Son Of The Betrayed-A Wolf Shifter Romance의 모든 챕터: 챕터 61 - 챕터 70

~Takoda~By the time I reached the old mill, every wolf in the room already knew something was wrong. Nobody greeted me. Nobody wasted breath on small talk. The building stood north of town beyond the last paved road, hidden among pine and snow, its weathered frame surviving on stubbornness and pack history alone. Lanterns burned low against the walls, casting amber light across maps, old records, and the grim faces gathered around the central table.Jace stood near the back wall with his arms folded, his shoulders pinned to the timber. Rowan leaned over a spread of documents, his fingers digging into the paper. Elias stood at the head of the room, his posture rigid. The moment my boot crossed the threshold, the conversation died completely. That alone told me enough.I shut the heavy door behind me, the iron latch clicking into place, and looked around the space. "What happened?" I asked, my voice cutting through the damp chill.Nobody answered immediately. Jace looked away first, his

Three days. Three goddamn days. That was how long I'd managed to stay away from her. There'd been three days of pack meetings, three days of patrols, and three days of pretending I wasn't tracking her movements every time I stepped into town. I'd spent three days convincing myself distance was the right choice. The problem was that distance wasn't making anything easier. It was making everything worse.I stood near the edge of the Winter Lights festival, watching families move through the square beneath strings of glowing white lights. Children ran between booths carrying hot chocolate, and Christmas music drifted from speakers mounted on the courthouse lawn. The scent of cinnamon, pine, and woodsmoke hung in the cold evening air. It looked normal. Everything looked entirely normal, and that meant the festival was exactly what Black Hollow needed. It was a distraction, a celebration, and a reminder that life continued even when wolves were finding bodies in the mountains.Jace appeare

The tree lit up at exactly seven o'clock. Thousands of white lights burst across the towering pine in the center of the square, the brilliant glare reflecting off the packed snow. The crowd erupted. Children cheered, clapping their mittens together, while festive music swelled through the hidden speakers mounted on the courthouse lawn. People laughed as fresh snowflakes drifted softly beneath the artificial glow, entirely unaware of the shifting territorial lines. Nobody noticed the wolves. Nobody noticed the raw tension moving beneath the surface, or the men stationed around the perimeter watching every entrance into town.That was the point. Black Hollow had survived for generations because normal people never saw the things protecting them.My eyes tracked the crowd automatically, scanning for faces, sudden movements, exits, and threats. Nothing looked wrong, and that bothered my inner wolf more than if something had. Jace had already disappeared back into the festival crowd, execu

Jace had said the edge of town, not the mountains or the northern trails. He meant town itself.Christmas music drifted through the square while children ran through the slush beneath the giant pine. Families crowded around the tree lighting, and a group of college students laughed near the cider booth. Somebody dropped a tray of cookies, immediately becoming the center of attention. Nobody looked worried, nobody looked afraid, and nobody had any idea that someone had just crossed into Black Hollow.Jace's eyes stayed locked on me. Analiese stood between us with her arms folded tightly across her chest, though it was not because she was cold. The square was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, and the heat from food trucks, bonfires, and several hundred people drifted through the night air. This wasn't about the temperature; it was armor. It was the same armor she'd st

Elias's jaw tightened. "Takoda."I looked at him. Every muscle in my body had gone rigid. "What?" The word came out rough enough to scrape.Elias held my gaze. "You think before you act."No, not tonight. Maybe not ever again where Analiese was concerned. The ugly part was that he knew it, too. My wolf surged. Find her. Nothing else mattered, not the pack, not the festival, and not the north. Only her.Elias stepped closer. "Listen to me."The crowd moved around us. People laughed. Christmas music drifted through the square, and children chased one another through the slush beneath the giant pine. The sounds reached me dimly, as if they belonged to another town