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Chapter 16: Lost

Author: Max Shinabery
last update publish date: 2026-07-22 13:12:40

Ronan

Forty-two women surged toward the forest.

Boots tore across the damp earth. Packs bounced against shoulders. Some women sprinted straight toward the marked eastern path, while others scattered north and south, immediately disappearing into the fog.

Maeve did not follow the crowd.

Of course she didn’t.

She ran ten paces east, then cut sharply toward a narrow gap between two enormous pine trees. It was not an official trail. Thick brush covered most of the opening, making it look impassable
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  • The Mate Hunt   Chapter 17: Make You Mine

    RonanThe thought of standing behind the boundary while another Alpha hunted Maeve nearly split my control apart.My gaze moved toward Darius. He stood ready, shoulders loose, eyes fixed on the same gap in the trees where Maeve had disappeared.“You follow her,” I said, “and you die.”He looked at me. “We have already discussed this.”“No. You mistook a warning for conversation.”Darius’s expression remained calm. “You have not caught her.”“I will.”“She may reach sanctuary.”“She won’t.”“Then you should have nothing to fear.”Fear. I had not feared another wolf in years. But I feared another man touching Maeve.The realization was so sharp that my wolf nearly forced a shift.Bones cracked through my shoulders. My spine bowed. Claws lengthened from every finger, and the gold flooding my vision sharpened the night until I could see each droplet of mist clinging to the nearest grass.Several hunters stepped away from me.Cassian moved closer. “Ronan.”My teeth sharpened. “If you touch

  • The Mate Hunt   Chapter 16: Lost

    RonanForty-two women surged toward the forest.Boots tore across the damp earth. Packs bounced against shoulders. Some women sprinted straight toward the marked eastern path, while others scattered north and south, immediately disappearing into the fog.Maeve did not follow the crowd.Of course she didn’t.She ran ten paces east, then cut sharply toward a narrow gap between two enormous pine trees. It was not an official trail. Thick brush covered most of the opening, making it look impassable from a distance.She had studied the grounds.I knew she would.Her arms moved steadily at her sides. Her steps were quick and controlled, placed carefully enough that she did not waste strength fighting the uneven ground.The braid down her back swung with every stride.I watched until the forest swallowed her. Her scent remained. It drifted behind her in a thin, invisible line that my wolf followed with absolute certainty.Every other sound faded. The running women. The restless hunters. The

  • The Mate Hunt   Chapter 15: Midnight

    RonanMidnight struck with twelve deep chimes from the clock tower above Blackthorne Mansion.The women stood at the edge of the forest beneath a sky bleached silver by the full moon. Forty-two figures lined the boundary marked by burning torches and a long strip of white stone laid into the earth.Beyond them waited darkness.The Blackthorne forest stretched for miles in every direction, dense with old pines, steep ravines, narrow streams, and hunting paths that twisted back on themselves. Fog gathered low between the trees, softening the roots and rocks beneath a pale veil.The sanctuary stood somewhere on the eastern side of the territory.A small stone temple surrounded by silver ash trees.Any woman who crossed its threshold before sunrise would be untouchable. Any woman who failed would belong to the hunter who caught her.Maeve stood near the middle of the line.I saw no one else.She had changed out of the dark green dress she wore during the ceremony. Her black trousers fit c

  • The Mate Hunt   Chapter 14: To Kill

    Maeve“I enter this Hunt freely.” I repeated. "I accept the reward of escape."“I accept the reward of escape.” My voice echoed in the hush, the words both a promise and a wish. I felt them burn against my ribs, where Mara’s last letter lay hidden... her handwriting etched into my memory, her hope stoking the embers inside me.I would reach her. One way or another.“I accept the consequence of capture.”The words caught in my throat, heavy as stone, but I forced them out, steady, unflinching.Ronan stepped closer to the edge of the circle, unable or unwilling to hide the pull between us.Cassian’s hand found his arm, a silent anchor. The contact seemed to drag Ronan back to himself, reminding him of the eyes, the rules.He stopped, every muscle straining.Aldric’s voice dropped, solemn and final. “If taken before sunrise, I surrender my freedom and mating rights to the hunter who claims me.”This was the price. My only path into Ronan’s home. My only chance to reach Mara.I looked di

  • The Mate Hunt   Chapter 13: The Oath

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  • The Mate Hunt   Chapter 12: Before

    MaeveAldric raised his staff. The silver wolf struck the floor once. “Forty-two women have registered for the seventy-third Blood Hunt.”The number echoed through the ballroom.Forty-two.Hearing it spoken aloud made the risk feel real in a way the crowded registration hall had not.“Seventeen Alphas have registered as hunters.” Aldric’s gaze traveled over the men surrounding us. “Each hunter is permitted one capture.”Silence settled more heavily around the circle.“Once a hunter has physically restrained a participant and declared his claim before an official witness, his Hunt is complete. He may not release his chosen woman and pursue another.”Several women exchanged nervous glances.Aldric continued. “If a participant reaches the sanctuary before sunrise, she is protected under sacred law. No hunter may touch, pursue, or claim her after she crosses the boundary.”His expression hardened. “Any hunter violating the sanctuary will forfeit his title and territory.”That drew several

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