Chapter 21

Chapter 21
Shadows Return (Alice’s POV)

The Pentagon Pack grounds hadn’t changed much since the night of the eclipse—dark pine trees crowding the borders like they were holding in secrets, and the old cabins hunched low under the weight of silence and suspicion.

But this time, I wasn’t alone. Kael walked beside me, his steps purposeful, his hand never straying too far from mine. Still, it wasn’t enough to steady me.The moment we crossed the border, I felt the atmosphere charge.Whispers.

I heard them before I saw anyone—murmurs curling through the trees, quiet but sharp, like wind through broken glass.“She’s back.”“After what she did…”“That eclipse. That shockwave. Did you see the trees burn?”“She’s not even a full werewolf.”

My spine stiffened, but I didn’t stop walking. If I flinched now, they’d smell it.Kael’s jaw flexed beside me. I felt his energy before he even opened his mouth.“Keep walking,” he said under his breath. “Don’t look at them. Don’t engage.”“They think I’m a monster,” I muttered.“They’re afraid. That’s different.”“Is it?”He didn’t answer.

Ahead, the cabins came into view, lit from within by low firelight. The Pentagon Pack hadn’t been expecting us tonight. They were quiet, tense—like wolves watching the edge of a clearing, waiting for something to step through.That something was me.A soft gasp came from my left. Clara.

She rushed toward us, red curls bouncing with every step. “Alice! I heard—I thought you were gone. I mean, really gone. They said you’d burned a Sect warrior alive—”

“I did,” I said. No point sugarcoating it, though I couldn't figure out she found out.Clara slowed, eyes wide. “But… how?”Before I could answer, Kael stepped in front of me. “Back off.”

She blinked. “I just want to talk to her—”“She needs rest.”“I’m not—” I started, but Kael shot me a look that made my words dry up.Clara’s smile faltered. She took a step back, her gaze flicking between us. “Right. Okay. I’ll just—see you later then.”She turned and walked away, head low.My chest tightened. “You didn’t have to be that harsh.”

“She talks too much.”“She’s my friend.”He didn’t reply.

As we passed the gathering pit, I saw more faces watching. Liam among them. He looked like he wanted to come forward—but one look from Kael and he backed off.

I hated this. The way Kael kept me boxed in like I was going to explode again at any second. Maybe I would. But it still stung.

“Why are they all staring?” I asked as we climbed the cabin steps.Kael paused at the door. “Because you’re different now. And difference terrifies them.”He pushed the door open and ushered me inside.

The room was familiar but cold. The last time I’d slept here, I was just the unwanted girl with no rank, no power, no future.Now… I didn’t even know what I was.Kael didn’t stay long. He said he had to call a meeting with the elders. That they needed to understand what was at stake.

I didn’t ask if I was what was at stake.When he left, the room felt even smaller.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands. They didn’t look different. No sparks. No glow. Just fingers and skin. But I could feel it—the hum beneath, like a motor warming up.

The knock came too soon. I opened the door to find Liam standing there.“Hey,” he said softly. “I heard what happened. Are you okay?”“I’m fine.”“You don’t look fine.”“I said I’m fine.”

He sighed. “You know I don’t care what they’re saying. I just wanted to check on you.”That should’ve comforted me. It didn’t. Not when Kael’s warning echoed in my head.Behind Liam, a shadow moved.

Kael.

He didn’t say a word, just stood there at the edge of the porch, arms crossed, eyes hard.Liam followed my gaze and tensed. “Is he watching you now?”

“Maybe.”“I don’t trust him.”“I don’t think he cares.”Liam stepped back, face tight. “I’ll leave you alone, then.”

The moment he was gone, Kael climbed the steps. “You need to stop letting people in.”“He was just checking—”“No. He was looking for answers. Or weaknesses.”“He’s my friend.”“Not anymore.”I stared at him. “You don’t get to decide that.”“I do when it puts you in danger.”

I pushed past him into the room. “This isn’t protection. It’s control.”He shut the door behind him, slower than I expected. “Maybe. But I’d rather have you hate me and alive than free and dead.”

I whirled around. “What aren’t you telling me?”He didn’t flinch. “The elders think you’re unstable. That the power inside you is going to consume you.”“They’re not wrong.”“They want to strip you of your rank. Maybe even exile you.”I laughed, bitter. “You mean exile me again.”“They forget who you are.”

“They never knew me in the first place.”Kael stepped closer. “That’s why I called the meeting. They need to be reminded.”I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not alpha.”

“Yes I am,” he said quietly. “I made sure of that when I beat that weakling of an alpha.”The tension between us snapped taut.

He came to me slowly, like I was something breakable. “I shouldn’t have spoken to Clara like that,” he said. “Or kept Liam away. But I need you to understand—what’s coming? It’s bigger than both of us. And you can’t afford to be distracted.”

“I’m not a child.”

“No,” he agreed. “You’re something far more dangerous.”I turned away. “Then maybe you should leave.”He didn’t.Instead, he stepped behind me, close enough that I could feel the heat of his chest against my back.“You had me worried tonight,” he said, his voice low.

“I scare myself.”His hand brushed mine. Just a touch. But it grounded me in a way I didn’t expect.I turned around, slowly. He was right there. Closer than he’d ever been.Our eyes locked.

I didn’t move. Neither did he.But the air between us shifted.Kael reached up, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “You don’t have to fight this alone.”“I don’t know how not to.”He leaned down. His lips almost brushed mine—

And then—A howl.Piercing. Shattering.I jerked back. Kael froze.Not just any howl.

This one came from the outer woods—raw, furious, full of warning.

Then another. And another.

My blood turned to ice.

Kael’s face went pale.

He looked at me. “They found us.”

I whispered, “Who?”

He didn’t answer.

Because we both already knew.

Whoever had been hunting me…

Was here.

And they weren’t alone.