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Home / Werewolf / COLD COMMAND- The Secret Son / Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

All Chapters of COLD COMMAND- The Secret Son: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

73 Chapters

CHAPTER 11

“You're grinding your teeth once more.”Silence was despised in the valley.Black Ridge had never been quiet. Wolves can be heard yelling over market stalls. In taverns, hunters boast. From the watchtowers, sentinels barked commands. In this place, even grief had teeth.However, the valley fell silent three days after Grayson Cole entered the Reed war room.Too silent,It was worse.I sensed it everywhere.The way people stopped talking when I walked into a room. Council members abruptly lowered their gazes around me in this manner. Dominic hardly slept anymore as a result.Through dry wood, rumors were spreading more quickly than fire.The Shadow Alpha was back. The banishment had ended. Savannah Reed was the target of the Cole wolf's return.And for some reason, everyone was most afraid of the final rumor. I stood in the library, gazing down at the old map spread out on the oak table as the rain pounded against the manor windows. The present Black Ridge territory was indicated with

CHAPTER 12

Grayson never unpacked during his first week at Reed Manor.He kept an old duffel bag next to the bed and folded his clothes back into it every morning. He unpacked them again each night.Three shirts.Two sets of jeans.One bulky jacket.A knife for hunting.As well as the scrolls I had given him.That was all.His whole life was contained in one bag. I was standing in the doorway observing him when I first noticed."You know you're staying another night, right?"He looked up."Maybe.""Mama literally told you to stay until everything dries.""Maybe she'll change her mind."I gazed. Then continued to stare.Grayson went back to folding shirts slowly. Take caution.Like someone who thought it would be his last night living there.Inside my chest, something twisted.That is not how anyone should live. Waiting to be rejected."You know that's stupid, right?"His lips quivered."Probably.""Definitely."He gave a shrug. The discussion is over.A typical Grayson.It was like trying to pul

CHAPTER 13

The war talk did not help the valley recover. All it learned to do was breathe around it.Reed Manor no longer felt like a home three days after the Hollow Fang warning attack; instead, it felt like a command center that had forgotten that children had once run through its halls.The dining table was closed, but war maps remained open. At night, weapons were no longer concealed. The servants even moved as if they were anticipating a breach in the walls.And the same name kept coming up.Grayson Cole. He had not been taken into custody.He had not been banished once more.He had just... stayed.People were most uneasy about that.Shortly after dawn, I discovered him at the training yard. The ground retained the rain like a memory, even though it had stopped sometime in the early hours. Boots were covered in mud. The smell of wet wood and iron permeated the air.In the middle of the yard, Grayson stood by himself.No viewers.Not a guard.Only him.He wasn't sparring, but he did have a

Chapter 14.

At last, the rain stopped.Sunlight reached the valley for the first time in days. Not very much.Just enough to turn the peaks of the mountains into gold. Just enough to serve as a reminder of the former state of peace.Sadly, peace had no desire to remain. I observed workers fortifying the outer gates from the eastern balcony of Reed Manor. The word "war" was no longer used. I could tell that people were afraid because of that. It was not stated by the Council.It wasn't stated by the Sentinels.It was avoided even by the merchants.However, additional arrows were now carried in every wagon that entered the valley.Each patrol doubled in size.Before dusk, every mother called her kids home.The valley recalled tales from the past.Additionally, most old tales ended in bloodshed. Behind me, a door opened.I didn't turn."Yo

CHAPTER 15

Once more, the horn blew.Not once. Three times. Twice. The courtyard burst into action. Sentinels ran along the stone walkways. Lanterns swung erratically. Warriors grabbed weapons from racks set beneath the eastern wall, while stable hands hurried to the horses. In a matter of seconds, the quiet night was gone. Grayson was already moving beside me.Not hurrying, not in a panic, moving with intention. Like a man who had survived crisis for fifteen years. "North tower?" he inquired.I gave a nod.For a single purpose, the watchtower alarms only used three blasts.Unknown wolves are getting closer to their territory.Not an assault.Not just yet.A caution. Hugh Morgan stormed down the stairs from the battlements as we arrived at the main gate. He had a thunderous face.I said, "What is it?""Scouts."My

