All Chapters of LUNAR VEIL: Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

The cabin was no longer quiet.It trembled under the storm building between the three men, every breath charged with violence. Kael’s fangs hovered just above Evelyn’s skin, his silver eyes blazing with an unearthly fire. His growl had deepened into a thunderous rumble, vibrating through the floorboards.Jonah raised his rifle higher, jaw clenched tight. “Let her go, Kael!”Rowan’s crossbow aimed straight for Kael’s chest, finger tense on the trigger. “You’ve lost control. Release her before you regret it.”But Evelyn could hardly hear them. The fire in her mark had spread through her entire body, an inferno beneath her skin. Her heart hammered so violently she thought it would shatter her ribs. Her senses were no longer her own—she could hear the faint crackle of embers as though it were thunder, smell the sweat and fear rolling off Jonah, taste the metallic tang of Kael’s growl vibrating in the air.She wanted him. Needed him. His touch was the only thing anchoring her as her humani

The church bells tolled at dawn, their mournful clang echoing through Black Hollow like a death knell. The sound carried on the crisp air, tugging Evelyn from the half-sleep she had finally drifted into. Her body still ached from the night before—her muscles sore, her mark tender, her thoughts fogged with exhaustion. But the moment she heard the bells, she knew.Another death.Jonah was already lacing his boots by the cabin door, his face grim. Rowan leaned against the windowsill, arms crossed, his eyes shadowed with the heaviness of inevitability. Kael stood like stone in the corner, his gaze locked on Evelyn as though waiting for her to break again.She forced herself upright, brushing damp strands of hair from her forehead. “Who is it this time?” Her voice came out raw, too tight, too tired.“Local boy,” Rowan muttered, his tone flat. “Young. Went into the woods last night. Never came back.”Her stomach twisted. Another body. Another life torn apart—and still, the town blamed wolve

The howl rolled across Black Hollow like thunder given voice. It wasn’t just sound—it was vibration, a low, guttural resonance that shook through the bones of every house and every person within the town. Windows rattled, lantern glass hummed, and the ground seemed to quiver beneath Evelyn’s boots.The silence that followed was worse. For a heartbeat, the town seemed to hold its breath, waiting for another cry, waiting to see if it was real. Then, as if a spell broke, doors burst open, lanterns flared to life, and the streets filled with the frightened.Mothers pulled children tight against their skirts. Old men clutched rifles with trembling hands. The sheriff’s deputies, sleep-rumpled and pale, tried to form some kind of order but were ignored by the rushing tide of people. The air was a tangle of voices—shouted questions, muttered prayers, angry whispers.“The Hollow Beast!” someone cried from the back of the gathering crowd.“No—no, it’s the wolves again!” another voice answered, t

The first scream tore through the morning haze like a blade, sharp and unrelenting. Evelyn had been leaning over the town’s archives earlier, trying to make sense of centuries-old records, when it reached her through the fog outside. It wasn’t the familiar, echoing howl she had grown accustomed to—it was raw, frantic, and human in panic.She bolted from her desk, heart hammering in her chest. Outside, the town was already in motion. Lanterns swung wildly as farmers and townsfolk rushed from their homes, eyes wide with terror. Evelyn didn’t need to ask what had happened; the smell hit her first. Iron. Warm, coppery blood mingled with the scent of fur and scorched earth.At the edge of town, a scene of carnage awaited. Sheep, goats, and even a few cattle lay in shattered heaps, torn apart with precision. Their bodies were mangled, limbs twisted unnaturally. Evelyn’s stomach clenched. She had seen animal attacks before—wolf, bear—but this was different. Too methodical, too brutal.The cl