Kaelen’s POV
The world felt distant—like I was watching my own life through a veil of smoke.
Voices, footsteps, the frantic heartbeat of wolves recovering from battle… none of it stirred emotion inside me. Not fear. Not pride. Not even relief that the pack had survived.
Only… silence.
But there was something else. Like hands gripping the edges of my mind, tugging, whispering. A cold force pushing through cracks in my consciousness, tightening around my thoughts.
Give in.
Command belongs to the strong.
Destroy what weakens you.
I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples as the whispers grew louder, pulsing like a heartbeat beneath my skull.
My wolf paced inside me—silent, monstrous, restrained by something ancient. He wasn’t speaking to me. He wasn’t guiding me.
He was caged.
And the o
