Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Wolf's Game: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

AriaThe sun hasn’t risen yet, but I need to see my father. My boots drag against the stone path leading to his house. This used to be my home, but it hasn’t felt that way since my father took a second mate after my mother passed away. Serah is cruel, but my father can’t see it. He can’t see past his undying love for her. By the time I reach the porch, my legs feel made of lead. The door opens before I can touch it.“Aria.”My father’s voice fills the space. Elias Vale stands in the doorway wearing a look that could strike down his enemies. His wolf is close to the surface; I see it in the yellow flare of his eyes.“I didn’t want you to see…” I start.“I saw enough.” His hands clench into fists. “That boy humiliated you in front of the entire pack. In front of me.”I step past him and let the warmth of the house wrap around me. “It doesn’t matter.”“The hell it doesn’t.” He slams the door. “You were promised to him. The moon chose…”“The moon made a mistake.” My voice cracks, but

AriaThe forest stills the moment I reach the clearing. I followed the map that appeared on the back of the invitation carefully, but there is nothing here. No archway, no castle, nothing. Just an empty clearing with decayed trees. I stomp my foot on the ground, mumbling a curse under my breath. Suddenly, the air begins to hum around me. Music, too low for human ears, fills the space, echoing in my head. Mist curls between the trees, glowing like silver, and when it parts, I see it. The heart of the veil. An arc of light that ripples like water. It is both beautiful and wrong, and most definitely calling my name. I pause a few feet away, my pulse pounding in my chest. The invitation’s words repeat in my mind: Survive the Game. Win what your heart desires most.I don’t know what that means exactly. I only know the bond still burns faintly beneath my skin, and I can’t live with it anymore. I can’t be reminded of what Riven promised and then stole away. If what is through that

KaelI should let her walk away. That’s the rule. No interference, no favoritism, no attachments. But rules have never suited me, and Aria Vale already looks like one rule I’m going to break.She leaves the mirrored hall without looking back, shoulders tight, jaw set. The others drift off in clusters. The wolves are sniffing out alliances, the humans are whispering about the first trial, but she moves alone.The torches along the corridor flare as she passes, sparks licking higher as if the castle itself wants to light her way. The place likes her. Of course it does. The castle always did have impeccable taste.I follow at a distance, quietly, so I don’t startle her.“Following contestants again, are we?”Nyxara’s voice slides into my mind, sweet as honey and twice as sticky.“Just making sure she finds her room,” I murmur.“How noble. Or is this the part where you trip over your principles and fall in love again?”I roll my eyes. “You wound me. You know I don’t have principles.”

AriaThe forest doesn’t start so much as it swallows.One step past what used to be the hall of mirrors, and the ground changes. The stone turns to moss, and the air thrums against my chest like a breath. The trees rise out of fog, tall and pale, with their trunks smooth as bone. They stretch up forever, vanishing into light that isn’t sunlight at all. Every leaf glows faintly, and the sound of the wind is wrong. It whispers names instead of rustling the leaves.The others fan out behind me. No one speaks. The Herald’s command still echoes in my head: Return with one rabbit and only one.White shapes flicker in the mist ahead. Too quick to follow.Violet presses forward under my skin, scenting the air, trying to catch the scent of rabbits, but it is impossible. Everything smells alive here. It is too strong and too overwhelming to distinguish between them.Kael ends up beside me again. Of course he does.“Lovely morning for a murder,” he says quietly.“Go hunt your own rabbit.”“Tem