All Chapters of Beneath the Howling Pines: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

I didn’t return to camp until the sun was high.By then, the pine shadows had thinned and the air carried that heavy stillness I’d come to associate with approaching storms—not weather, but war.The warriors watched me when I stepped past the perimeter. Not with suspicion. With expectation. Word had spread. Elena and I had sealed the bond. The cursed wolves had come to our border. And everyone was waiting to see what I would do next.What I would become.Elena wasn’t in the clearing. She was training somewhere, or maybe running—she always ran when she needed clarity. And if she’d seen what I saw last night in my cousin’s eyes… I didn’t blame her for staying gone.Because I wasn’t the same man she kissed at the spring.Not anymore.I headed straight for the elder lodge. The guards parted without a word, and the door creaked closed behind me like the forest itself was holding its breath.Elder Kiera looked up from a map strewn across the center table. Elder Ronin stood beside her, arms

Vyre – The Cursed WolfThe hunger never stopped.It lived inside her like a second heartbeat—older, colder. It wasn’t the kind of hunger that food satisfied. It gnawed at the core of her, insatiable, coiling around memory and instinct until she no longer knew where it ended and she began.If she was even anymore.She’d forgotten her birth name.Forgotten the shape of her mother’s face, the cadence of her old Alpha’s voice. But the howl of her mate? That scream still echoed. It always did—trapped somewhere between her ears, replaying like a curse inside a curse.She had begged the Moon Goddess that night.Begged for mercy, for strength, for something that could make the pain mean something.And the curse had answered.It had slipped into her like fog, like a lover, like a lie wrapped in comfort. It gave her power. Rage. Purpose.It took everything else.Now, Vyre stood at the crumbling edge of what was once the Blackmoor estate, surrounded by decay and the stink of old blood. The Earth

The moon rose like a wound in the sky—red, bloated, and watching.It wasn’t full yet. That would come in four days. But tonight marked the edge of the turning, the cusp of the convergence. The night the magic would either bend to our will… or break us entirely.I stood at the edge of the glowing circle, breath shallow, heart hammering against my ribs like it wanted out. The blood rite symbols etched into the dirt were still glowing, pulsing in time with something ancient beneath the soil. Something that had seen this before. A long time ago.Silas stood across from me, dressed in dark ceremonial leathers, the high collar of his coat open enough to show the twin crescent marks over his collarbone—where I’d bitten him. Where the bond had first taken root.His eyes were calm.Too calm.“You ready?” he asked.I didn’t lie.“No.”He gave a small, bitter smile. “Me neither.”We stepped into the circle.Immediately, the air shifted. Magic thickened like smoke, dragging across my skin, making

Mara & Elena – Dual POVElenaThe scent of iron and pine was everywhere.It clung to our skin, soaked our clothes, and settled deep into the bones of the camp. For the first time in my life, Ashfang didn’t smell like home. It smelled like a battlefield waiting to be born.Mara and I stood in the war tent, hunched over the territory maps while lantern light flickered shadows across our faces. Her brow was furrowed, mouth set in a hard, unreadable line.I knew that look.She was scared.So was I.But neither of us said it.“The ridge line here—” she tapped the parchment, “—is where we make our stand. I want snare runes planted at the southern point, archers in the trees, and a second line of sentries at the gorge. If they break our perimeter there, they’ll reach the heart of Ashfang within hours.”I nodded slowly. “You think Vyre’s leading the vanguard?”“No,” Mara said. “She’s the distraction.”She pointed north.“This is where the real strike will come. Malric isn’t sending Vyre to wi

Elena – Ashfang PackHe came back just before dawn.The world was grey and hushed, and the pines were still soaked in the weight of night. I was in the command tent, going over the final defensive sweep orders with Mara when the runner appeared, breathless and wide-eyed.“Silas,” he said. “He’s back. And—he’s not right.”I was already gone before he finished speaking.I found Silas near the edge of camp, crouched beside the eastern wellspring with blood on his knuckles and a wildness in his eyes. His clothes were torn at the sleeves. His mouth was set in a hard line. But when he looked up and saw me—his entire body softened like a blade sheathed at last.“Elena.”I dropped to my knees beside him.“You’re hurt,” I said.He didn’t answer. Just pressed his forehead to mine.I could taste it on his breath.Fear.“What happened?” I whispered.He pulled back slowly, his hands sliding to cradle my face. “It’s inside the bond,” he said. “Malric knew. He planned for it.”My chest tightened. “W