All Chapters of CROWNED BY BLOOD: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The cold wind rushed through my hair like the whispers of ancient spirits as I stepped out of the armored carrier and onto the hallowed grounds of the Silver Moon pack gathering. The same sacred earth where my ancestors had once ruled, where their blood had been spilled in battles for justice and honor. It had been years since I last stood here then I was nothing more than a girl rejected, discarded like yesterday's refuse, and presumed dead by many who now watched in stunned silence. Now I returned transformed, cloaked in moon-white armor that seemed to glow with its own inner light, embroidered with the intricate sigils of the old royal bloodline that told stories of power and legacy stretching back centuries. I was flanked by warriors who had pledged their loyalty not to just a title or crown, but to me to the woman who had crawled through hell and emerged stronger. The ceremonial drums that had been beating in rhythm suddenly fell silent. Gasps echoed through the crowd like ripple

The morning mist still clung to the forest floor like ghostly fingers reluctant to release their hold on the earth, when I stepped out of my command tent breathing in the intoxicating scent of pine needles and fresh dew that mixed perfectly with the earthy primal strength that emanated from my growing pack. The air itself seemed to pulse with possibility and potential. Our territory, our future kingdom buzzed with the kind of vibrant life that spoke of genuine community. Warriors moved through practiced combat forms in the central clearing, their movements fluid and deadly as they honed skills that would soon be tested in real battle. Nearby, wolf pups tumbled over each other in joyous play, their delighted laughter echoing through the trees as they chased butterflies and wrestled in the soft grass. Elders gathered in reverent circles around the sacred fire pit, their weathered voices weaving together stories of old victories and ancient wisdom, passing down the oral traditions that bo

The nausea wouldn't stop. I blamed stress. Fatigue. The weight of lives lost and the growing burden of leadership. But as I stood alone in the sacred spring’s grove, my body trembling and my pulse too loud in my ears, I could no longer pretend. This wasn’t war-weariness. This was something deeper. Even though I was shocked at what Elira mentioned some days ago, I kept it to myself because I am yet to believe any of it. I pressed a hand to my abdomen. No. It couldn’t be. I stumbled back into the heart of Moonclaw, breath shallow and head pounding. I found Celeste in her healer’s tent, arranging herbs in precise rows that glowed faintly under her magic. She looked up the moment I entered. "Luna?" Her eyes narrowed. She saw too much. She always did. "Something’s wrong," I whispered. My voice cracked. "I need you to check." Without a word, she guided me to the padded cot and began her quiet examination. Her fingers glowed with soft green energy as they brushed over my skin, pausing over my

Grief is a strange thing. It doesn't crash all at once, like the stories say. It creeps in like a mist, slowly seeping into every corner of your being until even your bones ache from the weight of it. It settles in the hollow spaces between heartbeats, in the pause before sleep, in the moment you wake and remember, all over again, that he's gone. The safe house was buried deep in the mountains, hidden with wards so ancient even the trees whispered secrets around them. Stone walls older than memory surrounded us, carved with symbols that pulsed faintly in the candlelight. Celeste had brought me here after the battle. After Kai had thrown himself between Victoria's blade and my heart. After I'd held him as his blood soaked the earth, his final words still echoing in my ears: "Protect our future." No. I couldn't say it yet. Couldn't speak of that moment without my magic turning violent, without the very air around me crackling with untamed power. I sat curled on the stone floor, my bac

The document was old, its edges crumbling at the slightest touch. The ink had faded to a rusty brown dried blood. As my eyes scanned the names hidden within its folds, I saw something. Lord Aldric. The name appeared again and again, echoing through centuries of documentation, repeated under aliases, masked beneath false identities and forged alliances that stretched back to the founding of our oldest kingdoms. He had been orchestrating this war long before I drew my first breath. He had moved the pieces of this grand game like a master tactician, patient as stone, weaving through centuries of conflict like a spider at the center of an impossibly complex web always in the shadows, always unseen until now. I sat in the war room, the cursed parchment spread before me like a disease given form, its broken seals scattered across the wooden table like the fragments of shattered trust. Celeste stood silent to my right, her pale fingers tracing protective runes in the air as she read over