of Lilith. She was a storm, her eyes burning with a mix of rage and grief. She attacked silently, her sword flashing towards me. I parried, the sound of steel on steel ringing out like a thunderclap. Our battle was a dance of fire and ice, each strike a question, each parry an answer. "Why?" I shouted, our blades intertwined. "Why attack me?" Her eyes twitched, agony clouding her features. "Because he wants you," she snarled. "The Serpent King wants you, and I need to know why." Comprehension dawned. This wasn't a straight-up attack—it was a test, a desperate search for inform
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 188: SERENIA
LILITH The mortal realm was a mess of senses—colors too bright, scents too acrid, voices too jarring. And yet I walked through it as if I was born to rule it. Perhaps I was. Smoke wreathed my robes, curling around my ankles like living vines. I let it. Let them look at me. Let them fear. I had but one objective. Serenia. My daughter. Foolish, sentimental kid that she'd been, she'd followed the Serpent King into this world, bound by some romantic fantasy. And now she was lost. Hidden. Maybe in danger. And that. would not do. The trail led me to a crooked little hut that cowered beneath trees that recoiled from me. Magic lingered at its edges—thin, muddled spells that reeked of deceit. I passed through the wards like silk through a blade. She was inside, pale as ashes, a witch not a hundred years old. Her eyes widened. She knew me. "Lilith," she whispered. "I'm looking for my daughter," I said to her calmly. "Her name is Serenia. She passed this way." The witch shook her head.
