Chapter 182
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PIPER
The moment I woke, I knew something was wrong. The pack bond was usually steady, but a comforting hum in the back of my mind was off. It didn’t feel severed, but it was weak like a thread stretched too thin and ready to snap.
I sat up in bed, running my fingers through my hair as I tried to focus on the sensation. It was Aurora. Her bond was dim, and distant, as though she wasn’t just far away physically but emotionally locked behind some impenetrable wall.
I got dressed quickly, throwing on dark clothes meant for stealth. My heart pounded as I tried to make sense of the unease clawing at me. Whatever was happening, I couldn’t just sit here and wait.
I came out and I felt drawn to the war room, I found Trajan’s map still spread across the table, a mess of notes and markers left behind from the last strategy session.
I studied it, searching for anything that might point me toward Aurora. “Think, Piper,” 1 muttered to myself. “Where would she
The Nameless’s lair was the most obvious answer, but it wasn’t *ough to just guess I needed something concrete.
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2/6 My fingers brushed over the map, tracing the paths we’d marked as dangerous areas where dark creatures had been spotted or where Dane’s influence lingered. A cold chill ran down my spine as I noticed a pattern.
The sightings formed a loose perimeter around one area we hadn’t explored deeply, an unassuming section of dense forest that seemed to repel even the bravest scouts. I frowned, leaning closer. “What are you hiding in there?”
Beside the map was a stack of old reports, most of them from Evander’s missions. I flipped through them, scanning for any mention of the Nameless or unusual activity. One entry caught
my eye.
“Spotted faint tracks leading into the eastern forest. Too faint to pursue. The air felt… heavy. Recommend further investigation.”
Evander’s words sent a shiver through me. If the eastern forest was important enough for him to note, it had to mean something.
I grabbed the journal Aurora had left on the table, the one filled with symbols and cryptic notes. She’d been scanning over it for weeks, but I wasn’t sure how much she may have discovered.
“Come on, give me something,” I whispered, flipping through
the pages.
One section caught my attention. It described the Nameless’s territory in riddles, with phrases like “the shadows coil where the moonlight dies” and “the forest speaks only to the brave.”
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The riddles weren’t just poetic, they were instructions. I felt it in my gut. The eastern forest wasn’t just a random location. It was significant.
I glanced at the clock. If I moved now, I could be there by nightfall. Sneaking out wasn’t difficult. Warrick had been unusually quiet lately, wrapped up in whatever schemes kept him occupied.
1 left him a vague note, knowing he wouldn’t notice my absence. until it was too late.
The forest loomed ahead, dark and foreboding. As I approached the edge, the air grew colder, and the pack bond weakened even further. I swallowed hard, forcing my nerves to settle.
The eastern forest had always felt… off. The trees were taller here, their branches twisting together like claws.
The ground was thick with moss, muffling my steps and every sound seemed to echo in an unsettling way.
I moved carefully, keeping to the shadows and listening for anything out of place. My senses were on high alert, every rustle of leaves or crack of a branch making my heart race.
At one point, I paused, crouching low behind a fallen log. Ahead, the ground dipped into a shallow ravine, and in the center
was something that didn’t belong, a faint glow, like silver mist hovering just above the ground.
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I inched closer, my breath catching as I realized what I was looking at. The mist wasn’t just random, it was forming shapes, and symbols that matched the ones in Aurora’s journal.
Pulling the journal from my bag, I flipped to the page with the riddles. The symbols in the mist were the same as the ones described as “the seal of the Nameless’s domain.”
“This is it,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
But getting closer wouldn’t be easy. The mist pulsed faintly, and the air around it felt… alive. It was as if the forest itself was watching me, waiting for me to make a wrong move.
I studied the symbols again, tracing them with my finger and mouthing the words from the journal.
The riddle was clear now: “Step only where the light touches, and the darkness will grant you passage.” I glanced around, spotting faint patches of moonlight filtering through the trees.
The misty light seemed to create a path, narrow and winding but just wide enough for me to follow.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the first patch of light. The ground felt solid beneath me, but the air grew colder.
I moved slowly, carefully placing each step in the light. The mist swirled around me, darkness reaching out as if testing my
resolve.
Halfway across the ravine, a low growl stopped me in my tracks.
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My heart leaped into my throat as a pair of golden eyes appeared in the shadows.
A werewolf stepped into the light, its form massive and its movements eerily smooth. It sniffed the air, its gaze locking onto me. I froze, barely daring to breathe.
The journal’s riddle echoed in my mind: “The forest speaks only to the brave.”
Gathering my courage, I straightened and took another step forward. The werewolf growled again but didn’t attack. Instead, it watched me, its head tilting slightly as if it were curious.
“I’m not here to fight,” I said softly, my voice steady despite my fear. “I just need answers.”
The werewolf huffed, its breath visible in the cold air. Slowly, it stepped aside, its golden eyes never leaving me.
I let out a shaky breath and continued forward, the mist parting as I moved deeper into the forest.
The glow ahead grew brighter, and the symbols became clearer, leading me toward what I could only assume was the edge of the Nameless’s territory.
When I reached the final patch of light, the air seemed to hum with power. The mist thickened, moving around me in a way that felt almost… welcoming.
And then I saw it, a faint outline of a structure, hidden among
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the trees. The Nameless’s lair.
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My heart pounded as I crouched low, taking in every detail. The lair was surrounded by shadowy figures, their forms shifting and blending with the darkness.
I knew I couldn’t risk getting any closer, not without being seen. But at least now I had a starting point, a way to find Aurora and know what was going on.
As I turned to leave, the werewolf reappeared, blocking my path. Its golden eyes seemed to pierce through me as if it were warning me to go back before it pounced on me.
“Damn it, I’ll be back,” I whispered, my resolve hardening.
