Romans & histoires Bone Thief

That was when a kidnapper slowly spoke, each word thick with an accent, "Hel-lo. No… need money. I… have a salary. Thank you." I was utterly dumbfounded. "You're such a polite kidnapper." "Thank you for the compliment." He solemnly nodded. "Can you understand me?" "I can," he replied and tugged at his collar. "I'm… half Crisean."

"I'm Linda Jones, friend, and owner of this place. I'm so glad Tabitha lives here, and I'm not lonely anymore. Keith shooking Linda's hand and then looked at Linda, and he was mesmerized by her size and how friendly she was. "Tabitha, introduce me to this hot man before I black out. He looks like a movie star! Who is he?" Linda could never hold herself wise when she has something in mind, and she talks to the point. Tabitha created a plausible lie and stammered out something close to the truth. "This... this... uh... my brother-in-law. Yes... My late husband's brother."

The wolf makes the next mile in half the time, senses lit up, every nerve buzzing with purpose and dread. That’s when I see the boulder. It’s massive, maybe ten feet high and twice as wide, covered in moss and veins of orange lichen. As a pup, I used to climb it on a dare. Now, in the moon’s rising light, it looms like a monument to old sins. The Rogue’s trail ends here, suddenly, as if he leapt into thin air. I circle it twice, sniffing for any sign he doubled back. Nothing. Then I see it—a hairline crack near the base, just wide enough for a wolf to slip through. I wedge myself in, pushing with my hind legs until the crack opens into sudden, echoing blackness.

When Ethan saw me, he guiltily looked away. "Are you Nora?" The officer showed me his badge. "Someone reported that you stole company secrets and misappropriated company funds. Please cooperate with our investigation." With that, he showed me a record of a bank transfer. "Take a look. Is this account yours?" I took the photo. I then realized the amount was exactly the same as the money Ethan had transferred to me a while ago. Only then did I finally understand his real intention. "Nora, aren't you going too far? Ethan used to be your boss. He treated you so well. How could you do this to him?

They stared at me a little surprised but they kept their composure just like nothing happened. I checked their nametags and "Hi, Brittany and Carol, nice to see you two," I sounded in a gentle manner "Don't worry I will never ever be his whore," I winked at them and showed my mischievous smile. They weren't able to reply and I couldn't tell if their faces were pissed or embarrassed. Well, that was fun! ***

"I was the girl you met that night by the river. I am your mate!" He shakes his head. "Roxy already told me about that night. How she pulled me from the water, how we talked about our dreams." His voice hardens. "She has the necklace to prove it." "She stole it!" I cry. "Miles, look at me. Really look at me. Do you not remember?" The words pour out of me, frantic and raw. "You asked me about my dreams, and I told you I wanted to be a pack doctor, to help people feel hope when they are—"

The candles flickered, casting shadows that reached like arms. Outside, the fog had returned. It crept under the cracks in the Bone House walls, quiet and slow. Underneath their boots, the floorboards trembled. Just once. A heartbeat in the bones. And they all knew: the dreams were only the beginning. Something old had noticed them. And it had started to listen.

The sound of his shift was thunder in the small space. I pressed myself against the back wall of the cave, and my legs gave out. The stone bit into my back. The heat still pulsed through me, a sick rhythm that made everything blur at the edges, and I watched the fight like it was happening underwater. Bastian's wolf was a monster. Black fur, one ear torn, shoulders thick as boulders. He caught the first rogue by the throat and threw it against the cave wall hard enough that I heard bones crack. But the second rogue was already on his flank, and the third circled toward the fire, toward me.

A broken wolf like me had no business crossing the threshold. Vespera scoffed, her eyes narrowing into cold slits. “She snared the Blackthorne Alpha. Even if he’s a useless, broken-legged beast who can’t even run with the pack, his family’s ancient treasury is real. It’s no surprise she’s trying to spend his coin in our valley.” I didn't want to choke on their scent and tried to step around them, but Liora shifted her weight, deliberately blocking the path to the vehicle. “You mated a cripple,” Liora sneered, her eyes scanning my faded boots and worn coat. “Even with all that stolen Blackthorne gold, you still look like an unranked scavenger.”

When he saw the hesitant expression of the lapidarist, he knew that there must be a problem here. He yelled, “Don’t talk nonsense! Who is Thomas? The hottest jewelry celebrity in the Southland District. He never made a mistake when picking a rough stone, so each of them is a top-quality rough stone. How could such an outstanding person pick ten low-quality rough stones? I would believe it if there were one or two low-quality rough stones as it might be a miss. But ten low-quality rough stones in a row? Do you guys think that I’m a fool? If you still don’t want to tell the truth, I’ll get rid of you!”