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19 - Stone Chimney

Author: Grace Kara
last update Last Updated: 2025-05-14 02:57:38

After hours of driving, he turned off the main road onto a barely visible dirt track that wound its way deep into a dense, ancient looking forest.

The trees were so thick here, the sunlight struggled to penetrate, casting the woods in a perpetual twilight. The air smelled of damp earth, pine needles, and something else something old and wild. Magic.

The track ended in a small clearing. Nestled amongst the trees was a cottage. It looked like it had grown out of the earth itself, its walls made of rough hewn logs and stones, its roof covered in moss.

Smoke curled from a stone chimney.

“We’re here,” Austin said, cutting the engine. The sudden silence was profound, broken only by the rustling of leaves and the distant call of a bird.

He got out, and I followed, feeling a strange mixture of trepidation and excitement. This place felt different. Powerful.

The door of the cottage opened, and a woman stepped out.

She was .... timeless. Her face was a roadmap of wrinkles, but her eyes were
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  • The Rogue's Reluctant Mate   77 - Consequences

    The use of my title wasn't casual. It was a recognition. An acknowledgment that my position was more than ceremonial. I took a moment to think it through, aware of my responsibility to get this right. "We don't know enough yet," I said finally. "The search teams need to find those wolves. Dead or alive, we need to know what happened. But in the meantime, I think you should talk to people. Not formally. Not as the Alpha demanding answers. Just...talk. Sit with some of the older wolves who remember Roric's time. Find out who really benefited from him. Who was close to him in ways that mattered." Austin was quiet for a long moment, and I could see him turning my words over in his mind, examining them from different angles. "And if I find someone who clearly has guilty knowledge?" "You don't execute them immediately," I said, choosing my words carefully. "You give them the chance to show where their loyalty lies now. And if they choose wrong..." I let that sentence hang. A small smil

  • The Rogue's Reluctant Mate   76 - Missing

    SELENA_____The first real crack in our new order came on a Tuesday, though I didn't know it was Tuesday until Austin mentioned it offhandedly..one of those human world measurements of time that meant nothing in the caverns where the sun never reached. A patrol had gone missing. Not dead. Just..gone. Four wolves, including a seasoned Beta named Corvin who'd been with the pack for over a decade. They'd been assigned to the eastern tunnels, the ones that bordered the rogue territories, and they simply hadn't returned for the evening roll call.Austin found out during his morning briefing. I was in the corner of the main cavern, watching the Omegas work the granary counts, still trying to uncover where the rest of Roric's stolen grain had gone. Lisa had mentioned something about Marcus needing to report on the missing patrol, so I'd stayed close, pretending to be absorbed in inventory lists.Marcus looked physically ill as he told Austin. His face had gone the color of old ash, and hi

  • The Rogue's Reluctant Mate   75 - Sunrise

    I stopped, leaning against the rock wall just inside the tunnel entrance, content to watch her, unseen. This was her time. Her ritual. One she’d discovered in the human world, a small piece of peace she’d carved out for herself. As the sun crested the mountains, flooding the valley below with brilliant, blinding light, she lifted her face to it, eyes closed, as if soaking in its warmth. The sight of her, silhouetted against the dawn, so still, so peaceful, hit me with a force I wasn’t prepared for. It wasn’t lust though.. It was something else entirely. Something quieter. Something that made my chest feel too tight. She must have sensed me. Her posture didn’t change, but she spoke, her voice soft, carried by the wind. “I wondered if you’d come find me.” “I woke up and my property was missing,” I said, pushing off the wall and walking towards her. My tone was light, a deflection. “I was concerned.” She smiled, her eyes still closed. “Liar. You were curious.” I came to stand bes

  • The Rogue's Reluctant Mate   74 - Disarming

    She was silent for a long moment, looking out at the dark valleys. “I’d make it safe,” she said finally, her voice quiet but firm. “Not just safe from outside threats. Safe for the Omegas. Safe for the pups. A place where a kid can sneak out to look at the stars without being afraid of being beaten for skipping a chore. A place where what you are isn’t more important than who you are.” She shook her head, a faint, selfdeprecating twist to her lips. “It sounds naive.”“It sounds like a competent administrative goal,” I said, my tone pragmatic. “A secure, content population is a productive population. Less likely to rebel. It’s just good policy.”She laughed, a soft, genuine sound that was carried away by the roar of the falls. “Always the strategist.”“It’s who I am,” I said. But her words had sparked something. A glimmer of an idea. A way to give her a piece of what she wanted, to channel that quiet idealism into something tangible. Something that would also serve my purposes. “This

  • The Rogue's Reluctant Mate   73 - Question

    The water had gone lukewarm, the steam thinning to a faint haze. We’d stayed in the pool until our fingers pruned, until the immediate, frantic need for connection had been sated, replaced by a deeper, more settled calm. I’d washed the sweat and the lingering scent of the den from her skin, my hands moving over her with a possessiveness that was now more ritual than conquest. She’d done the same for me, her touch firm and sure, scrubbing away the grime of the day, the metaphorical blood of a dozen petty decisions.We dressed in silence, the simple act feeling more intimate than what had happened in the water. The clean clothes ..a fresh tunic and trousers for me, another simple wool dress for her, felt like a new skin. A small reclaiming of order.Back in the Alpha’s den, the pile of ledgers and scrolls still waited, a silent accusation of work unfinished. I looked at them, and for the first time, the sight didn’t coil a knot of pure annoyance in my gut. It was just work. A problem

  • The Rogue's Reluctant Mate   72 - Need for Connection

    “Leave us.” I told Lisa. She bowed her head and left quickly. I turned to Selena. “Get in.” She didn’t hesitate. She untied the simple gown and let it fall to the stone floor. Her body, pale and strong in the steamy light, was a map of our journey together, old scars from her training, fading bruises from the fight, the subtle shift of muscle under smooth skin. She slipped into the water with a soft sigh, sinking down until it lapped at her shoulders. I shucked off my trousers and followed her in. The water was blissfully hot, soaking into my aching muscles. I leaned back against the smooth rock edge, closing my eyes for a moment, just feeling the heat work its magic. I felt her move through the water towards me. Then her hands were on me again, on my chest, her fingers tracing the lines of old scars I’d collected long before I ever met her. “You’re tense,” she murmured, her voice echoing softly in the cavern. “It’s been a long day,” I said, my eyes still closed. “Governing is a

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