Chapter 76

Chapter 76
Noland’s POV

The pine forest went quiet in the way only predators understand.

Not the peaceful kind of quiet, not birds settling or wind easing — but the kind that pressed against the ears, heavy and wrong, like the world itself was holding its breath.

I lifted my fist, and the pack halted instantly.

Lucien stood a few steps ahead, silver eyes scanning the trees, shoulders taut. Moonlight filtered through the branches, painting everything in broken shards of pale light and shadow.

“Do you smell that?” Mara whispered behind me.

“Iron,” Eli said softly. “And ash.”

My jaw tightened. Roland hadn’t been exaggerating.

The scent hit next — not wolf, not Watcher, not anything that should exist. It burned the back of my throat, sharp and bitter, like scorched metal left too long in a forge.

Then the ground trembled.

Not much. Just enough to feel through the soles of my boots.

Lucien’s head snapped up. “They’re circling.”

A low growl rippled through the pack.

I raised my voice just enough. “Stay tight. No breaking formation. They want fear — don’t give it to them.”

Something moved between the trees.

Too big to be a normal wolf.

It stepped into the moonlight slowly, deliberately, like it wanted to be seen.

Ash clung to its fur in thick plates, hardened into something like armor. Veins of dull metal ran beneath its skin, glowing faintly red at the joints. Its eyes weren’t gold or silver ..they were black, bottomless, reflecting nothing.

Eli sucked in a breath. “That’s not a wolf.”

The creature opened its mouth.

Smoke poured out.

Then it charged.

“NOW!” I roared.

The forest exploded into motion.

Mara lunged first, blade flashing as she struck for the creature’s flank. Her weapon screeched against its side, sparks flying as if she’d hit stone.

“Shit!” she cursed, leaping back as the Ashen wolf swung a massive paw.

Eli didn’t hesitate — he tackled her out of the way just as the paw slammed into the ground where she’d been standing, the impact cracking earth and snapping roots.

“Eli!” she shouted.

“I’ve got you!” he yelled back, already rolling to his feet.

More shapes burst from the trees.

Three. Five. Seven.

Ashen Moon wolves poured into the clearing, their movements heavy but terrifyingly fast, claws gouging bark, breath hissing like bellows.

“Hold the line!” Lucien shouted.

We did.

Steel met ash. Teeth met metal. The sound was wrong ..every clash rang like a hammer striking an anvil.

One of the wolves lunged at Bren.

For a split second, I saw fear flash across Bren’s face — the memory of control, of losing himself.

Then something in him hardened.

“No,” he snarled.

He didn’t dodge.

He met the Ashen wolf head-on, driving his blade straight into its throat with a roar that shook the trees.

The creature staggered, shrieking — a sound like grinding stone and Bren ripped the blade free, following through without hesitation, without mercy.

The wolf collapsed.

Ash spilled out instead of blood.

Bren stood there, chest heaving, staring down at it.

Mara glanced at him, fierce pride flashing through her fear. “About damn time.”

“I told you,” Bren rasped. “They don’t own me.”

Another Ashen wolf barreled toward Eli, massive jaws snapping.

Mara didn’t think ..she just moved.

She threw herself into its path, slamming shoulder-first into its leg. The impact sent both of them crashing into the underbrush, branches splintering.

“Mara!” Eli screamed.

“I’m fine!” she shouted back, coughing. “Ugly bastard hits like a falling tree, though!”

Roland’s bowstring twanged.

An arrow buried itself deep into one of the Ashen wolves’ eyes. The creature howled ..deep, distorted — and thrashed wildly.

Roland didn’t waste the opening.

He drew another arrow and fired straight through its open mouth.

The wolf dropped, convulsing.

I ran to Roland’s side as he knelt, examining the fallen creature despite the chaos.

“Look,” he said urgently.

I crouched.

The wolf’s chest had cracked open — not flesh, but something brittle and burned. Inside, sigils were scorched directly into its bones, glowing faintly red.

“They didn’t control these,” Roland said grimly. “They made them.”

A scream cut through the air.

Tiara.

My heart slammed into my ribs.

I spun, scanning the edge of the clearing. She was hidden in the rune circle Rhett had drawn earlier, protected — but she was clutching her head, eyes squeezed shut.

“No,” she whimpered. “Stop calling me…”

Lucien was at her side in an instant. “Tiara! Look at me.”

“She’s crying,” Tiara said, tears streaming. “She’s cold. She says she can’t breathe.”

My blood ran cold.

“Maya,” I whispered.

The air shifted.

For a heartbeat, just one — I saw her.

At the tree line.

Thin. Pale. Bruised.

Maya stood half in shadow, half in moonlight, her eyes locked on Tiara with an expression so full of pain it nearly dropped me to my knees.

“Maya!” I shouted.

Her head snapped up.

Our eyes met.

Her lips moved.

I’m sorry.

Then a shadow coiled around her, yanking her back into the dark like smoke pulled into a vacuum.

“NO!” Tiara screamed.

The Ashen wolves howled in unison.

Not victory.

Not rage.

Something else.

Something deeper.

The forest answered.

A howl rolled through the pines — ancient, vast, echoing far beyond the clearing. It wasn’t any wolf I’d ever heard.

It vibrated in my bones.

Lucien went rigid. “That wasn’t them.”

Rhett’s voice carried from behind us, strained with dread. “That was the Ashen Alpha.”

The ground trembled again.

Stronger this time.

I tightened my grip on my weapon, heart pounding.

“Everyone,” I shouted, forcing my voice steady, “fall back. Now.”

The pack obeyed without question.

Above us, the moon dimmed behind drifting cloud.

And deep in the forest, something old and hungry began to move.

The night wasn’t over.

Not even close.