All Chapters of SHADOWBORN: The Rise Of The Dragon Wolf : Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Chapter 79Alex"No," I admitted, because lying about my own anxiety seemed pointless when she could feel it echoing through the mate bond. "But we're doing it anyway because hiding forever isn't an option and my family deserves to know I'm alive and okay."We walked up the long driveway together, our footsteps crunching on gravel that needed fresh spreading, and I was hyper-aware of every detail that had changed in my absence and every detail that had remained exactly the same. The porch swing where my mother used to sit on summer evenings still hung from its chains, swaying gently in the breeze, and the old barn where my brothers and I had played as children still stood tall and sturdy, red paint fading but structure solid.I was reaching for the door, my hand trembling slightly with nerves I couldn't quite control, when it suddenly swung open and my mother stood there, her eyes going wide with shock that quickly transformed into something that looked like joy mixed with disbelief.

Chapter 81 AlexI didn't know how long I'd been sitting against the barn wall when I felt her presence, didn't need to look up to know that Daisy had found me in my grief.Because the mate bond carried her approach like a gentle warning, preparing me for the comfort I desperately needed but didn't know how to ask for. Her footsteps were soft on the dirt, hesitant in a way that told me she wasn't sure if I wanted company or if I needed to be alone with the crushing weight of loss that had settled over me like a shroud."Alex," she said quietly, and just hearing her voice say my name made something in my chest crack wider, made the tears I thought I'd run out of threaten to start again. "Your mother told me what happened, told me about your father and how much you loved him, and I'm so sorry, I'm so incredibly sorry you're going through this."She sank down beside me without waiting for permission, her shoulder pressing against mine in silent solidarity, and for a long moment we jus

Chapter 83AlexMorning came too early, sunlight streaming through windows I'd forgotten to close the curtains on, and I woke to find Daisy plastered against my side in the narrow bed with her face peaceful in sleep and her hair spread across the pillow in ways that made my heart clench with the simple domesticity of the moment. We were in my childhood home, in the room where I'd spent countless nights dreaming about the future, and now that future was here in the form of a woman I loved more than I'd thought possible, even if circumstances were far more complicated than teenage Alex could have ever imagined.I extracted myself carefully from her embrace and dressed quickly, then made my way downstairs to find my mother already awake and preparing breakfast with the kind of efficient movements that spoke of decades of practice feeding a house full of hungry men. She looked up when I entered, her smile warm despite the early hour, and she gestured to the coffee pot in silent invitati

Chapter 85AlexThe fourth morning dawned with the kind of clarity that made everything look sharp-edged and too real.Sunlight streaming through my bedroom window with an intensity that felt almost accusatory, like the universe itself was demanding we stop hiding and face what we'd been avoiding. I woke before Daisy, her body warm and soft against mine in the narrow bed, and for a long moment I just lay there memorizing the feeling of peace that I knew wouldn't last beyond today, breathing in her scent and trying to commit every detail to memory before we had to leave it all behind.The dream had come again last night, more vivid and urgent than ever before, and this time it hadn't faded upon waking like the others had, the images and sensations clinging to my consciousness with stubborn persistence that made my skin crawl with unease. I'd seen shadows gathering at the edges of my family's property, dark shapes that moved with unnatural fluidity and purpose. And in the dream they'

Chapter 87NyxWe reached the edge of the property and paused at the treeline, the forest beckoning with promises of shelter and concealment from whatever was hunting us, and I sent up a silent prayer to whatever deity might be listening that his family would remain safe.That the shadows in our dreams wouldn't find their way to this property, that leaving now would be enough to protect them from the conflicts that seemed determined to consume my life."Ready?" I asked softly, squeezing his hand because I know it's so hard for him."No," he admitted. "But we're going anyway because ready or not, we're out of time to hide."We stepped into the forest together, leaving behind the peaceful domesticity we'd borrowed for three days, leaving behind family and safety and the illusion that we could ever really escape the supernatural forces shaping our destinies. The mate bond hummed between us as we moved deeper into the trees, and I felt it shift slightly, like whatever had been tracking u