Share
Chapter Thirty-Six: Leaving Loop City
Vuko POV
I follow the witch blindly, not seeing what is in front of me, only that Fulvio is behind me, kneeling over Silvia, tending to her. She will wake and see him. They will fall in love. It will be too late for me.
My own heart echoes the thundering trembles of the viaduct ahead of us. But is it my imagination or is the ground actually jumping under our feet?
I'm still staring at my feet trying to figure out this new variation of everything collapsing when the Cook-Troll comes lumbering up behind us. He seems to have given up on his human-form disguise.
The jumping stops when he does.
"Need some help, guys?" he asks.
His troll voice sounds like stones tumbling against granite. He must have been a pretty quiet Cook to go unnoticed in Loop City.
Esme and I look at each other. I don't know if she's thinking of the trollbomb as well but we both say "No!" at the same time and equally adamantly.
"But tha
Related chapters
Wolf Moon Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Barren Again
Vuko POV We come out on the other side of the staticky, magic-drenched crossing that was once the looping highway around the city. I shake myself, relieved to be rid of the feeling of ants under my skin. Esme is staring ahead, her face grim. The Barren stretches out before us in early dawn light, no different than when I had first crossed it. Sand stretches as far as the horizon, a dull grey color more like ash than sand. Rocks and pebbles pock the surface of the arid land. Just looking at it makes my throat feel parched. There is no hint of movement or life. Because there isn't any, I remind myself. Now I can hardly believe believe the strange apparition I encountered on my way through the Barren toward Loop City. It feels long ago, far off, though it was less than two weeks ago. The dreamers and the man who Esme says is her son feel like something I must have dreamed up. An exhausted hallucination. I gulp and my throat itches from t
Wolf Moon Chapter Thirty-Eight: The River
Silvia POV Darius takes my hand and we leave the magical garden and Luka with his dreams. We pass a short way through to the edges of the precisely planted forest. Darius plucks a gem-fruit from one of the low-hanging branches and hands it to me. "Try it," he says. I hesitate. I'm not sure fruit is supposed to glint at you. Ah well. I take a bite. It's an explosion. Bubbles tickle my nose and gooey globs of sweetness come apart in my mouth. There's so much juice it spills out of my mouth and I have to laugh as I try to catch the sticky drops in my hands. The aftertaste is less sweet and more tangy, like lemon ice mixed with ginger. My heart is actually racing! "What do you think?" asks Darius anxiously. "It's just that I've never really had anyone to show before." "It is extraordinary!" I say, "Honestly, I could eat this all day. What in our Goddess's name is that?" As we make our way out of the forest,
Wolf Moon Chapter Thirty-Nine: Wolf Moon
Silvia POV "Wolf Moon," I say slowly. So many memories crowd my mind. "Next month will be Wolf Moon, that's in just ..." I think back to the events of the past few weeks that have felt more like months or even longer. "... ten days!" Darius is staring straight ahead, transfixed by the scene unfolding before our eyes. I recognize my old home, the Wildlands. But it seems somehow smaller. The training ground looks dusty and ragged. The earth is torn up with weeds. The houses look rundown and the fields are patchy with limp-looking crops. Dust settles everywhere. Even the pine trees seem dimished. Thinner or thinned out, I can't be sure. It is not the same verdant land of my memory. As we watch, three figures climb the hill toward the packhouse. They bang on the huge oak doors. The doors remain closed though there is light within. In the darkness below the three, there is movement. At some invisible command, a pack leaps from cover and rushes toward them. The attackers are intercepte
Wolf Moon Chapter Forty: Separation
Vuko POV There was no reason to think that my desperate attempt to mindlink to the dreamer Darius would work. And yet ... the land had changed beneath my feet and I felt a cooling breeze as the bright, burning sun of the Barren faded. Somehow, he or the other dreamers had heard me calling to be let in! The dreamers, Darius, whoever. I didn't care at this point. All of that was good. But I had no time to feel relief because there was also the distinctive howl of a werewolf about to attack and no time to do anything about it. My body reacts instinctively, and I duck into a low defensive crouch, Vi just beneath the surface, waiting to be let out. Through the dimming light emerges a flickering bright oval. I squint my eyes, and step forward, trying to see what it is. Too late I lurch backwards as a mass of growling, white wolf barrels through the light and toward me. I push Esme out of the way just in time but I'm knocked to the ground. The breath slams
