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Listen to emotionally charged novels for free, one chapter at a time.
I’m Stephanie Chamberlain, an indie author writing about the raw experience of being human. Stories of survival, profound change, and the occasional inadvertent comedy of living through it all.
I believe the written word offers an irreplaceable way of encountering ourselves, one another, and the world. Something so powerful should remain within reach, regardless of what a reader can afford. That is why I serialize my novels in both text and audio for free.
Season 1 is The Wolf That Hunts Me, a haunting YA psychological and supernatural thriller about mental illness, fear, control, and a creature that pushes a fifteen-year-old boy to the edge of both body and mind. The danger stalking him is terrifyingly real.
Read along at Letters from the Bone on Substack, the public home of the serialization:
https://lettersfromthebone.substack.com/
You can also read through Inkitt:
https://www.inkitt.com/stories/1846993
Keeping these books free requires support. Patreon is the space for readers who want to stand beside the work and help sustain the writing, narration, and continued free serialization. Support any paid tier while The Wolf That Hunts Me is being serialized, and you’ll receive the complete digital reading edition when it becomes available to the public:
https://www.patreon.com/StephanieChamberlain
Production note: The audio narration is produced using an ElevenLabs digital voice.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong is that you were close to having permanent damage on your foot, Asher! In another universe, you wouldn’t be walking normally! You wouldn’t be able to run and play sports with Noah when he got a little older! You wouldn’t be able to play soccer with me and our friends ever again! Your whole life could’ve changed!”
Chris paused, breathing fast and unevenly, his eyes wide and wild. “And I… I could be losing a part of my best friend, of my brother, right this instant… Because we would lose things that are part of who we are! And all because of that stupid animal!”
Asher lowered his gaze and scratched the back of his neck. “I get it, okay? I understand why you’re angry... And you’re right. The things that have been happening ever since I got up on Saturday have been serious, dangerous… I’ve been feeling angry, too. I just don’t seem to be able to stop the wolf, to shut him up, to make him go away. And I know what you mean, bro… If I wasn’t able to run or play soccer and stuff like that, I would also feel like I’ve lost something very important…”
Asher lifted his gaze and tried to meet Chris’s eyes. “But, you know, at least I was lucky, like the doctor said. I’m all right, Chris!” Asher was trying to look and sound as positive and cheerful as he could. “I’ll be able to walk normally once the pain goes away, and everything will be normal and fine!”
“Yeah, but that was this time, Asher! Who knows what will happen next time? You’re in constant danger! I thought we had a plan, man… You were supposed to fight the wolf using your own words and your own images!” Chris said, waving his hands around erratically as he spoke. “And then he would stop making you feel anxious. And if he didn’t succeed at that, well, he would have to leave you alone, eventually, and go torture someone else! I just thought that you were on board with this plan, too… I don’t know… Did you even try it, Asher?”
This last question did something to Asher that he had never experienced before with Chris. He felt a surge of hot energy rising rapidly through his body. It was as if every little cell in him had started to vibrate furiously, desperately looking for an outlet.
He wanted to scream and yell at Chris and punch him in the face. But at the same time, he also wanted to cry and run as far as possible and never have to talk to anyone ever again. After everything that he had been through, how hard he had tried, his best friend was doubting him?
“How can you ask me that, Chris?” Asher yelled. “Of course I tried! I would have told you if I hadn’t! I tried so freaking hard. You have no idea what it was like, what I went through,” Asher added, his voice simultaneously somber and furious.
“The wolf began to tell me and show me how I would kill my parents. I saw myself strangling them! I told him that I would never do that, but the wolf just kept contradicting me, no matter how much I believed in what I was saying or how confidently I said it. And even with how anxious I became, I somehow managed to keep repeating that I wouldn’t do it because I loved them. But he kept coming back! He didn’t care at all about anything that I said! I also managed to bring happy memories of my parents and I to my mind. I tried to place them in front of the horrible things that the wolf was showing me. But it didn’t work, either, Chris. It never worked. He just kept going on and on and on!” Asher was shaking. He stopped for a second to catch his breath.
“Fine! I believe you!” Chris’s voice sounded even angrier now. “But I just don’t get it! How could he not leave you alone when you were so confident in what you were saying? So serious and insistent? Why would he not go? Maybe you just didn’t try hard enough, Ash—”
“You were not there, Chris! You can’t know that!” Asher yelled, feeling outraged. “I tried my best! I tried so hard that I ended up completely exhausted, begging the wolf to stop!”
Asher’s voice broke with these last words. He cleared his throat and made an effort to continue.
“I… I begged him… And he didn’t stop… I had become so anxious and so weak… I had never been that anxious. Everything around me felt unreal. I felt like I was going to lose my connection to reality… I was so weak, so immensely tired… My last resort was to tackle him with every ounce of strength that I had left in my body… And then I fell asleep… So, yes, Chris. I did try! I made a huge effort. The plan didn’t work, unfortunately... But don’t go blaming me just because an idea that came from you turned out to be a failure!”
