All Chapters of THE WOLF THEY BURIED ALIVE : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The first time someone called me a mistake, I was twelve years old.The second time, I was thirteen.By the time I turned twenty-five, I had stopped counting.In Blackthorn Pack, a werewolf's worth was measured by the strength of their wolf, the purity of their bloodline, and the position their family held within the pack. If you possessed all three, you were treated like royalty.If you possessed two, you could still earn respect.If you possessed only one, you had to fight for your place.And if you possessed none?You became me."Nyla! Are you planning to stand there all morning?"I flinched at the sharp voice behind me.Mrs. Harlow, the packhouse supervisor, stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest. Her grey hair was twisted into a tight bun, and her expression suggested that my existence had personally offended her.I quickly lifted the basket of folded clothes from the bench."I'm sorry. I was just—""Thinking? That would be a first."A few girls standing nearb

The first thing I learned about being invisible was that people became careless around you.They forgot you had ears. They forgot you could understand their words. Most importantly, they forgot that even someone they considered worthless could remember every cruel thing they said.By the time the sun rose over Blackthorn Pack, I had heard enough conversations to fill a book with reasons why I should leave.Unfortunately, leaving required somewhere to go.I stood beside the kitchen counter, arranging a tray of breakfast plates while two visiting pack members whispered near the pantry.“Have you heard?” one asked. “Alpha Blake is expected to make an announcement before the mating ceremony.”“About the ceremony?”“About his chosen woman.”My fingers paused around a porcelain plate.His chosen woman.Everyone in Blackthorn knew Blake and I had been close for years. He had never officially claimed me, but he had never discouraged the rumours either. Whenever someone asked whether he intend

Three days before the mating ceremony, Blackthorn Pack began preparing for a celebration I was not certain I would survive emotionally.The packhouse transformed almost overnight.Workers carried fresh flowers through the corridors. Long tables were moved into the ceremonial hall, and servants polished silver trays until they reflected the morning light. Outside, guards erected wooden frames for lanterns while young wolves practised the ceremonial dance on the training grounds.Everyone was excited.Everyone except me.I stood on a ladder near the eastern entrance, tying a length of white fabric around a wooden beam. The material slipped from my fingers, and I had to catch it before it fell.Below me, two workers argued about the placement of the decorations.“The Alpha wants the silver ribbons along the main aisle,” one insisted.“And Sienna wants white roses,” the other replied. “Apparently, the flowers must match her dress.”I tightened the knot.Sienna's dress.Blake's announcemen

The training grounds were the last place anyone expected to find me.I knew that because three separate people stopped what they were doing when I walked through the gates.One young wolf nearly dropped the wooden practice sword in his hand.Another whispered something to his companion.A third laughed.I kept walking.The morning air was cold, and the smell of damp earth rose beneath my boots. Dozens of pack members had gathered to practise before the ceremony. Some sparred in pairs, while others ran along the outer track or worked on their defensive movements.I had passed the grounds hundreds of times.I had never entered them voluntarily.Not since I was sixteen and a training instructor had ordered me to join the younger wolves for an assessment.I remembered standing among them, trying to ignore their curious stares.I remembered the instructor asking me to summon my wolf.I remembered the silence that followed when nothing happened.By the end of that morning, half the pack had

I barely slept that night.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the figure outside my window.The silver object in the stranger's hand.The way my pendant had burned against my skin.And the strange certainty that whoever had stood outside my room hadn't come to watch me.They had come to find me.By sunrise, the figure had disappeared, leaving no footprints beneath my window and no explanation for the heat that had lingered around my neck long after the pendant cooled.I considered telling Mara everything, but I stopped myself.Blake had already warned me to keep quiet about the strange things happening to me. Councilman Darius had reacted to my healing as though he knew exactly what it meant.And someone had been watching my room.For once, I decided to keep a secret of my own.I tucked the pendant beneath my blouse, dressed, and stepped into the corridor.The entire packhouse seemed to be awake.Servants hurried past carrying folded cloth, flower arrangements, and boxes of decoration