CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Alpha Thorne had just stepped out of the terminal at Duskwatch Skyport, the mountain breeze brushing against his face as he loosened the collar of his jacket. His phone buzzed, and when he glanced at the screen, his brows drew together in surprise.

“Alpha Kalen,” he muttered under his breath before answering. The call was unexpected.

The line crackled, then Kalen’s voice came low and weighted with hesitation. “Thorne… forgive the intrusion. I wouldn’t disturb you unless it was urgent.”

Thorne slowed his pace, adjusting his stride toward the waiting Obsidian Lynx Hypercar, where Bryce was already stationed by the door. “Is something wrong in Ashfang Pack?” he asked flatly.

There was a pause long enough that Thorne’s instincts stirred. Kalen was calculating, weighing whether to speak further. When his voice returned, it carried the weight of a debt unpaid. “This concerns Kaelin.”

Thorne’s jaw flexed. At the sound of her name, memories sharpened like shards of glass. His voice, when it came, was clipped. “I’ve no interest in hearing anything about her. If you’ve called to ask me to reconsider—save your breath. I will never take her back.”

Trust was not something Thorne gave twice. He had given it once—long ago—and the betrayal that followed had left scars that still burned in silence. It was only by Selene’s mercy that Luna Celeste had entered his life before deceit consumed him completely.

But Kalen’s tone didn’t falter. “You misunderstand me. I’m not here to advocate for her. I’m here to warn you.” He drew in a steady breath. “I overheard Kaelin speaking on the line with Alpha Varick. She confessed to silencing a man named Orrin to protect him.”

The name struck like a lash. Thorne remembered Orrin—the sanguine wolf whose abrupt death had cast suspicion across the territories. Kaelin had brushed it off as another loss in the endless wars between packs. But if she had taken his life to shield Varick, the implications were darker than he had imagined.

Worse still, Varick was no distant Alpha. He had been as close as a brother once—one of the few men Thorne had allowed into his inner sanctum. Varick had crossed the threshold of Moonveil Estate without question, had shared fire and drink, had been trusted.

Kalen’s voice dragged him from the storm of recollections. “She also said she couldn’t trace where you relocated Luna Celeste. And… she urged Varick to make her his next target.”

Thorne halted in his steps, the words slicing through him with brutal precision. Celeste. Even after everything, after he had hidden her away beneath layers of Shadow Elite guards, her name was still spoken like a prize in the mouths of his enemies.

The veins in his hands stood taut as he tightened his grip on the phone.

“You dare suggest my brother-in-arms would conspire against me?” Thorne’s voice was low, dangerous.

“I dare nothing,” Kalen countered evenly. “But I know what I heard. If you won’t believe me, then ignore it. I only give this warning because I owe you. You saved my life once, and debts in this world must be paid.”

Thorne narrowed his eyes. He replayed the night he had dragged Kalen back from the edge of death—how the man had sworn gratitude, though such vows often dissolved into dust. But there was sincerity in his tone now, something that unsettled Thorne even more.

“And why should I trust you?” Thorne demanded. “You weren’t at Shadowglen during the Orrin affair. You couldn’t have known what transpired.”

“I don’t expect your trust,” Kalen admitted. “But I expect you to weigh my words carefully. Kaelin has spies in your packhouse. If you value Celeste, if you value Seraphine—if you value your bloodline—you’ll act before Varick does.”

The mention of Seraphine and Celeste twisted like twin blades in his chest. Seraphine was ambitious, a storm cloaked in beauty. Celeste… Celeste was his heart’s anchor, fragile and radiant, hidden now in the safety of the Shadow Elite. Yet even stone walls and hidden passages were not unbreakable if betrayal festered inside.

The breath Thorne released was heavy. “You’ve changed, Kalen,” he said at last, a note of grudging acknowledgment cutting through.

“Death changes men,” Kalen replied quietly. “I have no time for games or indulgence anymore. My pack needs stability. My people need trade, not war. You’ve built alliances I can only dream of. I want to learn from you, to expand Ashfang’s business the way Shadowglen thrives.”

Thorne allowed a faint smirk, though bitterness coated it. If Kalen wanted to trade favors, then his warning held weight. Jealousy was not at play here—ambition was. And ambition was something Thorne understood all too well.

“Very well,” Thorne said. “When I return to Shadowglen, I’ll extend an invitation. You’ll have your chance to learn. Until then, guard your own house. If you’ve entangled yourself in Kaelin’s schemes, there’s no salvation for you.”

“And yet you’ll still hear me,” Kalen returned. “That’s enough.”

The call ended.

Bryce opened the car door, but Thorne raised a hand, signaling him to wait. His mind was already moving through possibilities. If Varick had indeed tied himself to Kaelin, then loyalty meant nothing. And if Celeste was named as a target, then the fire within him would burn until nothing remained of those who threatened her.

He slid into the Obsidian Lynx Hypercar, the ironlock cache beneath the seat pressing against his leg as the vehicle purred to life. Duskwatch City’s lights stretched before him, but his thoughts were anchored to one place—Moonveil Estate.

When he arrived, the manor was lit. Too lit. Someone was inside.

He stepped through the ironbark doors, senses sharp, every instinct prepared for violence.

And there, standing casually in the glow of his own hearth, was Varick.

“Varick,” Thorne said evenly, though his blood was already simmering beneath his skin. “What are you doing here?”

Varick turned, forcing a smile too polished, too calculated. “You’ve been gone so long, brother. I thought I’d surprise you.”

Thorne’s eyes narrowed. The mountain breeze from the open window carried a strange tension into the room. He stepped closer, voice a quiet storm. “How long did you intend to stay? And why without telling me?”