All Chapters of WICKED PROVIDENCE: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Before departing to manage the border patrols, Miranda Shaw caught Avery’s shoulder. "Grant Lawson was planning to intercept you. He has scrolls that need your eyes."Avery had her own questions for the High Scholar. Since her sun-cycle was clear of pack duties, she could remain within the sanctuary’s neutral ground and wait for his arrival. She gave a short nod, bidding Miranda a silent farewell.The moment Avery stepped out of the Elder’s restorative chamber, Boris Guzman moved like a shadow to block her path.Avery’s muscles tensed, her hand dropping to the silver dagger at her belt, anticipating a challenge for territory. To her surprise, the High-Beta’s posture was submissive, his scent carrying a heavy note of simulated remorse."Forgive my earlier growl," Boris said, his voice smooth as polished bone. "My wolf is restless with my grandfather’s fading strength, and the Healer’s report was grim. I mistook your presence for a scavenger’s. I see now that Jerome holds you in high fa

The pup’s voice was small, but the words were a jagged, rehearsed venom—a chilling echo of a mother’s toxic grooming.Rage, hot and primal, surged through Avery. It was a dual agony: the physical sting of the silver-tipped pin and the soul-deep fury that Charlotte would weaponize a child’s innocence to spread such rot. With a grimace of pain, Avery firmly but gently shoved the little girl away.The pup tumbled onto the thick rug, her startled silence breaking into a high, grating wail."You low-blood bitch!" Charlotte shrieked. Her face contorted into a lupine snarl as she lunged, her claws unsheathing to rake Avery’s face.But Hudson moved like a blur of shadow. He intercepted her mid-air, his hand crushing Charlotte’s wrist with Alpha strength. With a grunt of disdain, he threw her aside. Charlotte crashed into a velvet sofa, gasping as her lungs fought for air, her bravado snuffed out by the lethal promise in Hudson’s eyes.Hudson’s gaze dropped to Avery’s thigh, where a dark crims

The meal between Avery and Grant had just concluded when Grant’s communication slate began to hum incessantly. As he listened to the voice on the other end, his features hardened into a mask of stone.Avery felt the air grow heavy, a primal instinct warning her of a shift in the pack's equilibrium. She quickly pulsed a message to Grant: "Is Jerome fading? Has the Elder’s spirit broken?"Grant’s eyes remained distant. "Internal pack business," he replied after a tense beat. "Urgent, but not a life-threatening crisis for the Elder. Forgive me, Avery, but I cannot escort you back to the Monroe den. I must run."Avery nodded, signaling for him to hunt safely. As Grant vanished into the shadows of the Silver Ridge, Avery stepped out of the tavern. Suddenly, a blinding white light seared her vision.It was the flash of a magi-camera.Panic flared in her chest. While a meal with Grant was innocent, in a territory where bloodlines were guarded with religious fervor, a doctored image suggestin

Hudson was nowhere to be found. In the sterile, stone-walled recovery room of the Silver Ridge Sanctum, only a few low-ranking omegas bustled about, tending to the hearth.One of them noticed Avery’s amber eyes fluttering open. She hurried to the bedside, her voice a soothing murmur. "Luna, you must remain still. The Great Spirit has blessed you. Despite the silver-weighted blows you took, the pup’s heartbeat remains strong. It is a miracle of the bloodline."Avery’s mind was a fog of pain and confusion.The mention of the pup, coupled with the hazy memory of Hudson’s frantic arms carrying her through the gates, sent her pulse skyrocketing. She began to sign with trembling hands, her movements jagged and desperate: Where is the Alpha? Where is Hudson?Fortunately, the caregivers Hudson had hand-picked were trained in the silent tongue of the disenfranchised. "The Alpha had urgent pack business at the High Hall," they explained softly. "He departed shortly after the Healers stabilized

Hudson let out a sharp, derisive sound from his throat. "I’ve been pondering the chaos, Sadie, and I’ve concluded that Avery’s 'dormant' wolf isn't just an omen—she’s a strategist. She could have settled the border dispute with you in the shadows of the den, but instead, she exposed it to the High Matriarch, making me look like I can’t control my own pack."Sadie’s spirits lifted instantly, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Exactly, Alpha! She plays the silent martyr just to cast me as the monster. I was the one whose rank was stripped, while everyone offers her their bared throats in sympathy. If I had known she’d use her silence as a weapon, I would have pushed her off the Ridge myself."The more Sadie vented, the more the predatory heat rose in her scent, until she caught Hudson’s lethal stare. She clamped her jaw shut, dipping her head in submissive terror. "Forgive me, Alpha. My blood is hot from the journey."Hudson smiled, an icy expression fueled by the dark ale that flushed his