All Chapters of The Fated Series: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

SurpriseThe road stretched endlessly before them, the forest blurring into shadows and streaks of green as the SUV rumbled toward Crescent territory. Kohl drove in silence, knuckles white against the wheel, his wolf restless.Tristan sat back, but his mind was anything but still.Evandra’s face haunted him—the soft bow of her lips when she nodded to him in the sparring ring, the feel of her skin beneath his palm, the warmth of her forehead under his kiss. He had promised her they would decide together, yet even that vow sat heavy on his chest.Was it truly his choice at all?If the mate bond didn’t exist, if the Moon Goddess had not tied their souls together, would he still be drawn to her? Would her laugh still echo in his mind, her courage still shake him at his core?Duty demanded he ask the question. His people needed a Luna who was not just a bond, but a strength. Yet every time he tried to weigh logic against desire, the scale tipped violently in her favor.Thorne growled in fr

AcceptanceEvandra hadn’t moved from his bedside in hours. The room smelled faintly of herbs and blood, the soft glow of lanterns painting shadows across Tristan’s too-pale face. He looked nothing like the indomitable Alpha who had pinned her in the sparring ring only days ago—his chest rose shallowly, his lips parted, his skin clammy.Her fingers curled around his hand, trembling. She could feel it—the bond, fraying, slipping further from her grasp with every labored breath he took. Sage whimpered in the back of her mind, frantic.He’s leaving us. Pull him back. Use it—use the bond!Tears welled in her eyes as she leaned closer, pressing her forehead to his hand. “Tristan,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You don’t get to leave me. Not like this.”She reached inward, toward that invisible tether she had tried so hard to ignore, and pulled.It was like grasping a live wire. A spark jolted through her chest, igniting something primal, raw. The bond surged, answering her call, pouri

Trail of MistakesEvandra didn’t waste a moment once the sentries were doubled and the borders secured. By afternoon, she had turned her attention to the steady hum of pack life that Tristan usually oversaw.A dispute had broken out in the supply yard between two brothers, both arguing over who had claim to a wagon of venison. Evandra stood between them, calm but unyielding.“You’ll divide it evenly,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Your families eat the same. And if I hear another fight over food, both wagons will be rerouted to the nursery instead. The pups come first.”The brothers glanced at one another, then dropped their gazes, chastened. “Yes, Luna,” they muttered, stepping back.She hadn’t demanded the title, but they gave it to her anyway.Later, she walked the storage halls with a clipboard in hand, tallying grain, smoked meats, and medical herbs. When a healer mentioned that stockpiles were running low because the Crescent attacks had cut into trade routes

ChosenAs Liora’s footsteps faded down the infirmary hall, silence bloomed thick between them.Tristan turned his head on the pillow, eyes searching Evandra’s face. She hadn’t let go of his hand, and now he squeezed, rough calluses dragging against her softer skin.“I almost lost you,” he murmured, voice ragged, heavy with everything he hadn’t said. “If you hadn’t pulled me back… I would have let go.”Her breath hitched, and she shook her head fiercely. “Don’t you dare say that. You don’t get to leave me, Tristan. Not now. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not.”Something in him cracked wide open at the fire in her eyes. Without another thought, he lifted a hand to the back of her neck and pulled her down. His mouth claimed hers, a kiss both desperate and consuming, pouring out the fear of loss and the relief of survival. She gasped against him, then melted, matching his intensity until it stole both their breath.When at last they broke apart, foreheads pressed together, Tr

Heavy ThoughtsTristan sat hunched on the edge of the low bench, elbows digging into his knees, the weight of the house settling into his bones. The hearth had surrendered to embers, a few orange coals breathing faint heat into the room, but it did nothing to thaw the chill that had seeped into his chest. He could feel the cold along his shoulders as if the room itself were holding its breath with him.Outside, wind threaded through the pines, a familiar sound he knew better than any hymn, but the wind offered no counsel tonight. Inside, the silence left by Evandra’s absence pressed down on him, not like an empty space to be filled but like a presence that refused to move. He had been in plenty of quiet rooms before—after raids, after council meetings where blame hung like smoke in the rafters—but none of those were threaded with this particular ache.He’d seen it in her eyes the last time she stood at the doorway: something fragile that had cracked, hairline fractures running beneath