Chapter 029
The Burning Letter
The wind howled through the rafters that night, a low, mournful sound that made the cabin feel older than it was. I sat at the small wooden table, a candle guttering beside me, the journal open to the page that had changed everything.
Cormac Vale.
Even seeing the name in my mother’s delicate script sent a current through me fear, yes, but also something sharper, almost electric. I kept tracing it with my finger like if I touched it enough, I’d understand her choice to hide it from me all these years.
Caleb had gone to bed hours ago, claiming we’d need an early start. I doubted he was sleeping. I doubted I’d sleep either. My wolf was pacing under my skin, restless and eager. She didn’t like secrets any more than I did.
That’s when I saw it the edge of an envelope tucked deep into the binding of the journal.
The Hidden Envelope
It was sealed with wax, the imprint worn but still visible: a crescent moon inside a ring of thorns. I’d never seen the mark before, but it stirred something in me, like an echo from a dream I couldn’t quite recall.
There was no name on the front. My hands were trembling as I slid a finger under the flap and tore it open.
Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded twice. The handwriting was unmistakable my mother’s but it was darker here, heavier, as though she’d written it quickly, pressing hard with the pen.
> “If you find this, it means I am gone. Burn this letter after reading. Do not seek him unless you are ready to lose everything.”
My throat tightened. The words bled into me, heavy and final.
I unfolded the rest.
> “Cormac will know you by scent before you speak. He will offer you the truth. He will not lie. But his truth will cost you. More than you think you can pay. You are the last of the Moon Matron line. That alone makes you dangerous, but it also makes you prey. Remember what I taught you: the strongest wolves hide their teeth until they bite. Burn this, Adelina. And run.”
The candle flame flickered against the edges of the paper, and for a long moment, I just stared at it. Burn it. Pretend I’d never seen it. Pretend that knowing would only ruin me.
But the thing about pretending? It doesn’t stop the truth from existing. It just makes it harder to face when it finally catches up.
I read the letter twice more before I pushed back from the table and crossed to the fireplace. The coals were low but still red, still alive.
The paper caught quickly, curling in on itself as the words dissolved into black ash. The wax seal melted, dripping like blood before disappearing into the embers.
Why I Burned It
It wasn’t because my mother told me to. And it wasn’t because I wanted to erase her warning. I burned it because I knew if Caleb found it he’d try to use it to convince me not to go.
And I was going.
Still, the image stayed with me: her rushed handwriting, the certainty in her warning. You will lose everything.
Maybe I already had.
Morning Resolve
By the time Caleb emerged from his room, dawn was just a thin strip of silver light over the snow. I was dressed, boots laced, my pack by the door.
“You’re up early,” he said, his voice scratchy from sleep.
“I didn’t sleep,” I admitted. “Let’s get this over with.”
His gaze swept over me, lingering for a moment on my face like he was searching for hesitation. He must not have found any, because he just nodded and reached for his coat.
We left the cabin in silence, the snow crunching beneath our boots. The air was so cold it burned my lungs. My wolf was alert, ears pricked for sounds I couldn’t hear as a human.
The Road to the Lodge
Caleb had said the lodge was less than a day’s hike if we moved quickly. The path wound through dense pines, the snow muffling every sound but our own movement.
It was strange how the world could be so beautiful and so dangerous at the same time. I’d learned that lesson young, but out here, it felt sharper. Every shadow might hide an enemy. Every scent on the wind might be a warning.
We didn’t talk much, but at one point Caleb glanced at me and said, “If you have second thoughts, now’s the time.”
I almost laughed. “I burned that bridge last night.”
He frowned. “What bridge?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, adjusting my pack. “Just keep walking.
The Lodge in Sight
It was late afternoon when the trees thinned, revealing the outline of a structure ahead. The lodge was larger than I expected three stories of dark timber, the roof heavy with snow. Smoke curled from the chimney, a thin grey line against the pale sky.
Something shifted in the air then, a faint scent that wasn’t Caleb’s. My wolf tensed immediately.
He was here.
Inside the Lodge
Caleb led the way, but he didn’t knock. He pushed the door open like he’d done it before, the hinges creaking in protest.
The warmth inside hit me first, followed by the scent woodsmoke, leather, and something older, sharper. Cormac Vale was standing by the hearth, a glass of amber liquid in his hand.
He looked… nothing like I expected. No scars, no monstrous sneer. Just a tall man with pale eyes that seemed to cut through the air between us. His hair was silver at the temples, though he couldn’t have been more than forty.
And he was smiling.
The Letter’s Shadow
“So,” he said, his voice smooth as warm honey, “the little wolf comes to me at last.”
I froze. He didn’t need to ask my name. He didn’t even glance at Caleb. His eyes were locked on mine like we’d been in conversation long before I walked through his door.
“I suppose you’ve been expecting me,” I managed.
“Not expecting,” he corrected. “Knowing.”
I thought of my mother’s letter. He will offer you the truth. He will not lie.
“You knew my mother,” I said.
His smile didn’t fade. “I did. She was clever. Brave. And foolish enough to think she could hide you forever.”
My wolf bristled, but I kept my voice even. “She also said you’d cost me more than I could pay.”
He tilted his head, studying me. “She wasn’t wrong.”
