CHAPTER 92
2121 Words
Kai had not left his chambers in two days.
The walls of the Alpha’s wing seemed to close in on him, and the silence was louder than any war drum.
The bond that had once tied his heart to Elise’s pulsed in agony, tearing at him in jagged waves that left his chest raw.
He could not eat.
He could not sleep.
His wolf prowled inside his mind, snarling restlessly, its golden eyes burning with fury and grief. The beast wanted to run to her. To demand answers.
To tear down every wall that separated them. But Kai’s pride and the betrayal he believed in shackled him to solitude.
The bedchamber reeked of sweat and broken glass.
The heavy curtains were drawn, plunging the room into semi-darkness. He sat at the edge of the bed, elbows pressed to his knees, fingers tangled in his hair as another surge from the broken bond ripped through him. His wolf howled so violently inside that Kai doubled over, his teeth clenching until his jaw ached.
A knock came at the door.
“Kai?”
The voice was soft, feminine, measured in a way that suggested patience rather than genuine concern. Becky.
He did not answer. The Alpha in him wanted silence. But the part of him that was human, desperate for any distraction from the gnawing emptiness Elise had left behind, let her voice linger.
Becky eased the door open without waiting for permission. She slipped inside like smoke, her steps soundless against the carpet.
She was dressed plainly, she wore a loose gray sweater, her hair pulled back in the hopes of hoping to portray the image of someone who had come not to scheme but to console.
Her eyes flicked to the broken glass on the floor, the disarray, and she let out a sigh that was perfectly rehearsed.
“You’re hurting yourself like this,” she said softly.
Kai’s head lifted, his eyes bloodshot. “Leave.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “Not when you’re like this.”
He rose abruptly, pacing to the far side of the room, his fists tightening until his knuckles whitened. “You don’t understand. The bond—” His voice cracked, and he ground his teeth. “It won’t stop tearing.”
Becky’s expression was carefully schooled into empathy. She stepped closer but not too close — just near enough to appear safe. “That’s because you haven’t fully severed it. You rejected her, but she’s still alive. Still tethered to you.”
Kai stilled, his shoulders tense. “Alive…”
“Yes.” Becky let the word hang in the air like poison wrapped in honey. “Alive and out there, reminding the pack of what she did. The whispers don’t stop, Kai. They say your judgment was clouded by love. They say you are weak.”
His wolf snarled at that, the golden glow briefly flashing in his eyes. Kai’s pride stiffened, rage flooding him at the thought of being seen as weak. He turned, his chest heaving. “I exiled her. Isn’t that enough?”
Becky lowered her gaze, as if reluctant to speak. “For some… maybe. But the Council? The Elders? Luka? They’re feeding the flames. The people believe Elise not only betrayed you, but betrayed Archview itself. Do you know what they’re asking for in the villages?”
Kai’s silence was answer enough.
“They’re asking for blood.” Becky’s tone grew firm, though her eyes glistened as if the thought pained her. “And they’re right. The werewolf code is clear. A crime against the Alpha, against the High Council, is punishable by death. As long as she lives, there will be unrest. Division. Doubt in your leadership.”
Kai’s chest tightened.
The idea of Elise dead was a knife twisting in his gut, but the image of his pack turning against him was another blade just as sharp. He turned away, his fists trembling.
“Don’t,” he said hoarsely. “Don’t speak of her death to me.”
Becky stepped closer, her voice softening again, curling around his grief like a serpent. “I only speak what you refuse to. I know you loved her, Kai. I saw it. But love has blinded greater men than you. Do not let it destroy you now. Archview needs an Alpha who is unshakable. If you falter, others will rise.”
She let the warning sink in, then reached for his arm. He flinched at her touch but didn’t pull away.
“You don’t have to decide tonight,” she murmured. “But the pack is restless. Luka is already moving against you. Don’t let him win.”
And Luka was moving indeed.
In the common halls, where warriors gathered to eat and villagers came to petition, Luka’s words spread like wildfire. He leaned against wooden beams, his voice pitched just loud enough to be overheard.
“Did you hear? The Alpha has hidden her away, protecting her even after she betrayed him. He still loves her.”
“No,” a young warrior scoffed, shaking his head. “He cast her out.”
Luka’s smirk was razor-thin. “Cast her out? Or pretended to? Tell me — has anyone seen the body? Has anyone seen her truly punished?”
The warrior faltered, doubt sparking in his eyes. Others leaned closer, ears hungry. Luka lowered his voice like a conspirator.
“The code is not a suggestion. It is law. If she lives, then Kai himself mocks the Council. He puts his heart above Archview.”
Whispers multiplied, traveling from corridor to courtyard to marketplace. Villagers repeated them to each other, twisting details, embellishing with each retelling.
“They say Elise tried to seduce another in the Council’s chambers.”
“No, no — she was plotting to overthrow Kai entirely. With outside clans.”
“I heard she poisoned the Elders’ wine.”
By the time dusk fell, Elise’s name was dirt on every tongue. Mothers pulled their children closer when speaking of her. Warriors spat on the ground at the mention. And above it all, Luka’s voice steered the tide, making certain that no defense of her could take root.
Back in the Alpha’s wing, Kai stood at the balcony, staring down at the pack courtyard.
