All Chapters of Claimed Beneath the Blood Moon: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

Snow fell in thick, relentless sheets outside Blackthorn Keep, blanketing the jagged peaks of the Northern Territories in a silence so deep it felt like the world held its breath. Inside the ancient stone walls, however, tension crackled like dry wood waiting for a spark. The full moon was three nights away, and with it came the mating ceremony that would bind two of the strongest packs in the north. Everyone knew the stakes. Everyone knew the players. No one spoke of the one who had been erased from the story long before it began.Ashley moved through the lower corridors with the practiced quiet of someone who had learned early that noise drew eyes, and eyes drew punishment. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight knot at the nape of her neck, strands escaping like rebellious threads she had no time to tame. The woolen dress she wore was patched at the knees and wrists, once a deep green but now faded to the color of old moss. It had belonged to Clara once, before it was declared unfit

The second day bled into the third with relentless speed, as though time itself conspired to drag the mating ceremony closer. Blackthorn Keep thrummed with final preparations. Banners of black and silver snapped in the wind above the battlements. Torches were set along every path leading to the sacred grove where the rite would take place beneath the blood moon. The air carried the sharp scent of pine smoke and roasting meat from the kitchens, mingling with the metallic tang of freshly sharpened blades. Warriors drilled in the courtyard, their breaths fogging in the cold, while elders chanted low prayers to the Moon Goddess in the chapel tower.Ashley felt every heartbeat like a countdown.She had barely slept. The bond with Damien pulsed through her even in dreams, pulling her toward him across stone walls and guarded corridors. She woke flushed and restless, the memory of his mouth on hers burning behind her eyelids. Every brush of fabric against her skin reminded her of his hands.