All Chapters of Curse of the Moon's Bride : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

I woke with my hand already under the pillow.The paper was still there. For a second, I just lay still, staring at the ceiling, feeling the faint crinkle of it beneath my fingers like something alive.Then I pulled it out.The charcoal marks had smudged slightly overnight, but the words were still clear.Black feathers – his. Storage shed – east edge.Proof. Not enough yet – but closer.My thumb brushed over Damon's name, the circle around it darker than the rest. My wolf stirred, sharp and awake, like it hadn't slept at all.Now? it seemed to ask.I exhaled slowly. "Not yet."We needed more.I swung my legs off the bed and stood, my body still carrying the soreness from yesterday, but something else layered beneath it now. Focus. Purpose.I wrapped my hands carefully, tighter this time. The cuts from before were already fading, the skin beneath the cloth smoother than it should've been. Another reminder. Another change.I tucked the paper into my pocket, pressing it flat against my

The door shut behind Rina with a dull thud, and the sound echoed longer than it should have.For a moment, I could still hear Damon's voice in my head – calm, certain, like he hadn't just been dragged to the cells. Like this was all part of something bigger he understood better than we did.The fire in Kael's study crackled softly, the only sound left. Shadows crawled along the walls, stretching and shrinking with every flicker of flame.Kael didn't move. He stood with his back to me, staring into the fire like it might give him answers. His shoulders were rigid, tension drawn tight through his frame. One hand flexed at his side, then stilled.I waited.When he still didn't speak, the silence started to press in on me, thick and uncomfortable."You believe me now?" I asked. My voice sounded quieter than I meant it to.Kael turned. His gaze landed on me immediately – sharp, steady. "I believed you before we went."The words hit harder than I expected."Then why – ""I just didn't want

For a heartbeat, nothing moved.The clearing held its breath. Torchlight flickered against stone and shadow, catching on faces turned toward me – toward the gold still burning through the wrap on my wrist. Eyes widened. Some in awe. Some in fear. Some in something harder.The elder's gaze snapped between me and Kael, calculation flickering behind the anger."Don't be fooled," he said sharply, voice cutting through the silence. "It's a trick. A parlor illusion." His lip curled. "She's still a curse."The word didn't hit the way it used to.Kael stepped forward, slow and deliberate, each movement controlled. "You planned to kill me in my own home," he said. His voice was quiet, but it carried farther than the elder's. "You gathered wolves in the dark and called it loyalty."Another step."You're the curse."Something shifted in the circle. A wolf near the edge lowered his gaze, shoulders dipping. Another took a half-step back, the movement small but loud in the silence. Others looked be

I woke before dawn.The room was still dark enough that the corners blurred into shadow, but I knew sleep would not return. My body had rested. My mind had not.A traitor.The words had followed me into dreams and dragged me back out again.I lay still beneath the blanket, staring at the narrow strip of ceiling above me. Somewhere outside, wind brushed the side of the pack house. Wood creaked softly. Someone walked the corridor beyond my door, their footsteps fading into silence.The pack had survived the Pure Claw. But survival was not safety.If someone close to Kael had been feeding them information for months, then every patrol route, every weak point, every decision he made had been laid bare to enemies while we slept.I lifted a hand and touched my cheek. The place where Kael's fingers had brushed me last night still felt strangely warm in memory. Light. Careful.The threat pressing around us was cold enough to freeze bone, yet that small touch had stayed with me.I dropped my h

The air in the cells always felt heavier.Damp stone. Iron. The faint, metallic tang of old blood that never quite left, no matter how often it was scrubbed away. It clung to the back of my throat as we descended the narrow steps.Vance stumbled ahead of us, his wrists bound, shoulders hunched like he was trying to fold into himself. By the time we reached the bottom, his legs gave out, and he dropped onto the rough floor of the nearest cell.He didn't even look up when the door slammed shut behind him.Rina stepped back, arms crossed, watching.Kael didn't move. He stood just outside the bars, silent, his presence filling the space in a way that made the shadows seem smaller. He didn't need to speak. The weight of him was enough.Vance felt it. I could see it in the way his shoulders trembled, in the way his breath came too fast, too shallow. His eyes flicked up once – just once – and then dropped immediately, like holding Kael's gaze burned.I stepped closer, stopping just beside th