All Chapters of The Wolf's Game: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

AriaThe forest has moods. Tonight it feels almost merciful and quiet, holding its breath instead of screaming. Perhaps it is satisfied because it took its first life, or maybe it is trying to lull us into a false sense of security. Mist drifts through the trees like ghosts that have forgotten their names. My boots make no sound on the moss.We’ve been searching for hours, our small group unraveling into pairs, then singles. I wander alone through the trees, knowing that Kael is not far behind me. The air hums softly, the same pulse it always carries, but there’s something underneath it now. Expectation. Hunger.I follow a thin trail of silver paw prints that glow faintly in the gloom. The rabbit’s scent curls through the air. It is something that almost smells like moonlight. Violet stirs. She is impatient for this to end. The forest makes her uneasy.Kael is somewhere behind me. I can sense him more than hear him, his presence a warm current against the cold. I don’t look back.

AriaThe castle feels different after the Hunt. Quieter. Emptier. There’s one less heartbeat echoing in the halls, and everyone feels it. The walls seem to, too. Each step I take reverberates a little longer before fading.The Herald said we had two days to rest. I chuckle as I think of the word. Rest, as if any of us could.The rabbit, my rabbit, won’t leave me alone. The others disappeared into nothing, while mine stayed sleeping in my arms. I didn’t question it. I enjoy the company. It follows me everywhere, silent except for the faint tap of claws on stone. When it moves, its fur catches the light like frost. When it sits still, it almost disappears. The others give it a wide berth. The first time Dax got too close, it hissed, low and warning, teeth glinting sharper than they should be. He backed off immediately, muttering something about witchcraft.I didn’t correct him. Let them think what they want.It sleeps at the foot of my bed now, curled tight, always facing the doo

KaelNyxara doesn’t just bend rules, she shatters them and calls the pieces art.By dawn, the entire castle hums with her interference. The air tastes of burnt magic, sweet and sour, like a fruit left too long in the sun. I can feel her in the walls, the mirrors, even the dust. She’s everywhere she shouldn’t be.I pace the courtyard, every step scraping against the restraint I’ve forced around my temper. The last of the mist burns off the stones, but the wrongness lingers.She’s playing outside the Games. Again.“Do you ever stop meddling?” I mutter into the morning air.“Do you ever stop whining?” Her voice pours into my mind, smooth as oil, thick with amusement. “You were always so dramatic, Kael.”“You let her keep the rabbit. You pulled her into the mirrors. That’s not part of the trials.”Nyxara hums with thought in my mind. “Rules evolve.”“Rules are binding.”“And who made them?” She asks, her voice lilting, causing the air to shudder around me. “Oh, that’s right… me.”I stop

AriaI race away from the Mirror Hall as fast as my legs will take me. Bubbles stays near me, hopping in rhythm with my footsteps, but it all feels wrong. The castle feels too bright, but worse, it feels too quiet, like it is holding its breath waiting for what happens next.I tell myself the Mirror Game is over for now, and that I will be ready to face what it shows me tomorrow. I remind myself that I am exhausted from lack of sleep, and my mind is just playing tricks on me. But when I reach my door, the handle is cold, and it sends a shock through my hand. I turn the knob and step inside.The world morphs and changes. My room in the castle is gone, and has been replaced with something too close to hell.The air rushes out of my lungs. I know this place. The walls. The scent of cedar and woodsmoke. The hum of pack voices echoes through the open windows. I’m home.Except it’s not home anymore.I’m standing on Jasper Pack land. The packhouse rises behind me. Laughter carries on th

AriaI should be asleep, but the horrors of earlier cloud my mind whenever I close my eyes. The castle feels half-dead after the mirrors took Garrin. Liora hasn’t spoken since. Even Kael went quiet, which is worse than his teasing. Silence always means the Game is thinking.I can’t sleep. My mind won’t let me.The moonlight spills through my window. I lie on my side, watching the way it catches across the mirror opposite my bed. My reflection is faint in the pale light, but it is nothing strange, nothing wrong.Until it moves.I freeze. My reflection doesn’t mimic me. It lifts its head when I don’t, eyes widening in terror. Its mouth forms a soundless plea, and then the surface of the glass ripples like water. The sound that follows is soft but unmistakable; a river running.The hairs on my arms rise.The mirror deepens, the reflection dissolving into color and motion. I see water, dark and fast, churning under moonlight. Two figures are caught in the current. Two men struggling aga