Chapter 2. A brother's welcome
1431 Words
The throne room smelled of smoke and old blood.
Kael hadn’t been in this room since the night he’d left. Ten years ago, it had felt too large, too cold, like the stone walls were judging every word he spoke. Now it felt small. Stale. Like a cage someone had painted gold to hide the bars.
Lucien sat in the Alpha’s seat like he’d been born there.
He wore his grief like a crown. Black leathers, silver circlet, face drawn into the careful expression of a man bearing too much too soon. His eyes were the same storm-gray as Kael’s, but where Kael’s had hardened in exile, Lucien’s had learned to lie without flinching.
The room was packed. Elders along the left wall, warriors along the right, and a dozen pack members who’d been pulled in as witnesses. Every eye was on Kael.
“Brother,” Lucien said, rising. His voice carried perfectly—warm, measured, tragic. “You came back.”
Kael stopped ten paces from the dais. Close enough to strike. Far enough to show he wasn’t here to start a fight. Yet.
“You sent the raven,” Kael said. “Mother and Father are dead.”
Lucien’s jaw tightened for half a second before the mask slid back into place. “Murdered. By rogues. We buried them three days ago.” He stepped down, arms open like he expected an embrace. “I grieved alone, Kael. Where were you when I needed you?”
The old wound flared, hot and fast.
Kael didn’t move. Didn’t let himself.
“I was exiled,” he said quietly. “By you.”
A murmur ran througih the crowd. Lucien’s smile didn’t waver.
“That was Father’s decision,” Lucien said. “You know that. You broke pack law. You killed a man in the square.”
“I defended myself,” Kael replied. “You saw it.”
“I saw you rip out a throat in front of children.” Lucien’s voice dropped, just loud enough for the elders to hear. “The pack saw it too. They’ve been afraid of you ever since.”
Kael could feel the weight of those eyes. Fear. Disgust. A few, like Garrick near the back, looked conflicted. Most looked like they’d already decided.
Lucien stopped in front of him. Close enough that Kael could see the faint scar on his brother’s left cheek—the one Kael had given him when they were eighteen.
“I’m glad you’re alive,” Lucien said softly. Only Kael could hear it. “But you can’t stay.”
Kael met his gaze. “Try to make me leave.”
Lucien’s smile sharpened. “You always were stubborn.” He turned back to the room, raising his voice. “Elders, you know the law. Exiles who return uninvited are rogues. They forfeit all claim to pack and title.”
Elder Mara, the oldest of them, stepped forward. Her hair was white, her back bent, but her eyes were sharp. “The law is clear, Alpha Lucien. But the law also says a true-born son may challenge for his birthright if he can prove the exile was unjust.”
Lucien’s jaw clenched. “There is nothing unjust about protecting the pack.”
“Is it protecting them,” Kael said, “to lie about what happened that night?”
The room went silent.
Lucien’s expression didn’t change, but Kael saw it—fear, buried deep. Good. Let him be afraid.
“Enough,” Lucien said. “Kael, you have one hour to leave Moonfang territory. If you’re still here at dusk, you’ll be hunted as a rogue. That is my final word.”
He turned to walk away, dismissing Kael in front of everyone.
Kael didn’t let him.
“You’re lying,” Kael said. The words cut through the room like a blade.
Lucien stopped.
“The rogues who killed Mother and Father,” Kael continued, “they weren’t rogues. I saw the tracks. Vampire. And I saw the symbol.”
Elder Mara’s breath hitched.
Lucien turned slowly. “You think to frighten us with old stories? The vampires haven’t crossed the border in a century.”
“Not until now,” Kael said. “And you know it.”
For a second, something real flashed across Lucien’s face. Rage. Then it was gone, replaced by sorrow.
“You’ve been gone too long, brother,” Lucien said. “The wild has made you paranoid. Go. Before you say something you can’t take back.”
He gestured to the guards.
Kael didn’t wait to be dragged out. He walked out himself, head high, letting the whispers follow him.
Traitor!
Liar!
He’s dangerous.
Outside, the cold hit him like a slap. He didn’t go far. Just to the training yard, where the snow was stained red from morning practice. He needed to think. Needed to breathe without Lucien’s lies in the air.
“Thought you’d be gone by now.”
Kael turned.
Selene stood at the edge of the yard, bow slung across her back, arms crossed. She was younger than he remembered—twenty-two, maybe iftwenty-three. Sharp eyes, sharp mouth, and the kind of posture that said she’d rather fight than talk.
She’d been Lucien’s scout captain before he’d exiled her to border patrol.
“You’re alive,” Kael said.
“So are you,” she replied. “Barely. What are you doing here, Kael? Suicide?”
“I’m here for my pack.”
“Your pack doesn’t want you.” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Lucien’s been telling stories about you for ten years. Half the pack thinks you sold Mother and Father to the vampires.”
Kael went still. “What?”
“You heard me.” Selene’s eyes flicked to the palace windows. “He’s been building this for years. Consolidating power. Cutting out anyone loyal to your father. And now he’s using your return to make himself look like the only thing standing between Moonfang and chaos.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Kael asked.
“Because I was his lover,” Selene said flatly. “Until I found his journal. Until I saw the payments he made to the vampire clans.”
Kael’s blood went cold.
“You have proof?”
“I had proof,” Selene said. “He burned it. But I memorized the names. The dates. The places.”
“And you’re telling me this now?”
“Because I watched you fight three of his best men and let them live,” she said. “Because you didn’t kill them when you could have. That’s not the Kael Lucien talks about.”
She studied him for a long moment.
“The mate bond is pulling at me,” she said quietly. “I feel it. It’s why I’m here. It’s why I haven’t put an arrow in your back.”
Kael’s jaw tightened. He’d felt it too since she’d spoken. A tug under his ribs, faint but undeniable.
“I don’t want it,” he said.
“Neither do I,” Selene replied. “Not with you. Not like this. But we can’t ignore it. Not if we want to survive.”
A horn blew from the watchtower.
Both of them went still.
“Border outpost seven,” Selene said, already moving. “It’s under attack.”
“Vampires?”
“Who else?”
Kael fell into step beside her. “You’re coming with me?”
“You think I’m letting you die alone?” She smirked, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “If Lucien kills you, he wins. And I hate losing.”
They moved fast, cutting through the back paths of the stronghold. Wolves parted for them, some with fear, some with curiosity. Word spread fast in a pack.
As they reached the gates, Lucien’s voice rang out behind them.
“Kael Blackthorne!”
Kael stopped but didn’t turn.
“Defying my order is treason,” Lucien said. He stood on the steps, surrounded by guards. “Come back now, and I’ll let you live in exile. Leave, and I’ll declare you rogue.”
“And if I stay and prove you’re the traitor?” Kael asked.
Lucien’s smile was cold. “Then you’ll die trying.”
Kael met his brother’s eyes one last time.
“Count to one hour, Lucien,” he said. “Then come find me.”
He didn’t wait for an answer.
The forest swallowed him and Selene whole, and behind them, the Moonfang stronghold burned with secrets.
- Writer
