CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVENGRAHAMThe forest didn’t feel right tonight.It was too still and too quiet. There were no night birds, no wind in the branches, nothing. Even the wolves on patrol were on edge, ears flicking at every whisper. It crawled under my skin in a way I couldn’t shake off.I’d sent the first patrol back to rest, deciding to take the next sweep myself. I trusted them, but after what Charlie had seen and how no one believed her, I couldn’t leave it to chance. If something was out there, I needed to see it with my own eyes.Zoey had offered to come with me, but I told her no. Whatever this was, I’d handle it. I couldn’t risk her, not with how important she’d become to everyone, and most importantly, to me.My beta, Ronald, flanked me as we walked the western edge of the territory. The scent markers had been refreshed earlier, but the air already felt wrong. It felt damp and moldy.“Anything?” I asked, voice low.Luke shook his head. “Nothing yet.”I nodded, bu
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY SIXGRAHAMIt wasn’t often that the Council of Elders called for me, and never, not once in all my years had they asked for Zoey too.The message came through one of the sentry guards early in the morning, just as Zoey and I were leaving the dining hall. The young wolf was breathless, nervous as he handed over the note with shaking hands. My name was scribbled across the front in bold strokes, and beneath it, a simple line:Come to the council chambers and bring your mate along with you.I stared at it for a long moment.“What is it?” Zoey asked, peering over my shoulder.I handed her the note.The moment her eyes scanned it, she looked up at me. “Why do they want me there?”“I don’t know,” I said, frowning. “They’ve never involved you before.”She was silent for a second, then folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket. “Should we be worried?”I looked at her. The girl who had once been my enemy. My burden. The girl I’d almost thrown away because I
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FIVECHARLIEI didn’t mean to see it.I wasn’t trying to snoop or spy or dig up something that wasn’t mine. I just needed air. The house was too loud and there many footsteps, too many people looking my way and whispering amongst themselves. I told one of the patrol wolves I was stepping out for a walk, and he barely nodded.No one really cared where I went aslong as I didnt cause any troubles and go didn’t go too far.But I did.The wind had shifted, carrying something strange not a scent I could place, but a feeling. The air was cold but the smell was rotten and old. It pulled me off the main path, deeper into the trees.And then I saw it.A shape; twisted and hunched, its back curved like it had too many bones. It was dragging something. I couldn’t see what. It moved low to the ground, half-crawling, half-sliding like it didn’t need legs to move. Its skin was pale, almost grey, like it had been drained of life.I froze. It didn’t see me, or maybe it di
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FOURGRAHAMI didn’t like the silence. I liked silence overall but not this kind of silence. The type that hung in the air too long like the forest could feel that something eerie was about to happen.I was in my office when the knock came. I ignored it the first time, but then it sounded again, harder this time.“Come in,” I said without looking up.My beta, Ronald entered. He hesitated in the doorway, a habit of him I noticed he did whenever he felt unease. That already told me something was wrong.“What is it?” I asked.He shut the door behind him. “There’s something… odd. I just came in from the north patrol. One of the sentries caught a scent. He said it didn’t smell like rogue or wolf.”I sat up straighter. “What did it smell like then?”Ronald swallowed. “Strange but it smelled like burnt iron, and old blood. Something… dead, but not really dead.”My fingers curled slightly around the edge of the desk.“Where?” I asked.“Right along the stream, clo
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY THREEVIKTORThe wind had changed.It always did before something bad happened. Before blood was spilled or secrets cracked open like bones under pressure. Most people didn’t notice that kind of thing bt I did.I’d lived long enough to know the scent of danger. It had a certain stillness to it. A certain taste in the air like burnt metal and silence.Lily was asleep.I could hear her breathing softly from the other side of the room. She liked to sleep near the windows, where moonlight poured in like silver paint. She didn’t mind that I never really slept. She said it made her feel safe, knowing someone was awake while she drifted off.And I stayed awake, not because I had to, but because I didn’t want to miss anything.I stood near the balcony now, arms crossed, eyes on the trees in the distance.Someone had entered the woods today. It was a woman and she was alone.At first, I thought it might be Zoey. She had a habit of wandering, especially when she wa
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TWOCHARLIEI didn’t belong here.No matter how many times I told myself I’d changed, and no matter how often I smiled and tried to act useful, I could still feel the stares. I could feel the weight of everyone’s judgment pressing down on my back as I walked through the pack house.Even the walls felt like they remembered who I used to be.Graham had said I could stay. That didn’t mean the pack had forgiven me. Zoey especially hadn’t. She barely looked in my direction during breakfast, and when she did, it was with a tight jaw and colder eyes than I remembered.Maybe I deserved it. I truly did. I didn’t blame her one bit. I betrayed her trust and chased her out of the pack.But I wasn’t the same girl who stood beside Kelvin, laughing while he tore through lives like they meant nothing.I’d made mistakes, terrible ones but I wanted to fix them, that is if anyone would let me.I found Hannah near the back of the garden, pruning something with a pair of shea