All Chapters of SHADOWBORN: The Rise Of The Dragon Wolf : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Chapter 49AlexI ran until my lungs burned and my muscles screamed in protest, until the forest became a blur of green and brown and I couldn't tell if hours had passed or just minutes. My wolf form moved with supernatural speed, covering ground that would have taken humans days to traverse, heading east where the scouts had reported seeing disturbed undergrowth and broken branches that suggested someone had passed through recently.But there was no scent trail to follow.There never had been.I skidded to a stop in a small clearing, my wolf form trembling with exertion and rising panic as the reality crashed over me like ice water. I was tracking blind, following visual clues alone because Nyx had never had a scent I could follow.From the very beginning, she'd been like a void to supernatural senses. That was why Lyra first mistook her for a shield.The pack had noticed it immediately, how they couldn't smell her the way they could smell other creatures, how she existed in this st

Chapter 50Alex The mention of the elders sent a fresh wave of frustration through me. Even now, even when the woman I loved was missing and possibly in danger, they still controlled my life through threats and prophecy."I can't just leave," I said desperately. "What if something happens to her? What if she needs help and I'm not there?""I can't just leave," I said desperately. "What if something happens to her? What if she needs help and I'm not there?""Then she'll have to rely on her own abilities," Finn said with more confidence than I felt. "You've seen what she can do when pushed, Alex. That scream in the training grounds brought everyone to their knees. And her natural shielding has kept her hidden from supernatural detection since the day she arrived. Whatever she is, she has defenses we don't fully understand.""Defenses she can't control," I countered bitterly. "That scream happened only twice, when she was overwhelmed with emotion. What happens if she runs into raiders

Chapter 53AlexThe next two days crawled by with agonizing slowness, each hour stretching like taffy until I thought time itself had forgotten how to move forward. I threw myself into preparations for the Crescent Moon Pack's arrival—overseeing guest quarters, coordinating the welcome feast, reviewing security protocols with my warriors. Anything to avoid thinking about the ceremony looming nine days away.Nine days until my life became something I didn't recognize.The morning of their arrival broke clear and cold, frost still clinging to the grass when I made my way to the training grounds for dawn drills. The pack moved through their exercises with grim efficiency, responding to my barked commands without question or complaint. They'd learned. A year of my leadership had taught them exactly what I expected.Perfection. Always perfection.By midday, everything was ready. The guest quarters had been aired and supplied with fresh linens, the kitchens were preparing a feast that wou

Chapter 55AlexOf course she was a wolf. What had I expected? That fate would be kind enough to return Nyx to me wrapped in convenient coincidence? That the universe would take pity on three years of searching and just hand her back?Nyx wasn't a wolf. Whatever she was—whatever power she carried that let her scream with devastating force, that shielded her from supernatural detection—it wasn't werewolf. The pack had established that much in the time she'd been with us.This woman, this Daisy who made my wolf stir with uncomfortable recognition, was just another werewolf. Nothing more. My desperate, grief-broken mind had been seeing connections that didn't exist, hoping for miracles that would never come.I should have felt relief. Should have been glad that I could stop this spiral of irrational hope and accept reality.Instead, I felt hollow. Empty. Like something precious had just slipped through my fingers even though I'd never actually been holding it.Music began—a slow, hauntin

Chapter 57AlexShe was alive, and she was here, and for the first time in three years, the crushing weight on my chest eased just enough that I could draw a full breath.I must have made some sound, a gasp or a sob or something in between, because her head snapped toward me wit speed.Our eyes met across the distance.And the world stopped turning.For a moment that stretched into eternity, we simply stared at each other across the moonlit space between us. Her eyes, those gold-flecked hazel eyes I'd memorized down to every subtle shade, went wide with something that looked like confusion, like she'd been caught by a stranger and was trying to figure out why I was looking at her like I'd seen a ghost.Not recognition. Not anger or hurt or any of the emotions I'd expected.Just... confusion."Can I help you?" she asked, her voice cautious, polite in the way you'd speak to someone you didn't know. Someone who was standing in the shadows staring at you like a madman.The question hit m