All Chapters of My Adopted Sister is My Mate: Chapter 41 - Chapter 47

KAEDENI return from the witches’ coven, exhausted, drained from the long few days of training my allies on the necessary magick to ensure their protection when the brewing war inevitably breaks out. When I arrive, it’s immediately clear to me that barely anyone noticed my absence. Instead, the pack lands are dressed in gold and lavish decorations.It takes me a moment to realise what is going on. Of course, the Founder’s week is about to commence, all to culminate in the full moon where we wolves will engage in the Communal Howl in remembrance of the formation of the pack.Banners bearing the pack’s crest, wolf’s head crowned in laurel and flame, hang from the stone parapets of the central hall. Torches line the courtyard in perfect symmetry. Long tables are being arranged beneath the open sky, ready to be lavished with the feasts that would happen every evening in the pack.It would almost be beautiful if I didn’t know what we’ve become.I slow my steps as I approach the gates, lett

AVARAThe second day of Founder’s Week is a dizzying blur of gold and white, as the pack seems to have woken even louder. The pack grounds have been transformed into a sprawling carnival of high-stakes games and traditional displays of strength. Music spills through the courtyards. The smell of roasted meat and spiced wine is already thick in the air. Warriors spar for sport. Children chase each other with painted streaks of ash on their cheeks.Normally, I would find some small joy in the music, but today, every violin string sounds like it’s being pulled across my raw nerves.I stand out at the pack grounds, smiling and courtesying like I am expected to, but my mind remains uneasy. Kaeden’s voice won’t leave my mind, and the memory of my conversation with my father remains predominantly in my head.Kaeden is everywhere. Unlike yesterday, where he stayed in the shadows and merely observed, he is now openly engaging in the festivities. I watch from the edge of the archery range as he

JULIANI stand at the edge of the pavilion, adjusting the high collar of my tunic to better hide the yellowing bruises on my throat. The pain that I’ve been enduring ever since Alpha Silas lashed out at me is still ever present, and I’ve been trying to check myself to prevent myself from going angry and bitter from what he did to me. He would not have lashed out and hit me if I had not been a fool who could not obey simple instructions. I erred and he punished me. What use would developing anger and bitterness do to me? Against my Alpha?Anyways, it isn't necessarily the physical pain or the anger I’m trying to subdue that has me on edge today; it’s Avara.I watch her from a short distance. She is standing near a group of young werewolves, laughing with them, and there’s something about how freely she’s acting, against her usual restrained composure that has me on edge. Usually, she is a creature of soft edges and compliant silences, but recently she seems to have developed some sharp

AVARAUsually, the Great Hunt day is the one day of the year I can breathe. I have never participated in it, because I am not a werewolf and a core requirement for participation is the ability to shift. Hence, the manor and the pack itself except for the younger wolves that are yet to shift, usually empties as the werewolves vanish into the deep woods for the better part of the day and night. But today, there is something strange going on, and amidst all the fearful thoughts going on in my mind, I cannot exactly process what it is. I stand before my mirror as attendants lace my evening bodice, my fingers trembling for reasons that have nothing to do with the pull of silk. Today, Kaeden and I are supposed to meet at the old watchtower ruins at sunset, which will be at the heat of the hunt. He will weave his way out, and finally explain to me, all the questions that have clouded my mind. We agreed. When we made the plan, it felt daring, and I was so angry, I was convinced I had what i