All Chapters of Rise Of The Silver Wolf: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

When we finally finished our work in the kitchen, we took a moment to dust the flour and stray bits of herbs from our hands. My mother, despite having been on her feet all morning, looked at us with a frantic kind of pride. She began shooing us toward the exit, urging us to get to the main hall. She told us we needed to be there to welcome the guests as they arrived, promising that she would join us as soon as the final dishes were settled. We didn't argue with her. We were both feeling the nervous energy of the day, and the transition from the heat of the kitchen to the cooler corridors felt like a reset. We started walking toward the main hall, our heels clicking in a rhythmic pattern against the floor. But we hadn't even made it halfway when Silvia suddenly stopped. It wasn't a slow halt; she went completely still, as if she had hit an invisible wall. I nearly walked right into her, my brow furrowing as I tried to ask her what was wrong. The question died in my throat when I hear

I moved toward the sink, my hands gripping the porcelain edges as I looked at my reflection. My eyes were rimmed with red, and the single tear had left a faint, salty trail down my cheek. I reached for the tap and turned on the water, the cool sound filling the small room. But as I cupped my hands, I froze. I looked closer at my face. Jasmine had spent so much time on my makeup, her eyes shining with excitement as she told me how beautiful I looked. If I washed my face now, I’d be washing away all her hard work. Beyond that, I’d be breaking the promise I made to myself when I pulled those curtains open this morning. I had told myself I was done drowning in the past. If I walked back out there with a bare, blotchy face, the past would win. "I just need to put myself back together," I whispered to the mirror. I couldn't hurt Jasmine’s feelings, and I couldn't let my own resolve crumble over a few tears. I took a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs until my chest felt tight.

I cried until my eyes became heavy and drowsy, the kind of exhaustion that seeps into your bones and makes every movement feel like an impossible task. I didn't force myself to do anything anymore. I didn't try to stop the tears, didn't try to be strong, didn't try to pull myself together for the sake of the celebration happening somewhere far below me. At this very moment, I was not strong. I was just a woman curled up on a rug, mourning a life that felt like it had been shattered a dozen times over. Eventually, the world faded away into a dark, dreamless void, and I cried myself to sleep right there on the floor. When I finally woke up, the room was bright. I checked the time and realized it was midday; I had slept through the rest of the morning. My body was stiff from sleeping against the hard wood of the door, every muscle protesting as I picked myself up. I felt sluggish, my head throbbing with a dull ache that usually followed a night of heavy sobbing. I moved slowly into th

I dashed out of my room, the quiet of the house spurring me into a hurried pace. My bare feet made no sound against the floor as I moved through the hallway. I glanced at Silvia’s door, but it remained firmly closed, and I didn't stop to knock. My focus was entirely on the silence coming from the ground floor. I needed to know what had happened to the celebration, to the life that had been buzzing through the house only hours earlier. I reached the top of the staircase and was about to head straight downstairs when Alexa’s voice cut through my panic like a physical barrier. Wait, she commanded. I halted, my hand gripping the banister so hard the wood bit into my palm. I stood perfectly still, letting her lend me her heightened hearing, letting the world beyond my own heartbeat come into focus. At first, there was only the sound of breathing—many people, gathered in one place, holding their collective breath. And then, I heard it. A single voice was speaking from downstairs, rising

When we finally pulled apart, the heavy, suffocating silence of the hall didn’t just break—it shattered. The crowd suddenly roared into life. It was a physical wall of sound, a mixture of screams, deep howls of approval, and a thunderous round of claps that echoed off the high ceilings. For a second, it was overwhelming, but I didn't pull away completely. I leaned forward, placing my head against Adrian's chest. I wanted to shut out the noise of the world and hear only the steady, rhythmic sound of his heartbeat. It was fast, echoing my own, a reminder that underneath the titles and the history, he was just as humanly terrified as I was. I felt his arm snake around my shoulder, holding me with a gentle firmness, while his other hand moved up to caress my cheek. His touch was hesitant, as if he were still waiting for me to pull back or strike him again, but he didn't let go. I shifted slightly, looking up toward the front of the hall. My parents were standing together, holding each