All Chapters of CHOSEN LAST: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Sage’s POVThe pack hall had mostly emptied by the time Ethan and I made our way back through its main corridor, only a handful of council staff remaining to tidy chairs and gather scattered papers from the emergency meeting. I clutched the ancient book against my chest, my mind still spinning from everything Ethan had revealed about Diane’s continued influence beyond Redhollow’s borders.“You’re quiet,” Ethan said, glancing at me as we walked.“Just thinking,” I said. “About how much we still don’t understand, even after everything we’ve already uncovered.”We reached the small side room where the council had left the book and Eleanor’s other materials for safekeeping, and I set the ancient text down carefully on the table, intending to review it once more before we finally called it a night. As I opened the cover, something caught my eye that I hadn’t noticed during our earlier, hurried examination, a slight irregularity along the spine, a place where the binding seemed subtly thick

Sage’s POVThe drive toward Ashford Hollow took nearly two full days, winding through unfamiliar territories neither of us had ever visited, the landscape gradually shifting from Redhollow’s familiar forests into rockier, more mountainous terrain the further we traveled. We stopped only briefly to rest, both of us too anxious about what awaited us to properly relax during the journey.“Tell me about your grandmother,” Ethan said during one of our stretches on the road, apparently trying to fill the tense silence with something other than worry. “What do you remember about her, beyond what Eleanor and this book have revealed?”I considered the question carefully, memories surfacing that I hadn’t properly examined in years. “She died when I was young, maybe six or seven. I mostly remember small things. She used to hum while she gardened. She had this specific laugh, sort of a quiet chuckle that always made me feel like I had said something genuinely clever, even when I was just being a

Sage’s POVMarcus’s call came through just as Ethan and I reached the car, his voice tight with urgency the moment I answered. “Come to the detention building. Now. You need to see this yourself.”“Who did you capture?” I asked, already climbing back out of the car, Ethan close behind me, his expression sharpening with immediate concern.“I would rather show you,” Marcus said. “Just come.”We drove the short distance to the pack’s detention building in tense silence, my mind racing through every possibility, though nothing prepared me for what actually awaited us inside. Marcus met us at the entrance, his expression carrying a strange mixture of shock and grim satisfaction.“This way,” he said, leading us down a narrow corridor toward one of the holding cells.Through the small viewing window, I caught sight of the captured figure sitting on the cell’s simple cot, and my breath caught sharply in my throat, recognition crashing through me with dizzying force.It was Clara.Not the frig

Sage’s POV“We need fighters at the southern boundary immediately,” Ethan said, already moving toward the door despite his own obvious exhaustion. “Marcus, gather whoever’s available. Physical defense until Sage and Sarah can extend the protection.”“I’m coming too,” I said, pushing through my own fatigue.Sarah caught my arm gently. “You’ve barely recovered from last night’s effort. Attempting another significant ritual so soon could genuinely harm you, Sage.”“I don’t have a choice,” I said. “If that boundary breaks, if their forces get through, everything we’ve already sacrificed becomes meaningless.”Sarah studied me for a long moment before nodding reluctantly. “Then we work quickly, and carefully. I’ll guide you through a more targeted version of the ritual, focused specifically on the vulnerable section rather than attempting to reinforce the entire boundary simultaneously. It should require considerably less energy.”We piled into vehicles immediately, racing toward Redhollow’

Sage’s POVThe drive to the northern boundary felt impossibly long despite taking only minutes, my exhausted body protesting every movement while my mind raced through every possible reason Diane might have chosen to appear now, alone and unarmed, specifically requesting my presence.“This could be a trap,” Ethan said, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as we sped through the darkness. “Everything about tonight, discovering the inversion, then her appearing at exactly that weakened point, feels deliberately orchestrated.”“I know,” I said, forcing steadiness into my voice despite the fear churning through my exhausted body. “But if she’s genuinely there, if this is somehow connected to whatever she’s actually planning, ignoring her presence entirely feels equally dangerous.”We arrived to find several pack fighters already gathered near the boundary, maintaining careful distance while keeping Diane clearly within sight. She stood exactly as reported, alone, hands visibly em