The Wolves of Skoltha

{{ This story will be submitted into the Open Novella Contest 2026, inspired by prompt #45.}}
"Kings have honor, soldiers have bravery, and poets have heart. But all I have is RAGE"

PART 1: BOOK 1: BLACK ROCK.
(Black Rock is Book 1 of "The Wolves of Skoltha" Triology.)

In the frozen northern forest of Skoltha, wolves walk as men-and Alpha Fenris of Black Rock is losing his pack to extinction; their wolf-blood weakening. When his mate dies birthing his son, a human slave from Deep Water, their exiled sister pack, is sent to nurse his son from death. Albi is broken, battle-scarred, and hiding a heart full of vengeance. But when the ancient blood-bind of the Imprint-unseen for sixty winters-suddenly binds them together as fated mates, Fenris dares to hope the Great Mother has sent more than a wet nurse. That she has sent the pack's Salvation.

As Fenris and Albi navigate a bond that bleeds their minds together across five months of winter, unseen enemies gather beyond their treeline. When a silver bullet strikes Albi down in the heart of the forest, Fenris must choose: let her die and lose his last chance at salvation, or breach the final wall between them, the wall of Albi's making, in a ritual of flesh and spirit that will either forge an unbeatable alliance-or confirm to his enemies that the Alpha of Black Rock has grown weak enough to be destroyed.

Total Story Word Count: 33,204