Wolf Moon Chapter Forty-One: Return to the Wildlands
Vuko POV The moonlight casts shadows everywhere and something in the stillness makes me anxious. There is no movement other than mine and Ana's. There are no calls of owls or other nightbirds, no small creatures scurrying through the undergrowth. In the silence our movements sound too loud. Beneath the scent of pine leaves and earth is another smell. The sweet-foul smell of rotting things. Death. What has happened here? "Look," whispers Ana, pointing through the trees to the training ground. The training ground has been closed off by an enormous silver cage. What madness is this? "The prisoners are enclosed in the silver cage," she says. "My father ..." I hear the catch in her voice as she pauses. "... My father and the other Alphas as well as anyone who opposed Abir's takeover." She turns to me, takes my hands in hers. "Vuko, there's something else ..." I close my eyes, not wanting to hear it but knowing it wa
Wolf Moon Chapter Forty-Two: Abir
Vuko POV I've known this packhouse since I was a cub. It has been the scene of marriages, naming ceremonies, judgments. Celebrations, tragedies, comedies and dramas--all have played out in this hall. The packhouse is the centre of pack life. The packhouse building is a long, wide, and tall hall crafted from stained teak, wood that is dark and heavy and solid as our packs are meant to be. The likenesses of the great Alphas have been etched into the struts that support the high roof. Battle scenes from the Great Incursions have been painted on the walls. In the centre of the hall should be the Alpha table, where the Alphas gather to discuss the important decisions that must be taken to support our packs. That even included me very recently. I am mistaken, the table is still there. I was only confused because the chairs have been removed and it has been draped in jewel-coloured silks and velvets. Floor cushions have been piled around it. Female pack mem
Wolf Moon Chapter Forty-Three: Loop City is Changing
Silvia POV I look up at Fulvio and he breaks into a grin then pulls me into bear hug ... ... at the same time as Wiley gives a chirrup of disapproval and jumps off me onto the carpet taking at least some of my flesh with her. "Ow," I say and Fulvio instantly releases me, looking very worried. "It's okay it wasn't you," I reassure him, eyeing Wiley who sits swishing her tail and cocking her head at me. She'll love me again when I feed her. I sit up and instantly feel dizzy and a weird phantom pain around my throat. Like I've had a cold or ... or .. .. or a wolf's jaws around my throat. My hand flies to my throat and I start feeling around as the memories start crowding back. Seersha shouting at me. Didi angry. The Hemming. My little brother's wolf! It's so unfair. That was another moment stolen from me. A moment I should have shared with Didi that I couldn't. His Naming ceremony. And under any ot
Wolf Moon Chapter Forty-Four: Tidiane
Silvia POV I head to the front door then turn to tell them which floor we're going to. I want to see their reactions. But I don't say anything. Because as I turn, I see Valerie slip her hand into Fulvio's and reach up to kiss him on the cheek. He grins and looks at her with an expression that is pure adoration. Whatever that dream I had in the dreaming place was about, I'm glad I figured it out then or I would be very disappointed now. And Darius? For the first time it occurs to me that Valerie has a husband who is maybe not exactly dead. How does she feel about that? I head out the door and down the stairwell, so deep in thought that I am barely aware of my surroundings. It is Valerie's soft 'Oh' of astonishment that pulls me back. I glance around and have to put my hand on the railing to steady myself. The walls of the apartment are moving crazily about me. The wall on my right looks far, far away. All I can see of it is a small wavering square. But the wall in front of me, is so
Latest chapter
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty-Six: Vuko and Silvia
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty-Five: Ceremony
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty Four: Wolf Moon
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty-Three: It's Not Over Until the Ceremony
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty-Two: The Final Battle
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty-One: Packhouse
- Wolf Moon Chapter Fifty: The Rhyme
- Wolf Moon Chapter Forty-Nine: Leaving Loop City
- Wolf Moon Chapter Forty-Eight: Freywolf
