All Chapters of Heart of the Wolf Queen: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The morning after the Moon Run came with a rare kind of stillness.No shouting warriors, no clatter of training swords just the gentle rhythm of wind moving through pine leaves, and the faint hum of life awakening after a long, wild night.Selene sat on the steps of the packhouse porch, her knees drawn close to her chest. A mug of tea steamed between her palms, its scent of mint and honey rising with the mist. Her body ached pleasantly from the run muscles sore. Her heart… that was another matter.The forest beyond the yard looked almost dreamlike. A pale fog drifted through the trees, softening the world into shades of silver and gold. The sunlight filtered through the canopy in delicate ribbons, catching on dew-damp leaves and spider silk.For the first time since she’d been brought into this pack, it didn’t feel like a cage.Her wolf stretched lazily inside her mind, content. Are you starting to feel for him.Selene smiled faintly and rolled her eyes at her wolfs teasing voice.Foo

 By midmorning, the packhouse felt different. Not louder. Not busier. Just… heavier.The wolves she passed didn’t sneer anymore, but their eyes lingered too long curiosity tinted with something else. Unease.Word traveled fast in packs. By now, everyone had heard about the wounded scout, the witch at the border, the mention of a girl with a moon-mark.Selene could feel the shift in the air as clearly as her wolf did. Every whisper, every cautious glance scraped against her nerves like grit under skin.She ignored it and focused on what she could control.She helped Myra mix poultices, tended cuts, organized supplies. It was steady work grounding but even the quiet moments weren’t safe from Veyra’s presence.The Beta female glided into the healer’s quarters with a purpose that made Myra pause mid-motion. Her voice was smooth as silk, but sharp enough to draw blood. “Selene, the Alpha asked for your report

 Dawn came slow and gray. The mist clung to the trees like breath, heavy and unmoving, muffling even the birds.Damien stood at the northern border where the forest broke into the ridge, the faint scent of iron and rot still lingering from last night’s patrol.Every sense was stretched thin. His wolf paced just beneath his skin, ears pricked, waiting. Nothing moved. But that was exactly what worried him.“Anything?” he asked quietly.Luther, his head tracker, shook his head. “No new scents. But something’s off, Alpha. The ground’s… cold.”“Cold?” Damien crouched, pressing his palm into the soil. He felt it a faint vibration, unnatural. Like something buried was humming beneath the surface. The pulse came in waves, deep and rhythmic, almost like a heartbeat beneath the earth.“Witchcraft,” Luther muttered, baring his teeth.“Not just that.” Damien straightened. “This is a marker. A focus point.”His w

 The northern border was too still.Not just silence but stillness.Silence meant peace. Stillness meant something was waiting.Damien could feel it crawling beneath his skin as his patrol advanced through the frost-thick undergrowth. The air was damp with the scent of iron and pine sap, the kind of cold that bit deep into fur and bone.Six wolves moved in formation behind him, their boots sinking into the half-frozen ground. They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to. Their alpha’s tension was enough to tell them this was no ordinary sweep.“Movement?” he asked, voice low.Kade, his beta, crouched and pressed a palm to the dirt. “Nothing yet. But the air’s wrong. Smells like burnt stone.”Damien’s jaw tensed. He stepped past him, crouched, and brushed the soil with his fingers. The ash smeared cold against his skin, and beneath it, carved into the earth, was a fain

 The place smelled of rain and blood.Selene’s heartbeat echoed in her ears as she knelt beside the injured scout. His skin was pale, his breathing ragged. The attack had been fast, brutal rogues again, but something about it felt wrong. Too organized. Too focused.“They didn’t come to kill,” Myra muttered, pressing cloth against the scout’s wound. “They came to send a message.”Selene’s hands trembled as she held the man still. “What kind of message?”But before Myra could answer, the wind shifted. A strange scent cut through the air ,ash, metal, and something… older. Her wolf surged to the surface instantly, a sharp growl echoing inside her chest. Danger. Wrong. Too close.Selene’s gaze darted to the treeline just beyond the courtyard. Nothing moved, yet her instincts screamed. Every nerve in her body buzzed like the air before lightning strikes.Then Damien’s presence. His aura rolled across the fi