Chapter 7: The New Alpha
654 Words
Kael’s POV
I stood before the council while the entire Shadow Moon Pack waited behind me.
Darius Ashford was dead.
The words still did not feel real.
My father had been strict.
Difficult.
Sometimes impossible to please.
But he had been my father.
And now the Alpha crown belonged to me.
The council elder stepped forward.
“Kael Ashford, do you accept the responsibility of Alpha?”
I looked at the crown.
Then at the people.
“I do.
”
The crown was placed on my head.
Everyone bowed.
Everyone except Luca.
He stood at the back of the room, watching me carefully.
After the ceremony, he followed me into the corridor.
“You look miserable.
”
“I just became Alpha.
”
“That is why.
”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
But then the smile disappeared.
Because my thoughts had already returned to her.
Amara.
I had tried to forget her.
I had told myself the rejection was necessary.
That Lyra was the right choice.
That Amara was nothing more than a mistake.
But every day, those lies became harder to believe.
Since she left, the pack had changed.
The nightmares.
The uncontrolled shifts.
The strange disturbances.
The attacks near the borders.
And now my father's death.
Something was wrong.
Luca leaned against the wall.
“You are thinking about Amara again.
”
I looked at him sharply.
“You seem very interested in her.
”
“I am interested in keeping this pack alive.
”
He stepped closer.
“You should be too.
”
I frowned.
“What are you suggesting?”
“That we find out where she went.
”
My jaw tightened.
“She does not want to see me.
”
“You do not know that.
”
“I rejected her.
”
“Yes.
”
His voice became quieter.
“And I think you regret it.
”
I looked away.
He was right.
But regret could not undo what I had done.
Before I could answer, a guard rushed into the corridor.
“Alpha!”
I turned.
“What happened?”
“There was another attack near the northern border.
”
My stomach dropped.
“How many?”
“Too many.
”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Rogues?”
The guard nodded.
“And they were not acting normally.
”
“What do you mean?”
The guard swallowed.
“They were following orders.
”
Silence filled the corridor.
Rogues did not usually move together like an organized army.
Someone was controlling them.
And I already knew the name that came to mind.
Ronan Darkmoor.
That evening, Lyra entered my office.
She looked worried.
“You should rest.
”
“I have work.
”
“You have barely slept.
”
I continued reading the reports.
“Where were you earlier?”
Her expression changed for half a second.
“Why?”
“I asked where you were.
”
“With my family.
”
I looked at her.
Something felt wrong.
Not because of what she said.
Because of how quickly she said it.
Then I noticed something on her wrist.
A dark mark.
It disappeared almost immediately beneath her sleeve.
“What is that?”
She pulled her hand back.
“Nothing.
”
I stood.
“Lyra.
”
She smiled.
“You are imagining things.
”
Maybe I was.
But for the first time, I looked at the woman I had chosen instead of Amara and wondered
whether I had ever truly known her.
Later that night, I stood alone on the balcony.
The moon was bright.
Too bright.
I closed my eyes.
And there it was again.
That pull.
That invisible connection.
Amara.
I could feel her somewhere.
Alive.
Stronger.
Far away.
I opened my eyes.
“Where are you?”
No answer came.
But deep inside me, something answered instead.
A warning.
I turned toward the forest.
Something was coming.
And it was coming for all of us.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD