The Weight of a Name

The rain starts before dawn. By midday it's settled into a steady, stubborn drizzle, the kind that turns the training grounds into a field of churned mud and makes everything smell like wet pine and bad decisions. I'm flat on my back, staring at the clouds. They stare back. Gray. Unbothered. At least they're consistent l everyone else in my life keeps changing their mind about me. A ring of faces blocks out the sky above me. Some look amused. Some look embarrassed on my behalf. A few don't bother hiding the disappointment. I'm getting good at reading disappointment well I've had a lot of practice. "Again." Of course it's Garrick. Training Master Garrick has exactly three moods; angry, disappointed, and disappointed while angry and today he seems determined to hit all three before lunch. I let out a breath through my nose. My ribs ache. My shoulder is filing a formal complaint. For one glorious, tempting second I consider just staying here. Let them build a monument. Here lies Kae

Last Updated : 2026-07-15

Echoes In The Rain

The rain doesn't stop until sunset. By then, Blackthorn Pack has settled back into its usual rhythm smoke curling from stone chimneys, lanterns glowing behind cabin windows, the smell of roasted meat drifting through the village on a cool evening breeze.For most people, that's comforting. For me, it's just another reminder that everyone else seems to belong somewhere.I walk the muddy path between buildings with my hands shoved in my pockets. A few pack members nod as I pass. Some smile politely. Others suddenly find something very interesting to look at that isn't me. I'm never sure which bothers me more the pity or the discomfort. Neither feels great.The village square sits at the heart of Blackthorn territory. Kids chase each other around a weathered stone fountain while the older wolves huddle under wooden awnings, waiting out the last of the drizzle. Laughter spills from the tavern. Someone's playing a fiddle badly and enthusiastically. It drifts through the evening air warm,

Last Updated : 2026-07-15

The Northern Woods

I last exactly three days, three days of avoiding the northern woods, three days of pretending I'm not curious, three days of replaying the council meeting on a loop, wondering why Elder Mara looked like she'd seen a ghost. On the morning of the fourth day, I give up. Curiosity, I've learned, works a lot like hunger ignore it long enough and it just gets louder. The sun's barely up when I slip out of the village. Mist hangs low between the trees, turning the forest into a maze of silver shadows. The world feels quiet. Not silent a forest is never actually silent. Birds call from somewhere overhead, leaves rustle, and nearby a squirrel is loudly, personally offended by the existence of another squirrel. Nature, doing its thing. But the deeper north I go, the more that changes. Fewer sounds, Colder air, Dimmer light under the thickening canopy. By the time I cross the old boundary markers, there's an uncomfortable knot sitting in my stomach. The northern woods have always had a

Last Updated : 2026-07-15

Eyes In The Dark

The crimson eyes don't blink. They hang there between the trees, motionless, impossibly bright against the gloom.I'm rooted to the spot. Every instinct tells me to look away. Every instinct tells me to run. Instead, I stare. Whatever's out there stares back.The white-haired woman steps forward not far, just enough to put herself between me and it. It's a small movement, but it carries the kind of quiet confidence that says she's stood between danger and other people plenty of times before."Leave," she says again. This time she's not talking to me.The creature answers with a low growl that vibrates through the ground under my feet. My stomach tightens yet she doesn't move an inch.For several long seconds, neither side does. The tension feels physical, like a rope pulled too tight and waiting to snap.Then it steps forward, and a shape pulls itself out of the shadows.At first glance it looks like a wolf. At second glance, it looks like nothing I've ever seen. The limbs are too lon

Last Updated : 2026-07-15

What The Forest Keeps

"You're smiling." I stop smiling immediately. Lyra steps out from between the trees, boots caked in mud, her braid half undone like she's spent the last hour hunting through the forest. She takes one look at me and crosses her arms. "You disappeared." "I went for a walk." "You disappeared." "Feels like we're repeating ourselves." "Good. That means you're finally understanding." I sigh. There's no point arguing once Lyra gets into this particular mood she gets annoyingly reasonable. Her eyes sweep over me — the dirt-covered clothes, the scratches on my arms, the torn sleeve, the general look of someone who just lost a fight with a hillside. "What happened?" "I fell." "You look like you lost a war." "It was a very aggressive hill." She stares. I stare back. Eventually she pinches the bridge of her nose. "One day you're going to tell me the truth." "Today isn't that day." It slips out before I can stop it, and I regret it instantly. Lyra notices. Of course she does. Som

Last Updated : 2026-07-15

All Chapters of MOONBOUND THE LAST ALPHA: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

The Weight of a Name

Echoes In The Rain

The Northern Woods

Eyes In The Dark

What The Forest Keeps