Chapter 38 Nemesis Is Coming
Dagnoth’s POV
Simone walked a step behind me as we moved through the long stone corridors of the throne house. The torches lining the walls flickered as we passed, their flames bending as if they sensed the weight pressing down on my thoughts. My mind was still with Dahlia—her voice, her question, the look in her eyes when she challenged me.
Is it mandatory that you know they are his before you protect them?
The words refused to let go.
We reached the inner chambers just as the healer stepped out of the shadows. She was old, bent slightly at the back, but her eyes were sharp—too sharp for someone who claimed age had slowed her. The air shifted the moment she came into view, thick and uneasy.
“Alpha,” she greeted, dipping her head.
“What is it?” I asked, wasting no time. “Simone said it was urgent.”
She glanced briefly at Simone, then back at me. “Nemesis stirring.”
My jaw tightened. “How certain are you?”
“I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t,” she replied calmly. “The signs are clear. The blood marks. The dreams. The shifts in the wards. He is closer than you think.”
A low, dangerous silence fell between us.
Nemesis was not a name spoken lightly. He was chaos wrapped in prophecy, destruction tied to fate. If he truly was coming, then everything we had worked to protect was already standing on fragile ground.
“You must act fast,” the healer continued. “There are secrets buried within this royal pack house. Old ones. Dangerous ones. And they are beginning to wake.”
I felt Simone stiffen beside me.
“What kind of secrets?” Simone asked.
The healer’s lips pressed into a thin line. “The kind that destroy packs from the inside.”
Her gaze returned to me. “Trust no one blindly, Alpha. Not even those closest to you.”
Before I could ask more, she stepped back, pulling her cloak tighter around herself. “That is all I can say for now. Be careful.”
And then she was gone, her footsteps fading into the distance like a warning I could not chase.
The doors closed behind her with a heavy thud.
For a moment, neither Simone nor I spoke.
I moved toward the tall windows overlooking the pack grounds, my hands clasped behind my back. Outside, the night was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of calm that came just before a storm.
Simone broke the silence. “This isn’t a coincidence.”
I glanced at him. “Explain.”
He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “The healer mentioned dreams. Prophesy. Changes. All of this started not long after Dahlia arrived.”
I turned fully to face him. “Watch your words, Simone.”
“I’m not accusing her,” he said quickly. “Not directly. But she is the only new variable. The only thing that changed.”
“That doesn’t make her a threat.”
“No,” he agreed. “But it does make her… connected.”
I exhaled slowly, trying to keep my temper in check. “She’s been through enough. Loss. Fear. Constant running. She doesn’t deserve suspicion added to that list.”
Simone folded his arms. “Alpha, I respect her. Truly. But prophecies don’t care about innocence. They only care about balance.”
His words struck something deep.
Balance.
I turned back to the window, my reflection staring back at me in the glass. An Alpha torn between duty and something far more dangerous—feeling.
“She has children,” I said quietly. “Pups who depend on her.”
Simone’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And you don’t find it strange that their existence is shrouded in mystery?”
I shot him a sharp look. “Enough.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “I’m only saying we should be cautious.”
Caution. The word echoed.
My thoughts drifted back to Dahlia again. The way she stood her ground. The way her voice softened only when she spoke about her children. The way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching.
And the way my control nearly slipped when she stood too close.
“Kael is moving,” I said after a long pause. “That much is clear.”
Simone nodded. “He always is.”
“If Nemesis is involved, then Kael won’t be acting alone.”
“That’s what worries me,” Simone replied. “Kael never gambles unless he knows the odds favor him.”
I clenched my fists. “Then we prepare.”
“For what?” Simone asked.
“For everything.”
I turned away from the window and began pacing the room. “Double the guards. Reinforce the borders. No one enters or leaves the pack grounds without clearance.”
“And Dahlia?” Simone asked carefully.
I stopped.
“What about her?”
“Do we keep her close,” he pressed, “or send her away before things escalate?”
The very idea made something dark twist in my chest.
“She stays,” I said firmly. “Under my protection.”
Simone studied me for a long moment. “As Alpha… or as something else?”
I met his gaze without flinching. “As Alpha.”
But even as I said it, I knew the truth was far more complicated.
Simone sighed. “Then we should tell her.”
“Tell her what?”
“That danger is coming. That she and her children may already be part of something bigger than any of us.”
I nodded slowly. “I’ll speak to her myself.”
As Simone turned to leave, he paused at the door. “Just be careful, Dagnoth.”
I looked up. “Of what?”
“Of caring too much,” he said quietly. “Prophecies have a cruel way of punishing weak spots.”
The door closed behind him, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I stared at the empty room, the healer’s words replaying in my head.
Secrets are waking.
And somehow, deep down, I knew Dahlia wasn’t the cause of the storm.
She was standing at its center.
And if Nemesis truly was coming, then fate had already chosen its players.
Whether we were ready or not.