Asher was looking into Chris’s eyes intensely, still feeling like he wanted to punch him right in the face. He felt so mad and so helpless. He knew that he couldn’t blame Chris either for not understanding what he was going through… For a second, Asher felt utterly and painfully alone.
“Hah! A failure!” Chris said, an indignant expression on his face. “You said it yourself. I wasn’t there! I can’t know for sure that you really did it properly! That you sounded convinced and confident enough! Let’s get real, Asher. You’ve never been the confident type. How am I supposed to know for certain that the plan didn’t work? Maybe you just didn’t do it correctly!”
“Oh, come on, man! I already told you that I followed the plan! That means that I did my best to sound serious and confident when talking to the wolf! Weren’t you the one who said that you would always believe me? What happened to that, huh?”
Asher looked at Chris, waiting for him to say something, to take back the things that he had said, to say that he believed him. But Chris just stared back at Asher in silence, anger and defiance filling his eyes.
“You know what, Chris? Whatever. You can go to hell, man. What’s the point of anything if you don’t believe me? I’m going home on my own. You do whatever you want.”
“You go to hell!” Chris yelled.
“I’m already there!”
Asher grabbed his bike and started walking towards his house. He heard Chris getting on his bike and going off in the opposite direction.
***
“Asher! Slow down, slow down! You’re telling me that a big dog chased you on your way to the park, and then grabbed you by the ankle and wouldn’t let go until you accidentally fell on top of him, leaving the animal unconscious?” Asher’s dad said on the phone.
“Yes, Dad. That is exactly what happened…” Asher said, almost rolling his eyes.
“But where did this dog even come from? I’ve never seen any big dogs in the neighborhood.”
“I don’t know, Dad. How am I supposed to know? The animal just appeared out of nowhere. Maybe it was just passing by…”
“Okay. That’s a possibility. But why didn’t you call me or your mom when it happened? It’s already noon.”
“It all happened really fast. I was in pain and Chris was there, so we simply decided to get to the hospital quickly. I’m sorry I didn’t let you guys know sooner… It was just a very intense morning…” A brief pause followed.
“Okay, Son. I just need you to understand that we would’ve really appreciated it if you had let us know sooner.”
“Okay… It’s been a really hard morning, Dad. Chris wasn’t much help today on top of that, and honestly, I’m just not feeling that great. Can you tell Mom? I really need to hang up because these painkillers are making me sleepy…” Asher said.
“All right, I’ll tell her. Hey, but before you go, I just wanted to say that I’m very relieved to know that you’re okay and that nothing serious happened. I really hope that the pain goes away soon. And son, I don’t know what you meant about Chris not being of much help today. As far as I understand from what you’ve told me, he was a ton of help. If it hadn’t been for him, you wouldn’t have gotten to the hospital as quickly as you did. You couldn’t even walk well. And he helped you explain what had happened to the doctor. And because you had someone you trusted there with you, you were able to fall asleep on the hospital bed. I’m pretty grateful to Chris, if you ask me.”
“I’ll let him know, then…” Asher replied. He simply didn’t want to know anything that had to do with Chris right now. As far as Asher was concerned, Chris could move to another state, and he couldn’t care less.
***
For the rest of that Monday, Asher spent his time alone and locked in his room. He had lied when he had said that the painkillers made him sleepy. It had just been an excuse to have more time for himself without having to talk to anyone else.
Asher was in such a bad mood that he was afraid that he would snap at anyone who dared to talk to him. He was angry. Furious. How could Chris even ask if he had tried to fight the wolf back? Why couldn’t he just believe him? If Chris didn’t believe him, who would?
Asher lay flat on his back with his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he tried to make sense of everything. One of the things that he hated the most was the fact that Chris could think that maybe he hadn’t tried hard enough or that he hadn’t done things properly. Asher felt like those words made every single one of his efforts invisible, as if they didn’t count at all. And that just made him feel incredibly frustrated. But not only that. Asher also felt alone. Very alone.
The only person in the world who knew about his current situation didn’t even seem to be on his side. Instead of trusting him, he was questioning him… Asher felt abandoned by his best friend, his brother, the one who had been helping him feel some degree of hope and solace these past days. And now, it felt like it was only him against everything.
A sharp, splintering sensation spread throughout Asher’s chest. His eyesight suddenly became blurry, and he blinked rapidly, trying to see clearly again. Asher felt his face become wet. He was crying, and he hadn’t even noticed it. And that ugly feeling in his chest wouldn’t go away. He sat up on his bed, hoping that it would help with this. But it didn’t. Thick tears just kept making their way down Asher’s face. He felt confused and helpless. He couldn’t stop crying. Using the back of his hands, he wiped and wiped his face.
It was as if the real, unfiltered weight of all the big and little events that had happened in the past few days was being dropped on Asher all at once. The presence of Chris had acted as a buffer between him and his reality, making things look and feel a little easier, a little lighter. But right now that he was feeling completely and absolutely alone, every memory of the last few days had started to burn itself painfully into his heart and mind, causing his whole self to feel thoroughly raw and vulnerable.