로그인So there are two new chapters behind for those who don't know yet. one would probably be unlocked if you unlocked the repeat chapter earlier because it is it's replacement.
DAMON'S POV "I know you're still angry." The crunch of leaves beneath my boots filled the silence before my answer. "I am." The admission surprised us both. Rhoda lowered her gaze. "I figured." Another stretch of silence settled between us. "I keep replaying it," she said eventually. "And I've realized it was a terrible move... talking to Soorayah." My jaw tightened. "It was." She gave a small, guilty nod. "I know." For a few moments, neither of us spoke. Then I finally asked the question that had lingered in my mind since that day. "Why?" Rhoda stared ahead. "I thought I was protecting you." "You weren't." "I know that now." "No." I stopped walking. She stopped with me. "You weren't protecting me." I met her eyes. "You were deciding for me." The words landed harder than I'd intended. Rhoda didn't argue. She couldn't. "I know." She swallowed. "I'd spent so many years worrying about you that..." A quiet, humorless laugh escaped her. "I forgot we weren
DAMON'S POV"Michaela!"My voice cut through the Wilds before disappearing into the endless silence.No answer.I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted again."Michaela!"Nothing.I had long since stopped caring whether calling her name through a forest rumored to be home to creatures older than memory and every bit as deadly as the legends claimed was foolish. If there was even the slightest chance she could hear me...I'd keep shouting until my voice gave out.The silence pressing in around us did little to soothe my nerves.No birds sang overhead.No insects buzzed beneath the tangled undergrowth.Even the wind seemed reluctant to disturb the towering trees.An oppressive stillness hung over the forest, swallowing every sound unfortunate enough to wander into it.I'd heard countless stories about the Northern Wilds. Most had always sounded like little more than frightening tales meant to keep reckless children away.Until Father sent an expedition into the Wilds.None of them
MICHAELA'S POV I still hadn't recovered from the shock of what I was seeing when I heard footsteps, Soft and measured, approaching where I lay. I couldn't bring myself to move. The forest above remained as eerily silent as ever. No wind. No birds. No distant cries. Nothing but the steady rhythm of footsteps drawing closer. Within moments, my attention shifted completely from the creature hovering above me. Whoever was coming... They were close. My pulse quickened. And then I saw her. I froze. Completely. For a heartbeat, I simply stared. My breath caught. My mind refused to make sense of what my eyes were seeing. Because it couldn't. Recognition came slowly... Then all at once. I had to wonder if I was hallucinating. If the pain, the blood loss, everything I'd endured had finally broken something inside my head. Silence stretched between us. She stood over me, watching with dark, scrutinizing eyes. Eyes I recognized as my stomach dropped. Ice flooded my veins. I knew
MICHAELA'S POV I swung the branch so hard that I felt something shift painfully in my shoulder. The creature shrieked as the blow connected, its body careening sideways. For one glorious second, hope surged through me. But then the creature staggered back to its feet. Its eyes found mine immediately. If hatred could take physical form, it would have looked exactly like that gaze. The creature bared its teeth. Then it came at me again. Fast. Far too fast. I braced myself, but before I could react, it vanished. My eyes widened. One moment it was charging directly at me. The next, it simply wasn't there. A sharp impact slammed into my back. The force tore a cry from my throat as I was hurled forward. I hit the ground hard. Pain exploded through my body. For a second, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Couldn't do anything except lie there as agony pulsed through every bruised and battered part of me. The creature was on me. The smell hit first. Rot. Decay. Death.
MICHAELA'S POV My foot slipped as I tried to get away. For one impossible second, I remained suspended between balance and disaster. Then gravity made the decision for me. The ground vanished from beneath me. My stomach lurched violently into my throat. The sensation was exactly like missing a step in the dark, only infinitely worse. I caught a clear glimpse of the creature above as my body went into free fall. It was absolutely hideous. Time slowed as I looked up at it. Loose stones, the ravine wall, the monster at the edge above me. It looked human in the way a broken doll looks human. Wrong. Deeply wrong. Its limbs were too long, the joints too sharp beneath skin stretched tight over bone. Patches of grey clung to its frame like old parchments. It's hair only appeared to exist in fragments on its head. The face was almost a person's face, yet absolutely not. Hollow eyes stared down at me. Eyes that sat too deep in the skull to be human. The creature's cheeks
DAMON'S POV "What do you mean they sent her to the Wilds?" I asked Mason, my voice deadly quiet as his explanation of everything that had happened while I was consumed by bloodlust finally sank in. The Wilds. Of all places. The Wilds. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to lose my composure as a war raged inside my head. Unlike what I might have let Rhoda believe, it was still frighteningly difficult to hold on to my sanity. Ever since I returned, I had felt myself teetering on the edge. When I finally opened my eyes, the situation wasn't any better. Mason was saying something to me, but I couldn't quite hear him anymore. Because suddenly all I could see was red. Rhoda watched me closely from the side, silent, her expression unreadable. My head pounded. My fingers curled into fists at my sides. The Wilds. I remembered the stories. Every wolf did. Expeditions that never returned. Scouts who vanished. Entire search parties swallowed by the fores
“So let me get this straight,” I say slowly. “You want to announce me as your mate in order to placate the human rebels.” He nods. A small, unexpected twinge settles in my chest. Disappointment. That he doesn’t want me simply because… he wants me. I shut it down almost immediately. I don
“You,” I whisper, stunned. “Me,” she replies. She closes the door with deliberate care, the soft click of the latch sounding far louder than it should. Then she turns and takes slow, unhurried strides into the room as if she owns it. As if she has always owned it. In the full light, I see her
When our lips meet, every form of reasoning obliterates. My mind combust into electric sensations. He growls, taking control of the kiss. Mouth claiming mine with the urgency of a collapsing star. Heat pours between us, reckless and blinding. When my lips part, it isn't an invitation. It’s ine
After saying goodbye to Bailey, I head towards rehearsals, feet practically bouncing in anticipation. I weave between stalls, the hum of pre-festival chatter around me, but stop short when I see him — leaning against the edge of the square, half-shifted, green eyes glinting under the lanterns.







