All Chapters of CHASING MONSTERS: Chapter 241 - Chapter 249

Sophie stepped forward.Behind her, Abel turned away from Jax, the wind settling at last. The courtyard still smelled of blood and broken stone, of magic and fear. Jax lay in the dirt, stripped of everything he had ever prized.Power. Strength. Control.Charm.Abel had taken it all.But Sophie’s eyes were not on him.They were on Lucian.The stone was warm in her hands now, steady and alive, as if it had been waiting for her all along. It didn’t feel dangerous anymore. It felt… right.Like home.Lucian watched her approach, fury and desperation warring across his ruined face.“Sophie,” he said quickly. “I only did what I had to. To make you strong. And you are. Look at you now.”She stopped in front of him.“You’re wrong,” Sophie said quietly. “I am strong in spite of you.”His mouth twisted. “Everything I did was for you.”“You tortured me,” she replied. “You broke children. You hunted wolves. You ruined lives because you thought you were chosen.”Lucian shook his head, wild-eyed. “I

Sophie sat beside Xavier on the raised dais of the throne room and tried very hard not to fidget.Queens were not meant to fidget.They were meant to look calm. Regal. Certain.Inside, she felt none of those things.Her mind was not on the polished marble floors or the banners of the Wolf Nation hanging proudly from the walls. It was not on the gathered alphas, or the mages standing quietly near the pillars, or even on the hum of voices that filled the great hall.Her mind was on Kaon.Was he sleeping well?Had Agatha remembered to wrap him in the blue blanket he liked best?Was he crying for her right now while she sat here smiling and nodding like everything in the world was perfectly in order?Mother’s guilt, she had discovered, was a stubborn companion.Beside her, Xavier shifted slightly and slid his hand into hers.The simple touch steadied her.He always seemed to know.Sophie drew in a slow breath and let her gaze travel across the room.It was full.William stood near the fro

The great hall of the castle had never sounded so alive.Laughter bounced off the high ceilings. Music wound through the crowd like something warm and playful. Everywhere Ronan looked, wolves and former hunters stood shoulder to shoulder, drinking together, arguing good-naturedly, clapping one another on the back as though they had always belonged in the same room.After everything they had endured, it felt almost unreal.Shiloh walked beside him, her hand tucked firmly in his. She looked lighter tonight, as though some invisible weight had finally slipped from her shoulders.Her eyes moved across the room, bright with interest.“Oh look,” she said, tugging him gently to a stop. “There they are.”Ronan followed her gaze to one of the long tables near the far wall.Fintan sat deep in conversation with Ryder. Magi leaned close beside him, animated and smiling. Aurora laughed at something Kofi had said. Agatha and Betsy were already on their second round of drinks, both of them glowing w

(Magi’s Pov)Magi climbed the narrow spiral of the Mage Tower slowly, one hand resting against the stone wall as she ascended. The tower was old, older than most of the written histories, its steps worn shallow by centuries of careful feet. The air grew thinner the higher she went, not colder exactly, but charged, as though the tower itself listened. She had called the mages and Aurora away from the celebrations as they had a task to perform.She carried the stone wrapped in a simple cloth.Even concealed, it pulsed faintly, a steady warmth against her palm, patient and watchful.At the top, the chamber doors stood open.Fintan sat at the small round table near the window, pouring tea with deliberate care. Amara leaned back in her chair, eyes half-lidded in thought. Aurora stood near the balcony, gazing out across the Wolf Nation lands, sunlight catching in her hair.“You’re late,” Fintan said mildly.Magi smiled faintly. “Time has been strange since Wildbourne.”Aurora turned as Magi

(Pandoras Pov) TWO YEARS LATER Evergreen was quiet in a way that felt earned. Not the brittle silence that followed violence, nor the careful hush people kept when they were afraid of being overheard, but the deep, breathing calm that settled over land at the end of a long day. Fields stretched wide beneath the lowering sun, cicadas threading sound through the air. The earth itself seemed to loosen, as if it had finally exhaled after holding its breath for too long. Pandora stood at the kitchen window and told herself this was enough. The farmhouse crouched low against the land, weathered and imperfect. Paint peeled along the edges where the wind worried at it year after year. One porch step dipped slightly on the left side. Ethan had fixed it last winter, hammering until his hands blistered, muttering apologies when it didn’t come out straight. It still held. So did he. Pandora wiped her hands on a cloth and leaned her hip against the counter, bone-tired in a way sleep never