The Offer
Cormac gestured toward the fire, and I reluctantly stepped closer. He poured a second glass of whatever he was drinking and handed it to me. The scent was sharp, burning.
Chapter 031 First Rogue RecruitsThe ruins of the cabin still smoked behind us when we left.I didn’t look back. Not because it didn’t hurt because if I did, I might lose the thin thread of control I had left. My wolf prowled just under my skin, pressing against the surface, eager to rip apart whoever had done this.Caleb kept his pace steady beside me, his eyes scanning the treeline for movement. We hadn’t spoken since we saw the tracks. Whoever they were, they’d come in numbers, and they’d been organized. That wasn’t random.Sylvia’s hand was all over it.No Home to Return ToBy the time the trees thinned and the slope leveled out, my muscles burned from the climb. I leaned on my knees, catching my breath, the cold air burning in my lungs.“We can’t stay in one place anymore,” Caleb said. “Not unless we have numbers.”I straightened, meeting his gaze. “Numbers we don’t have.”He studied me. “We can get them.”I knew what he meant. And I knew the risk. Rogues weren’t just wolves wit
Chapter 029 The Burning LetterThe wind howled through the rafters that night, a low, mournful sound that made the cabin feel older than it was. I sat at the small wooden table, a candle guttering beside me, the journal open to the page that had changed everything.Cormac Vale.Even seeing the name in my mother’s delicate script sent a current through me fear, yes, but also something sharper, almost electric. I kept tracing it with my finger like if I touched it enough, I’d understand her choice to hide it from me all these years.Caleb had gone to bed hours ago, claiming we’d need an early start. I doubted he was sleeping. I doubted I’d sleep either. My wolf was pacing under my skin, restless and eager. She didn’t like secrets any more than I did.That’s when I saw it the edge of an envelope tucked deep into the binding of the journal.The Hidden EnvelopeIt was sealed with wax, the imprint worn but still visible: a crescent moon inside a ring of thorns. I’d never seen the mark befo
Chapter 29 The Burning LetterThe wind howled through the rafters that night, a low, mournful sound that made the cabin feel older than it was. I sat at the small wooden table, a candle guttering beside me, the journal open to the page that had changed everything.Cormac Vale.Even seeing the name in my mother’s delicate script sent a current through me fear, yes, but also something sharper, almost electric. I kept tracing it with my finger like if I touched it enough, I’d understand her choice to hide it from me all these years.Caleb had gone to bed hours ago, claiming we’d need an early start. I doubted he was sleeping. I doubted I’d sleep either. My wolf was pacing under my skin, restless and eager. She didn’t like secrets any more than I did.That’s when I saw it the edge of an envelope tucked deep into the binding of the journal.The Hidden EnvelopeIt was sealed with wax, the imprint worn but still visible: a crescent moon inside a ring of thorns. I’d never seen the mark befo
Chapter 28 Caleb’s Silence BreaksPOV - CalebThe snow was falling heavier by morning, each flake swirling lazily before vanishing against the pine boughs. It muffled the world into a strange kind of stillness, the kind that made you think you were the only soul alive for miles.I stood at the kitchen counter, fingers wrapped around a mug of tea I wasn’t drinking, staring out the frosted window. My mind kept looping back to the letter in my mother’s journal. That single, haunting C. And the feeling I’d had last night the whisper, the presence that lingered like a shadow even in daylight.I knew Caleb was hiding something. I’d felt it for weeks. He’d always been loyal, careful with his words, but lately there had been moments quick glances, silences that stretched too long where I could almost see the weight pressing on him. He was carrying something, and it was pulling him apart.I decided today was the day I’d stop letting him protect me by keeping me in the dark.The WaitingWhen
Chapter 27 An Unspoken NameThe moon hung low that night, a pale coin suspended in the darkness, glinting off the frost that crept across the eaves of the cabin. I could smell the forest stretching for miles, heavy with pine and wet earth, yet there was something else threading through the air a scent that twisted in my gut, familiar and unwelcome. It was faint, like the memory of smoke after a fireI had been at the desk for hours, hunched over the scraps of parchment and digital files I’d been given by the Seer’s courier, cross-referencing them with the journal my mother had hidden for me. Every page smelled faintly of lavender and old paper. My eyes burned from staring at the curling script, but the words were stubborn, like they knew I wasn’t ready for them yet.It all kept circling back to one entry, written in my mother’s neat, deliberate hand. A warning. A name partially blotted out by a spill, or maybe erased on purpose. Only the first letter remained: C.It shouldn’t have me
Chapter 26 Lux’s LightThe camp was quieter than I’d ever heard it.Not peaceful never that but the kind of quiet that comes when exhaustion drapes itself over every living thing. The fight was over, but its echoes clung to us: the metallic tang of blood, the acrid stench of gunpowder, and the low, ragged breathing of those too injured to move.I sat on the edge of my tent, staring at my hands. The mark on my palm had faded back to its pale silver etching, but I could still feel its heat lingering under my skin. It was the same heat I’d felt during the fight an impossible, guiding warmth that had pulled me away from death more than once.It was the same warmth I felt when I thought of her.Lux.The WoundedGarrick came up behind me, his voice a rough scrape. “We’ve moved the injured to the north alcove. Miri’s tending to them. Two more might not make it through the night.”I stood, the weight in his words sinking into my bones. “Take me there.”We walked across the camp, the ground s