Page 2 of Furever Bound (Hollow Oak Mates #7)

MADDOX

D r. Maddox Thorn adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and frowned at the stack of folklore manuscripts scattered across his mahogany desk, the careful organization he'd maintained for five years dissolving into academic chaos.

His phoenix Ember perched on her custom stand nearby, preening her copper-gold feathers with obvious disdain for his scattered focus.

"I know what you're thinking," Maddox muttered, running frustrated fingers through dark hair that had grown too long for his usual professional standards. "But these reports are troubling."

Ember squawked disapprovingly, her ancient amber eyes fixing him with a stare that somehow managed to convey both sympathy and exasperation.

The telepathic bond they shared hummed with her awareness of his restlessness, something that had been building for weeks now, an anxiety that made his wolf pace beneath his skin like a caged animal.

The converted Victorian home around them reflected his need for order: floor-to-ceiling bookshelves organized by region and time period, filing cabinets labeled with meticulous precision, reading nooks positioned to catch optimal natural light.

Every surface had its purpose, every book its place.

Control through organization, his professors had always said.

Knowledge mastered through systematic approach.

But knowledge meant nothing when something was stirring in the supernatural currents around Hollow Oak.

"Look at this timeline," he said, spreading Emmett's reports across his desk.

"Three days ago, unusual electromagnetic disturbances near the old growth forest. Two days ago, livestock acting skittish without apparent cause.

Yesterday, Mrs. Johnson reported feeling 'watched' during her evening walk, though she saw nothing. "

Ember tilted her head, copper feathers catching the afternoon light streaming through diamond-paned windows. Her telepathic response came as cautious images: something approaching, energy building, the kind of anticipatory tension that preceded significant supernatural events.

"Something's coming," he continued, studying the pattern of minor disturbances that had been escalating over the past few days. "But what? The manifestations are too scattered to be a specific entity. It feels more like... anticipation."

His phone buzzed with another report from Callum, whose ranger duties included monitoring supernatural activity. "Temperature fluctuations near Moonmirror Lake. No weather pattern to explain it. Animals avoiding the area entirely."

Maddox had come to Hollow Oak five years ago carrying nothing but his degrees and a determination to escape pack politics that had threatened to suffocate him.

The Blue Ridge pack had offered him the alpha position when his father stepped down, but the thought of leading through emotion and instinct rather than logic and planning had felt impossible.

"I think too much to lead with my heart," he'd told the pack elders, words that had earned him disappointed looks and his cousin Vale's smug satisfaction.

Vale led with passion and loyalty, qualities the pack valued.

Maddox led with analysis and preparation, traits that made excellent advisors but apparently questionable alphas.

Hollow Oak had welcomed him without question, valuing his research skills and historical knowledge without demanding social obligations he wasn't equipped to handle.

The supernatural community here operated on different principles that allowed acceptance of outcasts, respect for individual strengths, protection through diversity rather than conformity.

His wolf had settled into the mountain's rhythm, content with the role of scholar and occasional Council consultant. Until recently.

"The patterns don't match any known entity manifestation," he told Ember, whose telepathic awareness meant she absorbed every word along with his underlying emotions. "It's like something is preparing the area for... what?"

The most unsettling aspect was how the disturbances seemed to be creating optimal conditions for folklore manifestation.

Electromagnetic interference that could disrupt modern technology, temperature fluctuations that made residents seek indoor shelter, animal behavior that kept natural predators away from specific areas.

"It's like the town is being prepared," he realized. "Cleared of mundane interference so something supernatural can take hold."

Ember hopped down from her perch and landed on his desk, careful to avoid the scattered papers. Her talons clicked against the wood as she positioned herself between Maddox and the reports, fixing him with a look that managed to convey both concern and determination.

His phone buzzed with an incoming call from the Council Glade. Varric's name appeared on the screen, and Maddox's wolf stirred uneasily. Calls from the town elder during daylight hours usually meant problems that required immediate attention.

"Thorn," Varric's gravelly voice carried the weight of someone who'd seen too many supernatural crises. "Are you tracking the disturbances?"

"I've been monitoring the reports. Electromagnetic anomalies, animal behavior changes, residents reporting unease without specific cause." Maddox pulled his notes together as he spoke. "The pattern suggests something building toward manifestation, but not a specific entity yet."

"Agreed. But there's a new variable arriving today." A pause that made Maddox's wolf ears perk with interest. "Human woman, some kind of content creator. Says she's here to document mountain folklore."

Maddox straightened in his chair, alpha instincts responding to potential catalyst even as his academic mind catalogued possibilities. "You think she's connected to the building energy?"

"Could be the final trigger we've been sensing.

Someone with latent sensitivity, drawn here right as the conditions become optimal for manifestation.

" Varric's tone carried the careful neutrality of someone presenting facts without jumping to conclusions.

"Need you to assess her potential impact. See what she's really after."

"Understood." Maddox was already gathering his leather portfolio, his movements efficient and controlled. "What kind of folklore is she interested in?"

"Local legends, traditional stories. The inn owner thinks she's harmless, but timing's too convenient to ignore." Varric paused. "Be careful, Maddox. If she's the catalyst for whatever's building, we need to understand her abilities before something dangerous manifests."

After hanging up, Ember's telepathic response carried complex images: arrival, change, and underneath it all, a sense of inevitability that made his wolf's pacing intensify.

"A content creator interested in folklore, arriving just as supernatural energy builds toward manifestation," he told Ember, whose response suggested she'd been listening to his conversation with knowing amusement.

"Either the biggest coincidence in years, or exactly what something's been waiting for. "

His phoenix recognized patterns he couldn't yet see, and her mixture of anticipation and concern suggested this new arrival might be more significant than mere coincidence.

Five years of academic isolation had suited him perfectly—research without emotional complications, knowledge without messy interpersonal dynamics. But the restlessness that had been building lately suggested his wolf was growing tired of purely intellectual pursuits.

"What do you know that I don't?" he asked Ember as they prepared to investigate this unexpected variable. Her response came as warm golden images: connection, change, and underneath it all, a sense that whatever was coming would transform everything about his carefully controlled existence.