Chapter 30 THE BREAKING POINT

Chapter 30 THE BREAKING POINT
CHAPTER THIRTY

The rain did not stop for three days. By the fourth morning, Blood Moon territory felt hollow and gloomy.

Patrol wolves moved through camp like ghosts, exhausted and irritable. The once lively sounds of laughter and teasing had disappeared completely, replaced by whispers that died the moment Chris walked past.

Anna noticed every single one, the bond forced her to.

Fear lingered constantly now, pressing against her mind until her head throbbed almost endlessly. Distrust spread through the pack like infection, subtle but deadly.

And Chris…

Chris was unraveling slowly right in front of her. He barely slept anymore, barely ate. Every hour brought another patrol report, another security check, another argument in the council hall.

He carried the weight of the entire pack alone even when people stood beside him.

Anna found him before sunrise near the training grounds, shirt soaked with sweat despite the freezing air. He drove punch after punch into a wooden training post hard enough to splinter the wood.

His knuckles were already bleeding.

“Chris.”

He ignored her completely. Another punch shattered part of the post.

Anna approached carefully. “You’re going to break your hand.”

“I’ll heal.”

“That’s not the point.”

Finally, he stopped.

His chest rose heavily while rainwater dripped from dark hair hanging into his lashes. Exhaustion hollowed his face now, sharpening every angle.

“You should be asleep,” he muttered.

“So should you.”

Chris looked away.

She felt his exhaustion, he hadn’t slept at all.

Anna stepped closer slowly. “Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

“That’s a lie.”

His jaw tightened.

Anna reached carefully for his injured hand, but he pulled away instinctively.

The motion hurt more than she expected. Chris noticed immediately.

His expression cracked with guilt. “Anna…”

“You don’t get to shut me out because you’re scared.” The words slipped out sharper than intended.

Rain tapped softly around them while tension stretched painfully between them. Then Chris laughed bitterly under his breath.

“Scared?” He dragged a hand through soaked hair. “I’m terrified.”

Anna’s anger vanished instantly, because he looked wrecked, emotionally.

“I keep waiting for the next attack,” he admitted quietly. “Every time someone screams, every time patrols run back late…” His throat tightened. “I keep thinking I’m about to lose someone else.”

Anna’s chest ached painfully. “You’re not alone in this.”

“I’m the Alpha,” he said roughly. “That literally means I am.”

“No.” She stepped directly in front of him now. “It means they trust you to lead them. Not destroy yourself for them.”

Chris stared at her silently.

Then quietly said, “And if I can’t protect you?”

The vulnerability in his voice nearly shattered her.

Anna took his bleeding hand carefully, this time he let her.

“You listen to me,” she whispered fiercely. “I am not afraid of fighting beside you. I’m afraid of watching you destroy yourself before the battle even begins.”

Something flickered painfully across his face. Before he could answer, a howl suddenly echoed through camp.

It was an alarm.

Chris instantly straightened.

Then another howl followed almost immediately.

Steve burst across the training grounds moments later, breathing hard.

“We caught someone.”

The atmosphere shifted immediately. Chris’s eyes darkened. “Who?”

Steve glanced around carefully before lowering his voice. “One of the inner patrol wolves.”

Anna’s stomach dropped. A spy, a real one this time.

The council hall exploded within minutes. Wolves crowded tightly around the center room while two warriors forced a young patrol wolf to his knees near the council table.

Anna recognized him instantly. It was Mason.

He was barely older than Tyler. He looked terrified.

“I didn’t betray the pack,” Mason insisted desperately.

“Then explain the maps we found in your cabin,” Steve snapped.

Mason’s face went pale.

Chris stood silently at the front of the room, unreadable. The room buzzed angrily around them.

“He should be executed.”

“Throw him out.”

“He endangered everyone!”

Fear and fury crashed violently through the bond. Anna could barely breathe through it.

Mason looked toward Chris desperately. “Alpha, please…”

“Who are you working for?” Chris interrupted coldly.

“I’m not working for anyone!”

Steve slammed several papers onto the table. “Then why did Draven have copies of our patrol routes?”

Mason froze. That hesitation destroyed him.

The room erupted instantly with rage. Mason shook violently now. “I didn’t know it was him!”

Silence crashed down.

Chris’s voice dropped dangerously low. “Explain.”

Tears filled Mason’s eyes. “Someone contacted me outside the southern border weeks ago.” His breathing turned uneven. “He said he represented smaller packs resisting Draven. He wanted information about patrol routes and territory strength in exchange for protection money for my family.”

Anna’s blood ran cold.

“You sold information,” Steve said in disbelief.

“I thought I was helping them!” Mason cried desperately. “I didn’t know it was Draven until it was too late.”

Chris stared at him without expression. “And when did you realize?”

Mason swallowed shakily. “After Eli died.”

Rage exploded through the room again. One warrior lunged forward before Steve physically blocked him.

“You got Eli killed!”

“I know!” Mason shouted brokenly. “I know!”

Anna felt nausea twist inside her. Draven had manipulated him perfectly.

Chris finally moved forward slowly. Every wolf in the room fell silent instantly.

Mason looked up at him trembling.

“Please,” he whispered. “I swear I never wanted anyone hurt.”

Chris stopped directly in front of him. Anna’s heartbeat hammered painfully against her ribs.

His emotions felt buried beneath exhaustion and fury.

“Mason Reed,” Chris said quietly, “you betrayed Blood Moon territory during wartime.”

Mason began crying openly now but Chris’s voice remained cold.

“Your actions led directly to pack deaths and compromised every wolf standing in this room.”

Then Chris said the words everyone expected.

“You are banished from Blood Moon territory effective immediately.” Gasps spread across the room.

Not because of the punishment because it was merciful. Several wolves looked shocked, others looked furious.

Tyler stepped forward immediately. “That’s it?”

Chris turned sharply toward him. “He helped murder our own people!” Tyler shouted. “And you’re letting him walk away?”

“He leaves tonight,” Chris replied coldly. “If he’s found on Blood Moon land again, the sentence changes.”

“That’s weakness.”

The room froze. Anna felt Chris’s control snap dangerously. Power surged violently outward.

Windows cracked slightly.

Several wolves lowered themselves instantly beneath the Alpha pressure.

Chris stepped toward Tyler slowly. “You will not question my authority again in front of this pack.”

His voice no longer sounded entirely human. Tyler paled but held his ground shakily. “Someone has to.”

Anna’s heart slammed painfully against her ribs.

Chris looked seconds away from ripping Tyler apart.

Anna moved before thinking.

“Chris…”

His entire body froze instantly. Anna walked carefully toward him despite the dangerous energy flooding the hall.

“It’s enough,” she said softly.

Chris’s breathing remained uneven. His wolf was too close. Anna reached for his face gently.

“Look at me.”

For one horrible second, she thought he wouldn’t respond. Then slowly… His eyes found hers. The rage eased just slightly.

Tyler backed away immediately.

Chris closed his eyes briefly before stepping away from everyone entirely. Shame hit the bond hard enough to make Anna flinch.

Without another word, he walked out of the council hall. The doors slammed shut behind him.

Nobody moved afterward or spoke. Every wolf in that room had just realized something terrifying— Their Alpha was reaching his limit.