Torches flickered in the night, illuminating clusters of wolves whispering together. He could feel their unrest, their suspicion pressing against him like a tangible weight.
His wolf prowled, furious, wanting to tear through them all for doubting him, for doubting Elise, yet also aching at Elise for putting him in this position.
Behind him, Becky lingered silently, watching him with an expression of carefully veiled triumph. She had said enough for one night. Now, all she needed was patience.
Kai’s grip tightened on the balcony railing until the wood creaked under his fingers.
His heart was a battlefield, torn between the ghost of Elise’s touch and the reality of his pack’s eyes upon him. He had always believed he could carry both — love and leadership. But now, staring at the restless fires below, he wondered if Becky was right.
If blood was the only answer.
Kai barely slept that night.
The ache of the severed bond clawed through him every hour, dragging him from half-formed dreams into raw, restless wakefulness.
By dawn, his wolf had reached its breaking point.
The beast’s growls echoed through his mind until Kai could no longer sit still.
He stormed from his chambers, pulling on his boots and shrugging into a tunic, needing to bleed out his rage before it consumed him.
The training grounds were empty save for a handful of warriors beginning their drills.
When they saw the Alpha striding toward them, shirt loose, eyes burning, they straightened instinctively. Kai’s fists flexed.
“Blades,” he ordered.
The warriors hesitated, exchanging uneasy glances.
To spar with the Alpha was dangerous even on a normal day. Today, his expression promised something far worse. But no one dared refuse.
Swords were handed out, the metal ringing in the morning air.
Kai did not wait for formality.
He lunged at the nearest warrior, the clash of steel splitting the silence. His strikes came fast, furious, unrestrained.
The young man barely had time to block before Kai knocked him flat, the blade kissing his throat. Without pause, Kai moved to the next. And the next.
Each fight was shorter than the last.
His wolf surged with every blow, its fury channeled into the swing of his blade.
The warriors fought desperately, but they were training against a storm. Within minutes, all of them lay groaning on the dirt, bruised and breathless.
Kai stood over them, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his temple.
Still it wasn’t enough.
He flung his sword aside and shifted, bones snapping, fur bursting through skin.
His wolf landed on four paws with a thunderous growl. The golden-eyed beast circled the fallen warriors, teeth bared, before throwing its head back in a howl that reverberated across the grounds.
The sound was loud enough, reaching the ears of villagers and guards alike. Windows shuttered. Mothers pulled children indoors. Fear spread like frost at dawn.
Becky watched from the edge of the grounds, hidden by the shadow of an archway. Her lips curved in the faintest smile.
Fear of Kai was useful, but fear of Elise, that was the true prize. Every time Kai lost control, she would be there to whisper that Elise was the cause.
That his torment, his instability, all traced back to the girl he once called mate.
When Kai finally shifted back, collapsing to his knees in the dirt, Becky approached with a cloak. She draped it over his shoulders without a word. He did not look at her, but he did not push her away either. That was enough.
By midday, Luka’s whispers had transformed into shouts.
In the taverns, where ale loosened tongues, he spoke of the morning’s howl.
“You heard it, didn’t you? The Alpha’s wolf, raging at dawn. Do you know why?” He leaned forward, voice low but charged. “Because the bond still ties him to her. Because he cannot lead while she breathes.”
One villager frowned. “But she’s gone. Exiled.”
“Exiled?” Luka scoffed. “Tell me, how long before she sneaks back? Before she slits the Alpha’s throat in his sleep? Or worse — whispers poison into his ear again?”
The room buzzed with unease. Luka’s words were oil, and the villagers’ fear was the match.
By evening, torches burned in the village square. A crowd gathered, restless and loud, voices rising in chants for justice. Becky slipped among them, her hood drawn, her presence unnoticed. She fed the flames subtly, echoing doubts, agreeing softly with the loudest voices.
“Yes, she mocked the Council.”
“She nearly destroyed the Alpha.”
“She will come back if she is not ended.”
The chants grew: “Death for the traitor! Death for the traitor!”
Up in his chambers, Kai heard the roar. His wolf surged to the surface, demanding he silence them — with blood, with power, with the truth. But the truth was a chain around his neck. He pressed his palms against the stone balcony rail, the crowd’s chants vibrating through his bones.
Death. They wanted her death.
Becky appeared behind him again, as if summoned by the storm.
Her voice was steady, calm, almost soothing. “Do you hear them? They will not stop until they see justice. And if you do not give it… they will take it themselves. Luka is already circling, waiting for you to falter.”
Kai’s jaw tightened. “I will not let Luka take my pack.”
“Then act,” Becky whispered. She stepped closer, her hand grazing his arm, her words threading through his fury like silk. “You don’t have to watch. You don’t have to raise the blade yourself. But you must allow it. Let the people see justice. Only then will the unrest die.”
Kai closed his eyes. For a fleeting second, Elise’s face swam in his mind — the softness of her laughter, the stubborn fire in her eyes.
The way she had once looked at him as though he was her whole world. His chest clenched, the ache of the bond stabbing through him.
And then the chant rose again, louder, fiercer: “Death! Death! Death!”
His wolf snarled, torn between love and duty.
Kai’s voice was a low growl, meant for no one but himself. “If this is the only way to save Archview…”
Becky’s smile grew even wider from afar.
- Writer
