Meadow Of Ash Trees Novels & Stories

He did not expect for her to do something like riding a tee trunk in a flowing river that is raging like a mad serpent. There has been a heavy rain in the past few days and it only stopped at dawn this day, so the river in the forest is flowing like a flood dragon that has been going hungry for a thousand years. It’s as if it wanted to swallow everything on its way, and even some of the trees next to the riverbed could not stand the onslaught which allowed Asha to find a broken tree with a scattered trunk and branches.

They always do. They part just enough to let me through. Then seal again behind me. Hidden. Untouchable. Safe. This is what’s left of us. Not a pack. Not what we used to be. But wolves— Alive. Because of them. Because of the witches. The clearing opens slowly, structures hidden between trees, reinforced and carefully maintained, smoke rising faintly from one side where fires burn low and controlled. Movement shifts instantly. They feel me before they see me. Then they see her.

The ash settled. Mara exhaled shakily. “He’s playing with us.” Ava looked back once. The paw prints had vanished. Only the black tree remained, silent and watching. “We’re coming for him,” she whispered. The path beyond the clearing narrowed into what looked like an old riverbed. The ash had given way to a thin film of red moss that clung to the stones like dried blood. Even the air felt heavier here, tasting of copper and smoke. Mara kept her bow out now, an arrow nocked but not drawn. “This was all green when I came through last year,” she whispered. “He’s poisoned it.”

Ash’s POV The roar of the clubhouse hit me before I even turned off my engine. Laughter, shouts and the sound of bottles clinking rent the air and for a moment, I wonder how they could easily fall back into their normal lives less than twelve hours after an attack. It was chaos the way I remembered it, but somehow louder and more… non challant. Inside, the air was thick with smoke and sweat. A few brothers cheered when they saw me, others nodded, their eyes sharp, reading me like they weren’t sure what version of Ash had come back.

With only trees out my window, I didn’t recognize where we were. “We have to walk from here,” Asher said, undoing his seatbelt. “It’s not far.” After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I followed him around the car and up a dirt path through the forest. The trees were pine, and smelled like Asher. Asher held out his hand for me and I took it. He guided me over a fallen log and up a steeper section of the path, until we emerged at a clearing. No, a cliff with a fenced-off edge.

The sound was a symphony to their ears, a melodious crescendo that set the stage for what was about to unfold. The trail led them to a part of the wilderness that was shrouded in mystery, hidden from the prying eyes of the world by a thicket of Aspen trees. As they moved closer, the trees parted like curtains on a stage, revealing a meadow that was bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun. It was a hidden gem, a secret kept by the Aspens, unseen and untouched.

I glanced back toward the treeline, where the ash grove stood, shadows deepening as the sun slipped lower. For years, those trees had been a symbol of everything I hated—offerings, fear, and silence. Now they’d seen something new. Not perfect. It's not easy. But different. On the way back to the house, I stopped under their branches for a second and pressed my palm briefly to the rough bark. “We’re not doing it your way anymore,” I whispered. Whether to the ghosts, the goddess, or the old stories, I didn’t know. “Watch if you want. Learn.”