Chapter 29: The Ghosts of the First Howl
The Vale stretched endlessly before Kairo and Kaelen, an abyss where time felt half-dead and half-awake. The air shimmered with whispers—voices that didn’t belong to the living.
Each murmur carried fragments of ancient promises and forgotten oaths, as though the spirits of the old alphas had gathered to witness what was coming.
Kaelen walked a few paces ahead, his torchlight flickering against the fog. The flame bent unnaturally, bending toward Kairo—as if drawn to the bloodline in his veins.
“Do you feel that?” Kaelen’s voice trembled slightly. “They’re watching us.”
Kairo nodded. He could feel them too—an invisible weight pressing on his chest, a pull deep in his bones. It wasn’t fear. It was recognition.
The Vale knew him.
Suddenly, the
