All Chapters of TOO LATE TO CLAIM ME,ALPHA: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Kael desperately searches his packlands for Aurora, consumed by his wolf's mournful howls and the bitter realization of what he discarded, while Aurora and Rowan begin investigating Elder Thomas's sabotaged supply lines at the Ashford border.The autumn air cuts cold against my skin, carrying the sharp scent of pine needles and damp earth. I strip off my boots and heavy tunic, throwing them onto a mossy rock, and unleash the creature clawing at my chest. The shift happens in a violent burst of heat and snapping bone. My bones lengthen, my spine curves, and within seconds, four heavy paws strike the dirt.He shifts and runs through the forest, searching the paths they used to walk as children.My midnight-black wolf pushes through the dense thickets, his heavy paws churning up rotten leaves and damp soil. My lungs burn as I tear down the steep ridge toward the valley floor, driven by a raw, suffocating panic that hasn't let up since the morning of the rejection ceremony. I head straigh

Kael sits alone in his quiet study, discovers a lingering trace of Aurora on his old campaign cloak, and unravels under the sudden weight of his own regret.The fire in the study grate has burned down to dull, gray embers. Outside, the night breeze howls through the stone courtyard of the Crescent Moon Pack, but inside, the air is thick with dust and stale wine.I sit at the heavy oak desk, staring at a stack of supply ledgers for our border outposts. Ever since Aurora vanished into the neutral forests, these four walls have felt less like a sanctuary and more like an underground tomb. Selena Frost left for her home territory yesterday to prepare for our political union, yet her absence brings me no peace. It brings only silence. A cold, suffocating silence that fills every corner of this room.I stand up, my knees aching from hours of sitting, and move toward the wooden wardrobe in the corner. I need my thick leather coat for the late patrol. As I pull open the heavy oak doors, the f

Kael receives word from a scout about a silver wolf in Ashford territory, sparking an obsessive hunt to reclaim Aurora while completely ignoring his betrothed, Selena.The iron map table in the central war room of the Crescent Moon Pack is covered in maps, empty wine goblets, and discarded battle reports. I sit at the head of the long oak table, rubbing my temples as a dull ache pulses behind my eyes. The war on the northern border is over, but the silence inside this castle is deafening.It has been weeks since the rejection ceremony. Weeks since Aurora vanished into the neutral forests. Weeks since I let my father talk me into trading a soul for an army.Selena Frost sits three chairs down, her sharp fingernails tapping a steady, irritating beat on the parchment spread before her. She is dressed in rich velvet, her pale eyes tracking my every movement."We need to finalize the venue for the ceremony, Kael," Selena says, her voice smooth, calculated, and completely devoid of warmth.

Aurora travels to the troubled border villages with Rowan and unexpectedly comes face-to-face with a desperate Kael across the river.The border lands of the Ashford territory are harsh, cold, and windswept. For three days, Rowan and I have been moving through the outer rim villages, dealing with the fallout of Elder Thomas's deliberate sabotage. Food supplies had been redirected, medicine delayed, and the common pack members were left to freeze while Thomas quietly whispered that my presence was bringing a curse upon their lands.Rowan didn't buy the rumors for a second. He brought me right along with him to distribute the rations himself. We worked side by side, stacking heavy grain sacks and repairing broken timber roofs until my hands were raw and my back throbbed with a good, honest ache. The villagers didn't see a fragile runaway anymore; they saw a woman willing to bleed and sweat for them.By late afternoon, the gray sky threatens snow. Rowan leaves me near the riverbank with

Aurora and Rowan investigate a sabotaged river border in the Ashford territory, where an unexpected confrontation with Kael ends in a cold, final rejection of his plea to return.The mud along the outer rim river is thick and cold. Water laps against the dark stones, carrying the bitter chill of early winter down from the northern mountains. So, when Rowan and I arrive to inspect the blocked supply barges, the atmosphere is already tense. Elder Thomas claimed the bandits made the trade route impassable, but the ruined crates floating near the bank tell a different story. These supplies were dumped deliberately. Someone inside the Ashford Pack wants the outer villages to starve, and they want me to take the blame for it.Rowan crouches by the water, inspecting a broken crate with heavy, calloused fingers. His jaw is tight, shadowed by stubble. He stands up, shaking water off his gloves, and looks across the wide, gray expanse of the river.We are not alone.Footsteps crunch on the froz