All Chapters of The First Wolf I loved: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Marcus was in his cabin. He found peace here during this time. It was the kind of place that looked peaceful even when the world wasn’t, and today, Marcus needed that peace more than ever. Didn’t want to return to civilization. He had set up a few things for an extended stay. He leaned over the collapsible wooden desk he’d brought in, tapping through the architectural files on his computer. He had put out a request for help with the design for the regional office and dozens of firms had sent in designs—sleek, modern structures; sprawling complexes with steel ribs; minimalist buildings made of glass and timber. As head of the Oregon Regional Office, Marcus had to choose the design that would represent the future of their business.He zoomed in on one blueprint with furrowed brows. The roofline was good—clean, aerodynamic—but the entrance… too narrow. He rubbed his thumb against his temple. The stress of the past week was wearing on him. The matter with Mona. Kane’s brewing aggression.

The afternoon sun slanted across Marcus’s clearing, sending long golden beams through the trees and warming the wooden steps of his cabin. Dust motes drifted lazily in the light, unhurried, the way everything around Marcus always felt out here. The hum of the forest—soft wind, rustling branches, distant birds—made the world seem quieter than it truly was.Work papers, sketches, and blueprint samples were scattered across the porch table, caught under a ceramic mug so they wouldn’t blow away. Marcus and Jade had spent the last three hours buried in regional office plans, sorting through digital models and debating color palettes, window patterns, landscape allowances, and load-bearing walls like two people who’d been partners for years rather than a few days.But now it was break time.Marcus handed Jade a steaming cup of tea before lowering himself onto the steps beside her. The wood was warm beneath them. The kettle still hissed faintly behind them on the porch.Jade exhaled into her

The Old Hartvale Cemetery rested in its usual hush, a hush that felt deeper than silence—like the earth itself was listening. Evening light filtered through the tall cypress trees, their shadows stretching long across the grass. The air smelled faintly of pine, soil, and the flowers someone had left earlier in the day.Allen stepped over a low patch of clover and joined Patty and Joe, who sat side by side on the twin gravestones of Patty’s parents. They weren’t being disrespectful—in fact, Patty’s mother used to joke that she wanted her children to “sit on her headstone and gossip” once she was gone. Patty had taken that quite literally over the years.Today, though, the three sat quietly for a long moment, absorbing the stillness.Joe broke the silence first.“You guys feel it too, right?” he asked, tossing a pebble into the grass. “It’s not just the usual power surge.”Allen nodded slowly. “Hard not to feel it. My wolf woke me up at three this morning and wouldn’t sit still. Felt li

The diner had never looked so warm to me as it did that afternoon. I’d told myself a dozen times that coming back to work was a good idea, that staying busy would help me feel like myself again—but none of it really settled in until the lunch rush hit. The clatter of dishes, the distant sizzle from the grill, the hum of voices rising and falling—it all wrapped around me like a familiar blanket.I’d missed this.I really had.“Order up!” Tyler shouted from behind the kitchen window, sliding two plates across the metal surface.“Got it!” I called back, grabbing the dishes. My body moved before I even thought about it—muscle memory from years of running this place. My steps found their rhythm between tables, dodging chairs and waving customers like I’d never been gone.People kept smiling at me, some squeezing my hand, some patting my shoulder.Good to have you back, Mona.We missed you.Diner hasn’t been the same.Each small gesture warmed me and tugged at places inside that had felt nu

Kane Dumont’s study felt larger than usual, as though the walls themselves were shrinking back from his temper.He paced the length of the room, boots striking the hardwood floor with sharp, impatient sounds. The shelves lining the walls were packed with old tomes, regional maps, and trophies from past victories—symbols of dominance he had once worn effortlessly. Tonight, they mocked him.“This was not how it was supposed to go.”His voice was low but vibrating with fury.Todlin sat near the wide desk, legs crossed, posture calm, fingers folded neatly in her lap. She watched him without flinching, her expression composed in a way that only seemed to irritate him further.“You said you would take care of Dominic,” Kane snapped, spinning toward her. “You said this would break him. Instead, he walks free, stronger than before.”Todlin tilted her head slightly. “Lower your voice.”“Do not tell me what to do in my own house,” Kane growled.She did not rise to the challenge. That was her st