All Chapters of TO LOVE A WOLF: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The forest was too quiet. Not peaceful — calm in the way a battleground falls silent after the last body drops. Clara could still taste the gunpowder in the air, still feel the fading tremors in the ground where wolves and hunters had clashed. But then, in these parts of the woods where she and Ash stood, there was only the distant wind and the frantic pounding of her heart. Ash didn't release her face for a long moment. His hands were warm, gentle, rough in all the places that told her he'd just come from a fight. His silver eyes searched hers, as if he were trying to anchor himself. Or anchor her. "Clara," he whispered again. "You've awakened." She shook her head slowly. "I didn't do it on purpose." "Awakening never happens on purpose." His thumb brushed a smear of dirt from her cheek. "It happens under pressure. Stress. Near-death." A beat. "Or destiny." Her pulse jumped. "Don't say that." "It's the truth." "But I'm not— Ash, I'm not meant for this. I'm not meant to be— whatever Ro

The storm didn’t roll in with thunder. It rolled in with silence.A heavy, agitating stillness settled over the forest as Clara and Ash stepped out of the ravine, their clothes damp, their breath visible in the cold air. The night felt strange — too quiet for a world that had just torn itself open. Ash walked half a step ahead of her, tense in a way she hadn’t seen before. His shoulders were rigid, his jaw tight, every sense on alert. It wasn’t the hunters he was listening for. It was the pack. And whatever judgment awaited them. Clara couldn’t stop glancing down at her hands. They still tingled, not painfully, but as if something beneath her skin were stretching after a time spent asleep. She kept flexing her fingers as if that might make the feeling go down. It didn’t. “ Ash, ” she murmured, “ what if Ronan is right? What if I’m a threat?” Ash stopped so suddenly she banged into him. He turned, eyes catching the faint moonlight — soft silver, but troubled. “ You’re not a thr

Clara didn’t remember falling asleep.One moment she’d been gaping at the patterns the moonlight made on the ceiling of Ash’s cabin, and the next she woke to the soft glow of early morning pressing through the curtains. Her body ached — not poorly, but in a way that reminded her she’d spent the night running for her life. The memory of the forest, the bullet floating in midair, Caleb’s voice echoing through the trees, it all came back in a slow, uneasy surge.She pushed herself up on her elbows.Ash sat by the far wall with his back against the wooden boards, arms folded, head bowed slightly. Not completely asleep. Just watching her breathe.He’d changed into a clean shirt at some point. His hair was still damp, and a smear of dried blood dallied just above his collarbone. He must have fought half the night after she ran — yet he was here, keeping surveillance, as if she might disappear if he blinked.“ You stayed awake all night? ” Clara asked, her voice coarse.Ash’s eyes lifted, si

That night, Clara didn't sleep. Her heart raced, her skin was clammy, and every muscle refused to relax.She tried, but every time she closed her eyes, the bullet hovered before her, spinning as if awaiting her command.Ash murmured her name each time she blinked, a plea he dared not speak aloud.The silence in the cabin was heavy, making her conscious of her breathing. Ash had left the lantern on, its dim glow spreading over the table.She was aware that the conversation would be difficult, even if she had no idea what they were talking about.She was still awake at daybreak.Outside, footsteps crunched. Through the window, a shadow moved. In addition, Ash entered through the creaking door.He looked worn. Not physically—wolves rarely did—but his eyes were darker, softer, burdened by a choice he never meant to make."You didn't sleep.""Neither did you."He hesitated.Shut the door after him. leaned against it as if he wasn't sure if getting closer was wise or risky.Clara wrapped he

Ash didn’t wait.The moment the creature dived, he shoved Clara back hard enough that she stumbled into a tree trunk. The impact knocked the breath from her chest, but it also saved her — the creature’s claws sliced through the space where she’d been standing, rending and shredding bark instead of meat.Ash!” Clara shouted. He didn’t answer. He was already shifting. Not entirely, not cleanly — the change ripped through him too fast, too raw. Bones cracked. His back arched. Fur tore through skin in jagged patches. His breath came out in harsh, broken snarls as he forced his body between her and the creature.The thing circled them in slow, dragging steps.Its movements didn’t match its body — too fluid for bones that sharp, too quiet for limbs that long. Every step made the ground vibrate under Clara’s feet. Ash growled, low and warning. The creature didn’t care. Its eyes were locked on Clara. Not Ash. Not the threat. Her.Clara’s pulse pounded painfully in her chest. That same pull fr