CHAPTER 16

"You are absolutely insane.” The manor was shaken more violently by the second knock than the first.Three hard blows. The kind that kept people awake. Grayson and I exchanged glances.Neither of us moved for a moment.A third knock then reverberated throughout the house. A door opened downstairs.Then came voices.Mason.Harper.Across the hall, someone ran. "It must be important," I muttered.Grayson was up already.The serene expression he had worn just moments before had completely disappeared.He tensed his shoulders.He went across the room and returned to the roof ledge."You are absolutely insane."His lips shuddered."You say that every time.""Because it's true."The grin vanished.For a brief moment, his silver eyes met mine.Then he gently fell to the roof.

CHAPTER 17

It was a quiet journey back to Reed Manor. Extremely quiet. Every few minutes, Harper examined Frank Cole's wounds as he drifted in and out of consciousness in the wagon.No one said anything unless it was absolutely necessary.The mountains rolled by.The forest became thinner.Beneath them, the valley gradually emerged.Fields of gold.Farms.Chimney smoke rising.At home, people were usually calmed by the sight.Not right now.Everyone was still troubled by Frank's remarks. "They're returning."No justification.No names.Nothing of use.Fear alone.Fearful.In the wagon, I was seated across from Frank Cole.I spent the majority of the trip observing Grayson.He took a seat close to the back door.Knees and elbows, gazing blankly.Pondering.Three feet away, his father slept.But for some reason, they felt so far apart.It was painful to look at the distance.Dusk had fallen across the valley by the time we arrived at Reed Manor.The walls of the courtyard were illuminated by lant

CHAPTER 18

"Three are stable," she said.After the attack, the valley was awake. So was I.By dawn, Reed Manor looked like a fortress getting ready for a siege rather than a home. Instead of carrying breakfast trays, wolves went through the hallways with weapons. Every entrance was guarded by sentinels. Messages were being carried from one checkpoint to another by horses that thundered across the courtyard.And somewhere underneath it all.There was fear.Not very loud. Not in a panic.It was always terrible to be afraid quietly.I looked at the blood drying under my fingernails as I stood outside the healer wing.Not mine. Blood from hollow fangs. I could still smell it on my skin. The door to the healer room creaked open behind me. Harper was worn out as she went outside.“Three are stable," she said. I turned right away."And the fourth?"The initial response was silence. Next was, "We lost him an hour ago." Behind my ribs, something heavy settled.One more body. One more funeral. Another family

Chapter 19

After the Hollow Fangs departed, no one slept.Even though the valley was silent, it wasn't serene. It was the quiet that precedes a break.Long after the enemy had vanished into the night, the eastern wall was still packed. Sentinels were on guard. The torches burned. Every hour, patrols switched places.The night was no longer trusted. I didn't either.Staring into the forest where the Hollow Fang wolves had disappeared, I stood atop the battlements. The trees appeared typical.That was the issue. Danger never made a clear announcement. It concealed itself. Waited. Observed. Similar to what they were doing at the moment. I heard footsteps coming from behind me. Heavy but recognizable.Mason.I kept my eyes fixed on the forest and said, "You should be resting.""So should you."He let out a rough laugh."Fair."We stood silently together for a few moments.Father and daughter. Regent and Alpha. Too much is being carried by these two people.At last, he said something."What do you th

CHAPTER 20

The road back to Black Ridge felt longer than usual. Not due to the distance.Due to the excessive amount of change.Beneath a sky of gathering shadows and fading gold, the convoy made its way through the mountain pass. While armed riders observed the tree lines from both sides of the road, horses moved steadily over the rocky trail.The silence was no longer trusted.Not following Hollow Fang. Not following Reed Manor. Not after witnessing hundreds of fervent wolves standing beneath the walls and referring to Grayson by a title that was perilously close to worship.In the middle wagon was the captured Hollow Fang wolf.Bound.protected.Quiet.Grayson was riding close to the front.His mind stayed somewhere else.Returning to Reed Manor.Return to the battlements.Returning to Savannah, she stood next to him while Hollow Fang publicly declared war.A horse came up behind them.Ryder.The army commander of Black Ridge.Alongside Grayson, the big wolf led his mount."You've been quiet.

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