All Chapters of THE CHOSEN ONE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

AIYANAI bit my lower lip, staring at the scene ahead.“We need to go into the houses. See if there’s anything we can use. Food, water, clean clothes, weapons,” I said, slowly letting go of his arm.Max nodded firmly but didn’t move right away. He looked once more at the empty space where his father’s body had been. I could feel the question burning inside him: what did they do to him?I wanted to know too.But now... now we had to survive first.“Let’s go,” I murmured, starting to walk toward the old Roffman house.Max stopped.

AIYANAThe forest felt suspicious as we approached the refuge. The air was heavy with something I couldn’t quite define, like the earth itself was holding its breath, waiting for something.Maxim walked beside me, his steps steady but his expression tense. The silence between us felt even more uncomfortable than the words we hadn’t exchanged before. The night, now fully dark, swallowed everything around us, and only the moonlight filtered through the treetops, like a beacon guiding us into the unknown.Tension was high. The loss of Azz still hung over us we had left his small body at the sanctuary. Alyssa, though trying to stay strong, was shattered inside. Her gaze was distant, her hand trembling as she held Azz’s brother’s. I knew how attached she

AIYANAThe walk to the village wasn’t long, but with each step, it became harder to ignore the feeling in my chest. The trees grew denser, the air colder, and it wasn’t just the weather. It felt like we were passing through an invisible membrane.When we arrived, I immediately noticed this wasn’t like any village I had ever seen.The houses were small, made of raw wood and hardened clay, but everything seemed... alive. Bone amulets hung from the doors. Braided leather strips swayed in the wind, adorned with feathers, stones, and animal teeth. Every detail carried meaning. The Sámi’s clothing wasn’t like ours, they wore long tunics dyed in blue, red, white, and yellow. The edges were hand-embroidered with ancient symbols I didn’t recognize.They separated us. I was locked in a narrow room with my grandmother, Max, and Icarus. No windows. The walls smelled of earth and smoke. I tried to reason with them, explain we had come in peace, but they didn’t listen. Or maybe they didn’t want to l

AIYANAThe smell of burnt moss and dried herbs lingered in the air inside Tuuri’s tent.The heat from the embers warmed us, but it wasn’t enough to chase away the chill running down my spine."You... are mates."I blinked, hoping he meant something symbolic—like allies, survivors, anything else. But when I saw Maxim’s tense shoulders and the way Icarus looked away, I knew exactly what he meant."Relax, pups," Tuuri went on, his smile slightly crooked. "It’s easy to see the cord pulling you toward her..."He pointed at me with two heavy fingers, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe it was to him.

AIYANAI’ve thought a lot about death over the years more than what’s considered healthy. But it was never something I could control. I had so many questions and so few answers, and everything always came back to death.So, yes. I thought of all the ways I could die. But never, not even once, did I imagine it would be by the claws of a soulless beast driven by dark magic. My little hunting knife was still in my hand, covered in blood, but it was useless to believe I had a chance.Isabela was sniffling behind me, her breath fast and shaky.The wolf stood still. It didn’t growl, didn’t charge. It just stared at me. Its eyes were soulless and yet, it didn’t move.