Chapter 9 (Old Wounds)
1141 Words
Kael's Pov
"Raven, you should have stayed away."
Kael's voice was low and gruff from fatigue and another thing he didn't want to mention. His golden eyes met her silver ones as he stood a few feet away, but she didn't avert her gaze. She didn't.
Raven's look was unreadable as she crossed her arms. "I had no other option."
Kael's jaw tightened. "A choice is always available."
There was a dense and oppressive silence between them. Tension was in the air outside the Silverfang packhouse. The assault had shook the pack, and now that he was facing the mate he had previously turned down, Kael felt his composure faltering.
She ought not to be present.
She served as a constant reminder of his mistakes.
Raven drew a deep breath. "Kael, I didn't come back for you."
He winced, but his expression didn't change.
"I returned because there's something out there that's worse than rogues," she added. "Something more substantial. Additionally, your entire pack will burn if you don't wake up and see it.
Kael looked at her, trying to find any hesitancy in her voice, but she was unwavering. So damn stubborn all the time.
Then his eyes strayed to her arm. Her flesh was marked by crusted blood from a cut that ran along her forearm. Inside him, his wolf snarled low. She had been battling. Her bleeding had been *constant*.
He was curious as to what had transpired. wanted to find out who had the audacity to harm her. However, he didn't.
Since he had long since forfeited that right.
Rather, he turned away and let out a sharp breath. "Then explain the situation to me."
After a brief moment of hesitation, Raven moved ahead. "The rogues aren't operating in isolation. They are under the influence of something ancient. She lowered her voice. "Elias is also involved."
Kael stopped.
Elias.
He was formerly a Beta. His closest companion. He had been betrayed by the man.
Kael turned abruptly back to her. "Are you certain?"
Raven gave a nod. "Kael, he has a plan. Although I don't fully understand it yet, it's significant. After a pause, she continued, "And it's personal."
Kael felt a knot in her stomach.
Individual.
That implied that he was involved. alongside her.
with their connection.
The link between them was still vibrating in the air, even after the rejection, and his wolf awoke restlessly. He detested the fact that it remained. He hated that his instincts still commanded him to keep her safe after all these years.
Raven's eyes grew serious. "And there's more."
Kael's forehead raised. "What?"
Her fingers curled at her sides as she swallowed forcefully. "Elias isn't merely assembling outlaws."
Her subsequent remarks chilled him to the bone.
"My father is with him."
Kael stopped breathing.
Silvershadow, Silas. The outlaw. The misfit. The man who committed one of the biggest betrayals in the history of the pack.
Raven's dad.
Kael looked at her intently. Despite her tension, she maintained a constant expression. It was more than just keeping the pack safe. She also found this to be *personal*.
He clenched his jaw. "He is an enemy if he collaborates with Elias."
Raven's gaze flickered. "You're unaware of that."
Kael took a step forward. "I *do* know that." Now his voice was piercing. "You believe that he may be saved simply because he is your blood? Raven, he abandoned you. He left you behind. And he is now supporting the same individual who attempted to ruin me.
Raven breathed quickly, raising and lowering his chest. "You don't have to remind me of his actions."
Kael rubbed a palm down his face and let out a deep breath. He ought not to be arguing with her. Not right now. Not when things were already precariously precarious.
However, that was Raven's issue.
He *felt* her presence.
notwithstanding the passage of time.
Abruptly, she exclaimed, "I must see him."
Kael scowled. "What?"
She reiterated, "I must see my father." "I need to know why Elias is using him."
Kael gave a headshake. "We can't take that risk."
Raven's silver eyes shone as she took a step forward. "So *I'll* accept it."
"No, you won't." He spoke firmly.
Raven made fists out of his hands. "Kael, you have no right to dictate to me what I should do."
Kael's chest clenched in irritation as he stared back at her. "And you don't get to return to this pack and pretend that you're not accountable to me."
Raven's face flashed with disbelief as her lips slightly parted. However, it wasn't rage. It wasn't animosity.
Something else was involved.
Something hazardous.
Heat seeped into the air as the tie between them cracked. Beneath his skin, Kael's wolf skulked, desperate to get closer to him.
She had the same scent. like rain and wild earth. as if it were prohibited.
Kael's fists clenched. *No*. She had been turned down by him. This was not a route he could take again.
As Raven swallowed, her throat bobbed. She appeared uncertain for a moment, just a moment.
Then—
There was a big crash outside the packhouse.
They both jerked in the direction of the noise.
The night was torn by a howl in the distance. It wasn't just any wail, though.
It served as a warning.
A chilly wind blew through the space.
There was *something wrong*.
Kael's eyes became gloomy. "Remain here."
Raven laughed. "No chance."
Kael had no time to quarrel. Pushing the door open and stepping out into the chilly night air, he turned on his heel.
His stomach fell the instant he did.
There was mayhem on the pack grounds.
With their eyes wide with fear, wolves darted across the courtyard. While some were yelling commands, others were changing positions mid-step.
Kael looked about, his eyes flickering gold. "What on earth is happening?"
A panting scout ran up. "Alpha—something's wrong."
Kael snarled. "Obviously."
The scout took a deep breath. "It is—" He paused.
Then he gestured.
Kael looked after him.
His blood froze.
At the tree line, a lone figure stood with a darkened face. However, Kael recognized him immediately even from this distance.
Elias.
His old Beta grinned.
Then, carefully, he moved out of the way.
Dozens of red eyes glowed out of the trees behind him.
Rogues.
Not just any rogues, though.
These were *different* wolves.
Their bodies twitched oddly, and their fur was darker. Something *wrong* flared in their eyes.
It was something Kael had seen only once before.
dark magic.
As awareness struck him like a brick, his heart raced.
This was more than just an assault.
It was war.
Then—
One wolf, moving more quickly than any rogue should, sprang from the darkness.
For *Raven*, straight.
The world erupted into pandemonium before Kael could even react.
- Writer
