Chapter 146\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus had made up his mind: today, he wouldn\u2019t set foot outside the Shadowbane Alpha\u00a0<\/p>\n
Estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not when Aysel had shoved into his arms-was still recovering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He intended to stay, to guard, to hover.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the calls would not stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One after another, they vibrated through the den: from the Shadowbane corporate council, from the Pack Healers\u2019 Pavilion, from the old ancestral manor on the ridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last were about Anna whose sudden death still hung over the pack like a winter omen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A funeral needed to be arranged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And in a great pack like Shadowbane, even those who died in disgrace needed to be placed somewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Elder Matron and the house steward could handle logistics, but the final question still had to pass through the reigning Alpha by blood:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where would Anna be buried?\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the couch, Magnus lounged with the lazy danger of a wolf too strong to care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His posture was unrushed, but his scent carried the sharp iron edge of dominance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With one hand he stroked Daron-their little wolf-hound hybrid-who was currently butting his head against Aysel\u2019s thigh in an attempt to be held.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus spoke into the communicator, voice calm, almost bored:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll be buried in the Shadowbane ancestral grounds, of course.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A rustle on the other end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shock. Unease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
His lips lifted in a humorless smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat whole branch was a nest of demons,\u201d he said lightly. \u201cLet them cling to each other in death as they did in life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aysel heard every word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t interrupt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t ask what happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t question why Anna had died.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She already knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This morning, while Magnus had gone to make breakfast, she had secretly checked the pack\u2019s newsfeed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d seen the wreckage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seen the headlines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The vehicle that exploded hadn\u2019t been meant for Anna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had been meant for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And when she thought of that secluded side-tower, the one where Anna and her kin had cornered her, humiliated her, tried to break her-Aysel felt nothing but cold, clean justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The world accused Magnus of being ruthless, merciless, inhuman\u2014a Shadowbane Alpha whose wolf, Rafe, was born drenched in blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But those outsiders had never lived his nightmares.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never survived his upbringing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never knew the cruelty he crawled out of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when Anna tried to warn her how \u201cmonstrous\u201d Magnus was-thinking she could turn Aysel against him-it had been laughably naive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aysel would never fear him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She would hand him the blade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because beneath their skins, beneath their polite smiles, beneath the veneer of civility\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
they were the same kind of mad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the third day, when Aysel\u2019s strength had fully returned, Magnus finally brought her- symbolically-to the Pack Healers\u2019 Pavilion to visit Bastien Sanchez, the old patriarch who had ruled Shadowbane for decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastien looked up when his long-vanished grandson entered, Aysel\u2019s hand in his.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The old wolf\u2019s first instinct was to sneer, to throw a jab, to lace the air with toxic dominance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then he remembered the current political reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the words died in his throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He settled for an awkward grunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He already knew what had happened to Anna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The funeral date had been set.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her birth family-once eager to cling to Shadowbane\u2019s prestige-had rejected the invitation to attend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They declared publicly that they would consider her as long dead, their grief tangled with resentment, insisting she had brought ruin upon their kin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastien could only sigh at that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Karma was a wolf with sharp teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment, he exhaled and asked Magnus:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Lyall Sanchez and his mate to return to the old manor on the day of the burial. Bring Alfie as well. What do you think of that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus toyed lazily with Aysel\u2019s fingers, not bothering to look up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A soft, cold laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I think? I think I\u2019ll be standing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastien\u2019s eyes flashed-anger rising.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Magnus spoke again before he could erupt:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandfather, is your judgment failing with age? Must you ask me about such trivial matters\u00a0<\/p>\n
now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence settled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heavy, uncomfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then Bastien exhaled, long and tired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. There\u2019s nothing here that needs you. Go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus nodded, rose, and tugged Aysel up with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRest well, Grandfather. We\u2019ll take our leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastien closed his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Get out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If they stayed another minute, he might truly cough blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once the young pair left, the steward-who had been caring for Bastien-asked cautiously:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWeren\u2019t you hoping to discuss the burial arrangements with the Alpha Magnus?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastien shook his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he stays out of it, that is already the greatest mercy he can give the fifth branch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lyall and his family had always kept their distance from the pack\u2019s internal wars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had retreated early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They owed their peaceful life to that choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus didn\u2019t think highly of Lyall, but-ironically-they were the only branch he held no grudge against.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He would never trouble them without cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Magnus were to intervene now, it would only complicate matters further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And besides\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
The old man smiled bitterly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every branch of the family fought desperately over the relics he held: the ancestral keys, the Luna-blessed artifacts, the Shadowbane contracts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To most wolves, they were priceless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To Magnus?\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His grandson\u2019s scope, ambition, and sheer power stood so far above the pack\u2019s petty infighting that Bastien felt a sting of regret.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If he had known the boy would become this, he would have never allowed the other branches to torment Ulric\u2019s line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the past could not be undone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And when the burial came in a few days, the manor would explode in conflict again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastien could already feel the migraine brewing behind his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 146 Chapter 146\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 Magnus had made up his mind: today, he wouldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}