All Chapters of THE CURSE OF THE FIFTH MATE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The late afternoon sun spilled golden streaks across the clearing just beyond Moonfang's inner grounds, where shadows were long and eyes were watchful. Veyra Hale stood at the edge of the woods, hands buried in her cloak pockets, breath shallow with tension. The air vibrated with the presence of wolves not her own. Four, to be exact. Four mates. Four bonds. Four storms inside her.They had found reasons—diplomatic, personal, and fabricated—to remain close. Kael, the Ironhowl warrior, had volunteered for temporary defense drills with Moonfang sentries. Zevi, the mischievous Gamma from Hollowcliff, claimed he was studying border security. Rune, quiet and ghostlike, continued aiding the healers. And Lioren—Ashfang's Beta—had simply said nothing, his icy presence lingering like morning frost.Veyra felt them like a compass splitting in four directions, each tug demanding, consuming, dangerous."Veyra!" Kael's voice cracked through the air like thunder.She turned just in time to see him s

The wind that rolled through Moonfang territory that morning tasted wrong. It wasn't the crisp, wild scent of pine and morning dew Veyra had grown up breathing—it was sharp, acrid, foreign. Even the birds, usually chattering in the trees before sunrise, had fallen silent. She stood at the edge of the forest, arms wrapped around herself, watching as patrols doubled along the inner and outer perimeter. Her father's voice still echoed in her ears from earlier that day: "A breach means intent. It means war, if not now—soon." It had started with a scout's report just after dawn. A tattered wolf, panting and bloodied, stumbled past the outer ridge and collapsed before Elias with four words that turned every head in Moonfang's stronghold: "Obsidian Fang was here." The name struck a chord like a blade against stone. The Order of Obsidian Fang was a ghost story, a nightmare whispered to pups to keep them from straying too far. A secret cult of wolves who lived in the shadows—wolves who

The snow hadn't melted since the blizzard. It lingered like a ghost, haunting the trees and rooftops, painting the Moonfang territory in stark whites and silvers. Yet the air carried something new—something heavier than cold, thicker than frost. Something ancient.Veyra felt it in her bones before she ever heard the hooves.She stood on the edge of the pack border, her breath curling in the chilled air like smoke, her wolf restless beneath her skin. Maelin had been quiet all morning. Too quiet. And Jon had been summoned by Elias for border reinforcement. A diplomatic guest was coming. That's what Elias had said.But this didn't feel like diplomacy.The thundering of hooves broke the stillness first. A sound that did not rush—it commanded. Controlled, precise, like a war drum announcing its own legend. Shadows stretched from the treeline, long and dark as the horse emerged—massive, black as midnight, with eyes like burning embers. Upon it sat a man carved from silence and steel.Zarek

The wind carried no scent of peace that morning. Only tension, thick as the frost that clung to the outer walls of the Moonfang Pack's dwellings. Veyra could feel it before she even stepped outside—something between her and the others had shifted. The threads that had once pulsed gently through her soul, tying her to Kael, Lioren, Zevi, and Rune... had dimmed. Not snapped. Not severed. But muted.She sat on the edge of her bed, fingers clutching the edge of the mattress, trying to calm the storm that brewed just beneath her skin. Her heart thudded in a rhythm she didn't recognize—fierce, erratic, electric. Since Zarek's arrival, nothing inside her had been the same.And she wasn't the only one who noticed.Kael found her first. He always did. Like a sentinel tethered to her heartbeat, he appeared at the doorway without knocking, brow furrowed and golden eyes flickering."Something's wrong," he said without preamble, his voice hard. "I can't feel you. Not like before."Veyra's stomach

The prisoner sat in chains, bloodied and broken, in the heart of Moonfang's underground cell. His eyes were wild, his mouth frothing at the corners as he rocked slowly back and forth, muttering phrases that made the guards uneasy. The torches along the stone walls flickered as if responding to the foul energy leaking from him. Veyra stood just outside the bars, heart pounding, the tension in her chest wound so tight she could barely breathe."The Fifth Bond... will break the world..." he rasped, barely audible, the words crackling like static. "She's already waking. Too many threads. Too many teeth. The world wasn't meant to hold her."Veyra's spine stiffened."He's insane," one of the guards muttered behind her, disgust written across his face. "He hasn't stopped rambling since Zarek dragged him in."But Veyra wasn't so sure. The way the prisoner stared at her—no, through her—sent ice slithering down her back."What else does he say?" she asked.The guard frowned. "Same things. Over