All Chapters of One Night,One Claim: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Ronan’s POV The camp reeked of ruin congealed blood soaking earth, smoke curling thin from dying fires, the acrid sourness of fear sweat from wolves who once pledged their throats to him. Tents drooped like broken spines ,embers hissed mockery. The few left huddled in tight, shivering knots, voices low and venomous.Ronan stood motionless at Varak’s crimson circle. The warlock lay at its heart flesh sloughing off bone, veins blackened rivers under gray skin, eyes glowing like coals as he rasped the suicide spell’s final syllable. The circle throbbed with nauseating red light, the air tasted metallic, rotten, thick enough to chew.Portal imminent. One direction. No coming back.Kael limped forward the sole lieutenant unbroken. Her old wound had torn open again, Blackthorn steel’s parting gift, her face was hollowed to sharp angles by hunger and endless nights.“They’re deserting,” she said, voice scraped raw. “Half already gone. The rest packing gear. They won’t step through that thing w

Blackthorn Valley The morning after the birthElaraThe first thing I noticed when dawn crept through the cabin window was the smell woodsmoke from the dying fire, pine sap carried on the cold morning air, the sweet milky warmth of Flame’s skin against mine, and underneath it all, the faint metallic tang of Kai’s blood still lingering on the furs. The light was pale gold, hesitant, filtering through frost rimmed panes and touching Flame’s red fur until it glowed like banked embers. She slept curled on my chest, tiny breaths hot and even against my collarbone, one small hand fisted in my hair, the other resting over my heart. Her scent was intoxicating fresh earth after rain, warm milk, and something wilder, older, like the forest itself had breathed life into her.I hadn’t slept more than a few stolen minutes. Every time my eyes drifted shut, I relived the birth the searing pain, the power surging like wildfire through my veins, vines exploding from the floorboards, Kai’s blood drip

Blackthorn Valley – The night of the attempt Elara’s POVThe blood moon hung low and swollen, bathing the valley in crimson light that made the snow look like spilled wine across the clearing. Inside the cabin, the fire had burned down to embers, casting soft orange flickers on the walls. Flame slept in her cradle, tiny chest rising and falling in perfect rhythm, red fur glowing faintly in the dim light. Kai lay beside me on the furs, arm draped over my waist, his breathing deep and even stronger every day since the birth. The cabin smelled of cedar smoke, warm milk, and us the comforting musk of family, of safety, of everything we had fought to protect.I should have known better than to trust the quiet.The wards hummed once a low, uneasy vibration I felt in my bones then went silent.Too silent.I sat up, heart slamming against my ribs.“Kai.”He was already awake, silver eyes sharp, claws extending silently.“I feel it,” he whispered. “Crimson. Close.”A thin red mist seeped under th

Ironclaw Ravine – Night three after the taking Kael’s POV The wind screamed through the ravine mouth like a dying animal, carrying razor sharp flakes that stung my cheeks and caught in Flame’s blanket. We’d tucked her deeper into the furs beside the smokeless fire pit red fur barely visible, tiny breaths the only sign she was still alive. The crimson vial around my neck glowed low and steady, its pulse a quiet heartbeat against my collarbone, keeping her power leashed, keeping her quiet.I couldn’t look at her for long.Every time I did, guilt clawed up my throat like vomit.Dax hadn’t spoken in hours. He sat across the coals knees drawn up, arms resting on them staring into nothing. The silver streak in his black hair caught the faint moonlight filtering through the rock walls. His storm gray eyes were bloodshot, shadowed, fixed on some invisible point only he could see.He finally looked at me.“I need to feel something else tonight,” he said quietly. “I need to remember what it fel

Northern Wilderness Elara’s POVDarkness.Not the cold, empty dark of the forest this was warm, thick, velvet black, like sinking into heated oil. My body floated, weightless. No pain. No cold. No hunger. Just… floating.Then the vision came softer this time, almost tender, like a lullaby wrapped in prophecy.I saw Flame.She was older maybe eight or nine, red hair long and wild, silver violet eyes bright with laughter. She ran through a sunlit meadow not snow, but green grass dotted with wildflowers. Vines curled playfully around her ankles, blooming with tiny emerald flowers as she moved. She was happy. Safe. Loved.And beside her A man.Tall, broad, storm gray eyes soft with a smile I had never seen.He knelt, opened his arms, and Flame launched herself into them.“Uncle Dax!” she laughed, voice clear and bright.He caught her, spun her in a circle, buried his face in her hair.“Little flame,” he murmured. “My fierce little flame.”She hugged him tight tiny arms around his neck and whisper