Chapter 81

Chapter 81
Ripley's Point of View

The meeting ends with a heavy silence, the kind that sticks to the air long after the room empties. Olivia walks out beside me, but none of us speak, not yet. We are all caught in our own thoughts, trying to digest everything Alpha Callum just dropped on us.

Targets.
We are targets.

I have felt this kind of pressure before, expectation, responsibility, eyes on me because I am supposed to be the next Alpha of Stormfang. But this is different. This feels like someone has marked us, circled our names on some mental list, and is slowly closing in.

We step outside into the fading evening light. The sky is bruised with deep purples and streaks of fiery orange. Smoke still lingers in the breeze, mixing with the smell of pine and earth. Stonehowl wolves move around us, patrolling, repairing, and comforting each other. They look tired, but determined.

It reminds me of Stormfang after the attack.
And I hate that I am getting used to scenes like this.

Olivia lightly nudges my arm. “Are you okay?”

I blink out of my thoughts and manage a small nod of my head. “Yeah. I am just… thinking.”

Her eyes soften. She gets it. She always does lately.

Kael walks ahead with Alpha Callen, and the two of them talk in low voices. Grief hangs over Kael’s shoulders like a weighted cloak. Liana walks with Pacey and Ian a few steps behind us, giving Kael space but keeping close enough in case he needs them.

For now, they leave Olivia and me in the quiet space between the group.

Alpha Callum told us to finish helping before the night is over, so we find our way back towards the main clearing. Olivia peels off to rejoin the healers, and I head straight for the perimeter wall I had been working on earlier.

The Stonehowl wolves greet me with tired nods as I approach.

“You are from Stormfang, right?” one of them asks, a big guy with broad shoulders and a bandage wrapped around his forearm.

“Yeah,” I answer.

He hands me a plank of reinforced timber. “Good. We could use the help.”

We work in silence for a while, hammering, lifting, reinforcing weak spots in the defensive barrier. I can feel unease simmering through the pack. Wolves glance towards the trees more than they look at each other. Patrols move in tighter formation. The air buzzes with tension, like everyone is waiting for something to go wrong again.

As the night deepens, torches are lit along the perimeter. Their glow flickers over damaged buildings, over faces marked with fatigue.

I pause for a second, leaning against the half repaired wall. My hands sting from splinters, but I barely notice.

Nightvein attacked Stormfang.
They tracked us at the school.
Now they have hit Stonehowl.

And Alpha Callum is right, they are getting bolder. They are getting smarter and the worst part is they are getting closer.

A low growl slips into my chest before I can stop it.

“Careful there,” the broad shouldered wolf says with a tired grin. “The wall is already shaking. We do not need you snapping it in half.”

I snort. “I would not dream of it.”

By the time the last screws are tightened, and the final patrol rotation is set, the moon sits high above us. Wolves begin to scatter towards their temporary sleeping spaces. Stonehowl is quieter now, but still restless.

I wipe my hands on my pants and make my way back towards the medical tent to find the others.

Olivia steps out just as I approach, brushing loose strands of hair from her face. She looks exhausted, her eyes heavy, her shoulders slumped, but when she sees me, she still smiles. Soft, and warm. The kind of smile that makes the world feel a little less broken.

“Are you done?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “How about you?”

She nods her head. “I think so. Finally.”

Liana joins us, stretching her back with a groan. “If Nightvein attacks again tonight,” she mutters, “I am throwing something at them. Preferably something heavy.”

Pacey snorts. “Great strategy. I will write that down.”

Ian joins in with a smirk. “Right next to ‘don’t die.’”

Despite everything, a ripple of laughter spreads through us.

It is small.
But we need it.

As we walk towards the area Alpha Callum cleared for us to sleep, I fall into step beside Olivia. For a moment, I let myself take comfort in how close she walks, in the quiet way her shoulder brushes mine.

Maybe Alpha Callum is right.
Maybe Nightvein is hunting us.

But as long as we are together, me, Olivia, Kael, Liana, Pacey, Ian and I feel like we can handle whatever comes next.

Still… I cannot shake the feeling that things are about to get worse before they get better.

And that Nightvein is not done with us.
Not even close.