All Chapters of Crowned in Ash : The Alpha's Ultimate Regret: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The trees of the Bloodwood border had not changed in five years, but I certainly had. The damp pine needles muffled my quiet footsteps as I slipped through the heavy, low-hanging fog. I was dressed in form-fitting black leather, my silver hair braided tightly back out of my face. In the dark, I was practically invisible. I had left Leo safely tucked away at a small, human-run motel about three miles back from the border. He had tried to argue, pointing out that his memory of the guard patrol schedules made him an invaluable asset on the ground. I had simply kissed his forehead, handed him his favorite math notebook, and locked the door from the outside. No matter how smart he was, I was not bringing my son anywhere near the monsters who had killed my brother. A quiet hum clicked in the small, custom earpiece I wore. "Mama, the eastern guard patrol just finished their sweep," Leo’s small, filtered voice came through the static. "The gap in their perimeter is currently open. You hav

Hearing my real name roll off Ethan’s tongue felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. ​"Aria is dead," I whispered, forcing every ounce of weakness out of my tone. "She died in the northern river five years ago when her mate decided a corrupt alliance was worth more than her life. I am Shadow." ​Ethan didn't back down. He took one deliberate, heavy step forward, his immense frame blocking out the overhead light. "A ghost doesn't bleed, Shadow. And a ghost certainly doesn't raise a four-year-old child with eyes that look suspiciously like a Bloodwood Alpha's." ​My heart did a violent flip inside my chest. ​"He is not Jaxon's," I snapped instantly, stepping in front of Leo to completely cut off Ethan's view. "He is mine. End of story." ​Behind me, Leo adjusted his round spectacles, completely unbothered by the suffocating Lycan aura filling the room. "Technically, Mama, genetic inheritance dictates that I am fifty percent yours and fifty percent an undisclosed secondary

(Ethan's POV — Retrospective Scene: Late Night at the Northern Keep) The blizzard outside the frost-lined glass of the Keep’s east wing howled like a dying beast, but inside my private study, the only sound was the steady, rhythmic scratching of ink on parchment. And the quiet, rhythmic tapping of small fingers on a glass screen. I sat at my massive dark-oak desk, a half-empty glass of amber dwarven whiskey resting near my right elbow. My heavy iron broadsword leaned against the stone fireplace, its silver runes glowing faintly in the dim embers. Across from me, sitting cross-legged on a velvet armchair that was far too large for him, was Leo. The six-year-old boy was wrapped in a thick wolf-fur mantle I had given him earlier that evening. His little face was illuminated by the pale blue light of his tactical tablet. He didn't look like a child. He looked like an ancient elder strategist trapped in the body of a pint-sized genius. "Your Majesty," Leo spoke without looking up, his

The Bloodwood Pack House looked vastly different under the cover of a moonless night. Five years ago, this place was a gilded prison where I cleaned floors and took insults from lower-ranking wolves. Tonight, it was a target. I crouched on a thick oak branch twenty feet above the wet mud, my black leather gear blending seamlessly into the dark canopy. Through my tiny earpiece, the quiet, steady click of Leo’s connection came through. "Mama, I have intercepted the estate's secondary closed-circuit feed," Leo whispered, his voice crisp and completely devoid of panic. "The eastern courtyard cameras are currently looping a static six-second delay. You have a clear window to cross to the ivy trellis on the main study's outer wall." "Copy that, chief," I murmured softly. "How's your host holding up?" "His Majesty is currently standing in the command trailer three miles back, glaring at my laptop screen because I refused to give him administrator access," Leo replied dryly. A dee