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Chapter 17

Author: A.D Ripman
last update publish date: 2026-07-05 11:03:22

The drive down the mountain is quiet, broken only by Elias's easy conversation. His voice is warm and steady, filling the silence while Lyssa answers only when she has to, offering just enough to keep him talking.

The truck rocks gently along the winding road, and her eyes keep drifting to the view beyond the window. On one side, the mountain rises, rough and silent. On the other, the land opens between towering pines and flashes of ember-red leaves, the colours shifting as the morning light fi
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  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 19

    Waylen places a gentle hand on her shoulder, making her flinch."Come."She follows without a word, her thoughts too tangled to make sense of.The corridor beyond the operations room is quieter. The constant hum of machinery fades behind them, replaced by the faint buzz of a single overhead light that flickers just enough to draw her eye.The air feels different here.The room they enter is smaller and warmer, soft lamplight pooling across polished timber floors. A desk sits against one wall, a chair pulled back as though someone has only just stood from it.A man in a white lab coat stands beside a filing cabinet, quietly leafing through a stack of files.For a moment he doesn't notice them.Then he turns."Henry," Waylen says.The name reaches her before the recognition does.Minnow slows.Her mind searches for somewhere to place him.Behind the wheel of the family car.Waiting outside school gates.Opening doors with the same patient smile she'd known her whole life."...Henry?"He

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 18

    A steady whirring fills Minnow's ears as she blinks, her eyes adjusting to the dim light.The room stretches wide around her, with high ceilings and smooth concrete walls.For a heartbeat, she wonders if she's walked into the wrong house.Desks line the walls, each workstation alive with glowing monitors, laptops and humming computers. Above them, large screens display surveillance footage from places she doesn't recognise. Opposite, glass cabinets hold rows of weapons.One wall is dominated by a wooden bookshelf, its worn timber standing in stark contrast to the concrete around it. Every shelf is packed with well-thumbed books.In the centre of the room stands a steel table, papers and maps scattered across its surface.And around it—Her family."Mum? Dad... what is this?"Dovie doesn't answer straight away. She glances at her watch."Impressive timing, darling. We weren't expecting you back this soon."Minnow stares at her."What do you mean?" Her voice tightens. "You knew?"Dovie'

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 17

    The drive down the mountain is quiet, broken only by Elias's easy conversation. His voice is warm and steady, filling the silence while Lyssa answers only when she has to, offering just enough to keep him talking.The truck rocks gently along the winding road, and her eyes keep drifting to the view beyond the window. On one side, the mountain rises, rough and silent. On the other, the land opens between towering pines and flashes of ember-red leaves, the colours shifting as the morning light filters through them."So... are you from around here?" she hears herself ask, more to stay awake than out of interest.Elias shakes his head."No. I'm closer to White Creek. Got a farm out there.""You're a long way from home," she murmurs, rubbing her tired eyes.Sleep presses in hard."Worth it," he says. "I sell most of my produce to Moonfall. Good people there.""Moonfall..." Lyssa pauses. "What's it like?"Elias glances at her before smiling."Quiet. Friendly. Mostly people keeping to themse

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 16

    The grass crunches beneath Lyssa's feet, brittle with frost and growing wild across the uneven, moss-covered ground. A gust of wind carries the rich scent of the forest, and for a moment it feels almost cleansing.She stands still, listening.When you're lost, you retrace your steps.That is the rule.Harder to follow when you've been dragged somewhere with a sack over your head.Turning slowly, Lyssa surveys the area. Near the sinkhole she finds large, deep footprints leading away from the edge. She follows them with her eyes before deliberately choosing the opposite direction. The last thing she wants is to stumble across whoever brought her here.Behind her, the pit gapes open like a wound in the earth, its edges uneven where soil and stone have given way. In the growing light she can finally see the bottom clearly: crushed boxes, stained mattresses and debris left to rot.The rope still hangs where she climbed it, its fibres darkened with age and old stains. It's secured to a nearb

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 15

    Minnow surfaces slowly, dragged back into herself through a haze of pounding pain.Her mouth is sealed, the duct tape pulling against her skin, and the rough fabric of the sack clings to her face, damp with her breath. Cold bites through her as her bare feet scrape across the ground, her heels catching on wet leaves and soft mud that gives way beneath her.The smell hits next: earth, rot, and stagnant water. Her stomach turns, and she swallows hard as panic rises, nausea pressing higher with nowhere to go.They stop.For a moment, there is only the forest. The distant call of an owl. The broken cry of a fox. The slow shifting of branches overhead as the wind moves through the trees.Then the air changes.A cold draft climbs up from somewhere below. Minnow's body tenses, her toes curling instinctively as the ground beneath her shifts to stone. It feels hard and narrow, with nothing beyond it.Her heart lurches as the sack is ripped away.Light snaps into her vision too quickly, too shar

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 14

    MilesThe invitation arrives three days after the girl in black leaves Moonfall.It sits on the farmhouse table between Ivy's half-finished toast and his grandmother's sewing basket, a thick black envelope sealed with gold wax.Miles knows the crest before he touches it.Venandi.He breaks the seal and unfolds the card.Mr Miles CarterMr and Mrs Dovie Venandi request the pleasure of your company...His eyes drift lower....to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of their daughter.He frowns.He has no idea the Venandis even have a daughter.Ivy leans over his shoulder."Well," she says. "That looks cheerful."Miles folds the invitation again."The Venandis.""So I gathered," Ivy says dryly.Their grandmother looks up from her chair by the window."You going?"He shrugs."Probably."His grandmother reaches for the invitation and reads it slowly. Her expression gives nothing away, but the room seems to quiet around her."They don't invite people because they like them.""I know.""They inv

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 7

    The town below was engulfed in a kaleidoscope of shimmering lights flickering in the distance as the starry nighttime swept over the Oakheart village that never seemed fully asleep. The garden was cold and completely dark when Minnow and Henry decided to head back inside. It had been quiet and pea

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 6

    Back in her room, she finally could breathe again. Her whole body ached from the exhaustion of pretending everything was ok.Minnow grabbed her one photo album from the desk drawer and lay on her stomach on the large bed.She loved looking through the photos of Saylor and her at the lake under the

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 5

    The walking track around the lake looked quiet despite the beautiful autumn weather.They stopped and ordered coffees from a pink vintage coffee van set up for the lakes, usually many visitors.Saylor added a couple of the van's owner's homebaked cookies. He handed the small brown paper bag to Minn

  • HOUR OF THE WOLF   Chapter 4

    Dovie stopped them before they could escape through the extensive front door. "Minnow darling, don't forget you have a dress fitting later today for your birthday," her mother called out from the top of the wide staircase. Minnow sighed, her shoulders slumped, and her feet dragged a few steps. "Ok

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