All Chapters of Eclipsed Wolves: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The rain had stopped sometime in the early morning. Now the sun filtered through shifting clouds, soft and golden. Steam rose from the forest floor, turning the path to Cassiel’s vault into a hazy corridor of warmth and light. Selene brushed a strand of hair from her face as she walked beside Theoden. The woods were quiet. Watchful. Even the birdsong felt sparse—like nature was giving space to whatever was coming next. “I keep waiting for something to happen,” she said softly. Theoden nodded. “It already is. We just haven’t seen it yet.” Behind them, Luka and Darius followed at an easy pace. Luka was reading a folded note Cassiel had left earlier, something about an old storeroom deep beneath the archive. Darius was eating a dried pear and mumbling about how everything lately felt like “a riddle wrapped in fog with a dash of existential dread.” When they reached the entrance to the lower levels, Cassiel was already there, waiting at the threshold of a stone stairwell carved direc

The morning air felt colder than usual. Selene stood on the ridge just outside the village, arms folded across her chest, her hair loose and tousled from sleep. The wind moved around her like it carried secrets—whispers from the trees, murmurs from the earth. Behind her, she sensed him before she heard him. Theoden’s arms slid gently around her waist, pulling her against his chest. “You didn’t sleep,” he murmured into her hair. “No,” she admitted, resting her head back against his shoulder. “I couldn’t.” “Because of the symbol?” “Because of the choice.” They stood in silence, watching the horizon begin to glow with early gold. Theoden kissed the top of her head. “Whatever he’s pushing toward… we don’t have to play his game.” Selene shook her head. “We’re already on the board.” — Later that morning, the cabin buzzed with quiet urgency. Luka spread a map across the table, his finger tracing a mountain pass that led toward a string of hidden valleys in the north. “This is w

The air was heavier than usual. Not thick. Not choking. Just… weighted. Like something unseen had settled across the land, across the sky, and was waiting for someone to notice. Selene noticed. She always did. She sat near the river that wound quietly through the woods beyond Silvercrest, her boots tucked beneath her and her notebook balanced in her lap. She hadn’t written anything in days. She kept trying to capture her thoughts in ink, but every time the pen touched paper, her mind scattered. Nova hadn’t spoken all morning, which was rare. Not quiet in the usual sense, but withdrawn. Listening for something. It unsettled Selene more than she wanted to admit. Behind her, Theoden approached, his steps soft against the grass. He didn’t speak right away. Just sat beside her, his shoulder brushing hers. She handed him the other half of the bread she’d brought and leaned her head against his arm. “Nova’s quiet,” she murmured. “I know. Atlas is too.” He took a bite, chewed slow

It rained through the night, soft and slow. The kind of rain that soaked into the soil and lingered, filling the air with the smell of moss and wet bark. Selene woke first. She hadn’t meant to. Theoden’s arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, his breath slow and warm against her neck. She lay there for a while, memorizing the rhythm of it, until her thoughts pulled her too far into the waking world to stay still. She shifted gently, brushing her fingers down the curve of his jaw. His eyes blinked open—those deep, piercing blue eyes—and he stared at her like he hadn’t seen her in days. “You okay?” he murmured. Selene nodded. “I just… keep thinking.” Theoden propped himself up on one elbow. “About the seal?” “And the moon. And the book. And the fact that Cassiel keeps dodging our questions about the others.” Theoden reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Let’s find out what he’s not saying.” — Cassiel wasn’t in his study when they arrived. Or the

The seal shard pulsed all night. Theoden couldn’t sleep with it so close to him—its presence like a heartbeat beneath the floorboards, a hum beneath his skin. When he finally gave up trying, he slipped out of bed quietly and stood in the doorway, staring at the stormless sky. The moon had cleared the clouds again. The red tint had spread. He didn’t know what it meant. Only that it was coming. Whatever it was. — By sunrise, the entire house was awake. Selene stirred first, eyes fluttering open as her hand reached instinctively across the mattress. Empty. She sat up. “Theoden?” “In here,” came his voice from the other room. She followed it to find him sitting at the long oak table, Cassiel’s ancient scrolls spread out in front of him. The shard sat on the table’s center, glowing faintly. Luka and Darius were on the couch, half-asleep and half-listening. Luka was reading. Darius was watching the shard like it might bite him. Selene rubbed her eyes. “Did we move the research