Library
Search
Home / Werewolf / “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha” / Chapter 172 - The First Lantern From Another World

Share

Chapter 172 - The First Lantern From Another World

Author: Elizabeth Jacob
last update publish date: 2026-06-13 16:45:46

Seven days after the telescope arrived, the first lantern reached the city.

Nobody expected it to happen so soon.

Then again, hope rarely follows schedules.

The morning began normally.

Children raced through the market district.

Lantern flowers bloomed along the river paths.

The Hall of Found Things welcomed another steady stream of visitors.

Life continued.

Beautifully ordinary.

Then at exactly 10:43 a.m., a child pointed at the sky and shouted:

"LOOK!"

History repeated itself.

The city looked
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 205 -The Road to Lumora

    The second light stayed on.Which was both encouraging and deeply suspicious.Mostly suspicious.The crew stood beneath the ruined archway watching the distant glow.It shone steadily through the darkness.Not bright.Not threatening.Just... present.Like a candle left burning in an empty room.Or a lantern waiting in a window.The forgotten road stretched toward it.Broken.Worn.Ancient.Yet unmistakably leading somewhere.Leading to Lumora.The lost city.The city that had vanished when the roads broke.The city that apparently now contained mysterious underground lights and moving buildings.Excellent.Normal.Completely reasonable.Corin watched the glow quietly.His lantern staff resting against one shoulder.Mira stood beside him.Two Watchkeepers.Two survivors.Two people who had spent centuries keeping faith with roads that no longer existed.The sight made my chest ache.In a good way.A hopeful way.A story way.The best kind.Noah closed another journal.A disturbing mil

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 204- The Light Beneath Lumora

    Nobody liked the phrase something else is there too.Historically speaking, it ranked very poorly among reassuring statements.The ruined station suddenly felt colder.The lantern above the arch continued glowing.The forgotten road stretched behind us.And beyond the station—beyond sight—Lumora waited in the darkness.Along with whatever had awakened inside it.Corin stood quietly.His lantern staff casting soft circles of gold across the ancient stone.The old Watchkeeper looked relieved to see us.But not relaxed.Not completely.That worried me.People who spend centuries alone develop excellent reasons for concern.Hope folded her arms."What does that mean?"Reasonable question.Corin sighed.The sound carried years.Too many years.Then he turned toward the distant shadows.Toward the direction of the lost city.His eyes never left the darkness."I don't know."Nobody liked that answer either.Corin noticed.Then nodded."I know what I've seen."The stars above the station di

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 203 - The Watchkeeper at the Station

    For several seconds, I couldn't move.The figure beneath the ruined archway stood illuminated by the glow of a lantern that should not have existed.A Watchkeeper's lantern.Burning.Waiting.Answering.After centuries of silence.My heart felt far too large for my chest.The forgotten station stretched around us.Broken bridges.Weathered stone.Fragments of old roads hanging in the darkness like memories refusing to disappear.And beneath the ancient arch stood someone who understood.Someone who had waited.Someone who had kept the light on.The Wayfinder drifted gently toward the station.Its lanterns glowing warmly.The distance between us slowly vanished.The figure watched.Not cautiously.Hopefully.The way travelers watch an approaching home.At last, the ship settled beside the ruined platform.Silence.Not empty silence.Anticipation.The stars seemed to gather overhead.The lanterns glowed.The forgotten road listened.And then—the figure lowered their hood.An elderly ma

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 202 - Following the Watchkeeper's Call

    Nobody slept.Again.I was beginning to suspect that important discoveries and healthy sleep schedules were fundamentally incompatible.The distant signal continued flashing through the darkness.Three lights.Pause.Two lights.Pause.One light.Then repeat.Patient.Steady.Certain.Like someone standing at the edge of a cliff with a lantern raised high, refusing to stop believing an answer might come.The Wayfinder followed the broken road.Slowly.Carefully.The fractured path was becoming harder to see.Sometimes it appeared clearly beneath us.A ribbon of silver stretching ahead.Other times it vanished completely, leaving only instinct and memory to guide us.Fortunately, the signal remained.A tiny beacon in the distance.A promise.Mira stood at the bow almost the entire night.Watching.Waiting.Remembering.No one asked her to rest.Some reunions begin long before people actually meet.Hope eventually joined her.Naturally.She appeared carrying two mugs of tea and approxim

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 201- The Signal in the Darkness

    Nobody spoke.The distant light flickered again.Once.Twice.Then vanished.The darkness swallowed it completely.For a terrible moment, I wondered if we had imagined it.A trick of exhaustion.A reflection.A hopeful illusion.But the expressions around me said otherwise.Everyone had seen it.Hope pointed dramatically toward the horizon."There!"The light appeared again.Faint.Small.Determined.Not random.Not natural.A signal.The forgotten road shimmered beneath the Wayfinder.Almost responding.Almost remembering.Mira stepped forward so quickly that the crew instinctively moved with her.Her eyes never left the distant glow.For the first time since we met her, she looked afraid.Not of danger.Of hope.The dangerous kind.The kind that asks people to believe after disappointment.The kind that risks breaking your heart."Mira?"Her voice trembled slightly."I know that signal."Silence.The stars seemed to lean closer.The tiny light flickered three times.Paused.Then twi

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 200 -The Light That Endured

    For a long moment, I simply looked at them.Six travelers.One impossible ship.A road I had spent a lifetime searching for.Real.Actually real.I had imagined this moment so many times.Hundreds.Thousands.Different faces.Different voices.Different endings.Never this one.Never anything this wonderful.The two vessels drifted side by side upon the forgotten road.The darkness around us no longer felt empty.The stars no longer felt distant.For the first time in longer than I could remember—the universe felt inhabited.Alive.Connected.Home.I laughed softly.Then shook my head.Because even now, part of me expected the vision to disappear.To dissolve like a dream at dawn.Hope seemed to notice.She had the eyes of someone who paid attention to people.A rare and dangerous skill."You can come over if you want."The invitation was simple.Casual.Offered without ceremony.Without suspicion.Without hesitation.And somehow—that made it perfect.My throat tightened unexpectedl

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 163 -The Lantern That Returned

    Lanterns were not supposed to come back.That was the entire concept.You released them.You let them go.You trusted the sky to carry them wherever they needed to be.Simple system.Reasonable system.Unfortunately the universe had never respected reasonable systems.The morning after Wish Lantern

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 162 -The Wish Lanterns

    The letter ruined everyone emotionally for three consecutive days.Including me.I maintain this was highly inconsiderate.Orion had been gone for years and still somehow managed to make entire rooms cry.Powerful skill.Dangerous skill.Naturally, the city responded in the only reasonable way poss

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 161- The Letter Hidden Inside the Photograph

    The mystery appeared entirely by accident.Which is how all the worst mysteries start.Three days after Elias arrived, we were helping reorganize the Hall of Found Things.By "helping," I mean Hope was directing everyone while contributing almost nothing physically.Leadership, apparently.The Fest

  • “Marked as Property, Stolen by the Alpha”   Chapter 160- The Last Story of the Night

    The crowd finally left around midnight.Not because they wanted to.Because Guardian physically began escorting people toward the exits.Apparently even emotional storytelling events required closing hours.The Hall of Found Things settled into a comfortable quiet afterward.Lanterns glowed softly.

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status