All Chapters of The Wolf's Call (Book 1): Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Kael’s convoy, composed of three identical black SUVs, disappears quickly into the thinning morning fog, the vehicles swallowed entirely by the stretch of worn asphalt that leads toward the highway directly out of town. The last car turns the sharp corner, and then… nothing. The sound of the powerful engines fades completely, leaving just the hollow sound of the persistent wind pushing mournfully through the tall pines and the uneasy, profound stillness that always follows immediately after a storm or a departure.There he goes...to Paris. I wouldn't say we were close during his stay, but we were close enough for me to feel this pang in my chest as I watch him leave.Roman’s heavy hand lands gently, yet reassuringly, on my shoulder blade.“He’s not running away, Olivia,” he says, his voice calm but firm, a clear attempt to soothe my anxiety. “He’s going to acquire high-level reinforcements, just as he explicitly said he would.”“I know, Roman. Intellectually, I know.” My throat feels

It has to have been three hours at least, but the terrifying image won’t leave my mind, no matter how hard I blink or how tightly I clench my fists.Naomi’s dead face, not slumped and grieving, but standing in the heart of the fire, smiling at me like death itself was a cosmic joke.Why is Malakai doing this to me? Is he trying to break my spirit, to shatter my sanity? Well, the only thing he’s successfully breaking is my remaining compassion for him. The rage I feel now is more focused on getting rid of him completely. The room is steeped in darkness except for the faint, pale light creeping through the edge of the curtains. Zeke is still deeply asleep beside me, his large, heavy arm draped lazily across the sheets where my body was moments ago. I carefully slip away, my movements silent, and pad across the cold wooden floor to the small table across the room.My hands tremble violently as I pour myself a glass of water, needing something physical to focus on. The sharp sound of

“Fuck, I’m an idiot!”The raw, self-hating words leave my mouth with a lack of filter before I even fully register that I’ve said them aloud. They echo briefly through the quiet, isolated valley, swallowed up quickly by the persistent wind and the densely packed wildflowers.I rip another frantic handful of the fragile blossoms out of the ground—beautiful little things, painted in vibrant shades of purple and gold—and toss them aside with a violent energy. My claws threaten to pierce my skin, aching to break through, but I manage to rein them in. Barely.I simply can’t stop thinking about it, no matter how hard I fucking try.The fact that Olivia had to dabble into dark magic because of me. Because I was stupid enough to let myself get shot with a silver bullet like an amateur."You didn't know," Skye tries to reason with me, but I'm past reasoning.Because now she’s tainted and marked. A tangible, corrupting piece of Malakai’s darkness is literally inside her because I was too weak

“If Erica were still alive, we wouldn’t have lost that many people.”The words cut through the soft hum of the air conditioning in the waiting room, interrupting my very current and very temporary peace of mind.I don’t look up right away. I’m sitting in one of the corner chairs, absently tracing a circle on my thigh with my finger, pretending I didn’t just hear that. The scent of cleaning soap hangs in the air, and the soft slap of a rag against the floor fills the silence.The Omega who spoke doesn’t even glance in my direction. She’s kneeling by the far wall, scrubbing hard enough that her knuckles are white. Maybe she thinks I won’t respond, or maybe she wants me to respond. And I'm not exactly in the frame of mind to offer friendly responses.“One woman wouldn’t have made a difference against a horde,” I say finally, my voice flat as my mood.Her head tilts just slightly, enough that I catch the side of her face. “Erica could have,” she mutters, not missing a beat in her scrubbi

Zeke, Roman and Kael are in a meeting with the council and the commanders of each fraction of Kael's fighters except from two. Valen, from the vampire fraction and Xander, from the elf fraction.They're here with me, in the infirmary because of their knowledge in magic and curses, examining the sleeping pack members.Valen and Xander are standing by one of the sleeping patients—the young woman who was the first to fall victim to the plague. Valen looks like he stepped out of a gothic painting, with his hair sleeked back and his arms crossed as he stands over the woman, while Xander, on the other hand, looks like a caffeinated woodland scholar.He’s been muttering to himself for the past ten minutes, analyzing the strange energy fluctuating from the woman’s body and tossing words like “etheric residue” and “soul tether distortion” around like they’re the main points in the examination.Valen is beyond annoyed. He looks like he might punch Xander into the wall any second now, while I'