Chapter 32

BOUND

Gray:

It was a miscalculation on my part to try and conquer Jason in his high spirits with the joy of victory over the Orhert like liquor in his veins. I was so beaten up and battered that I had no other choice but to swallow my pride and escape into the night. The goddess had truly left us. Our pack was either going to be dissolved or fused with Jason’s pack, and tomorrow the council of elders would meet and decide our fate. The bunch of old wolves that did not speak for justice—where were they when Jason had gathered his fighters and come our way? Where were they when Clyde imprisoned me for no reason at all? I was going to lay low in the woods for a while and watch for the final outcome of the battle. I wondered what had become of my loyal followers, Elliot and Mirian. When I took flight, I could hear their calls for directions, but I paid them no heed. It was time we all went our ways and found out what the goddess had in store for us. Besides, I was tired of being bound by the conditions of belonging to a pack or any group at all; it stank of endless limitations. As of that night, I became a lone wolf, the Alpha of my own self, and if the goddess would not shine her light on me, I was ready to be my own goddess and my own seer. And from that night on, I would train every day until I was on the brink of losing my consciousness. To get the power I so desperately craved, I had to be able to wield it without self-destruction.

Clyde:

One, two, or three mice—there was just one word for the cell I was locked in: disgusting. Knowing Gray, I should have known that he was neither going to forgive nor forget that easily; I was guilty of bruising his giant ego, and of course he was going to get back at me one way or another.

The two traitorous wolves that captured their Alpha without any form of respect or concern had left as soon as they locked my dungeon cell.

“You snakes! How dare you treat your Alpha with such disdain? Have you no fear for the goddess who chose me?” I shouted at them as they retreated.

“You are not our Alpha; you have never been our Alpha, and you will never be our Alpha.” The woman spoke with bitterness in her heart while her brother stood like a tree and laughed.

I remembered them; they were the orphan children who had their parents executed by my father. How long had they held this grudge against my family? And how long had they let Gray prey on their minds? To the extent that they could carry out such atrocities. I was very tired. And as the battle cries subsided, I knew that my pack had been conquered. I fell into a deep sleep and awoke with a biting hunger; the whole place reeked of desertion. I felt like I was going to die forgotten, as there was no sight of a single person around. Did anyone even know where I was? I tried calling for any of our fighters or pack members, but I was answered with silence.

I had led my pack to their own doom, but nevertheless, I felt that I was not given many choices at all. I went to the goddess, and she spat me out of my mouth. I went to my friend and confidant, and he stepped on my head. It felt like the whole world was against me. At that point, my heart longed for Clarissa. She was the only one who stood with me.

Jason:

I stumbled through the aftermath of the battle, my heart heavy with the weight of victory and loss. The thrill of triumph over the Orhert was tainted by the bitter taste of knowing that my victory had cost us dearly. The casualties were high, and the once vibrant camp now lay in ruins. I couldn’t ignore the fact that Gray had escaped, leaving his fate uncertain. I knew he wouldn’t go down without a fight, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that he would be a constant thorn in my side, even as I emerged victorious.

As the morning sun began to rise, I rallied the remaining pack members and tended to the wounded. My mind was torn between the responsibilities of being a leader and the lingering questions about Gray’s whereabouts. I couldn’t shake off the nagging guilt that perhaps I should have tried to reason with him before the battle. Maybe there was a chance to avoid all this bloodshed.

“We will rebuild,” I declared to my pack, trying to inject strength into my voice. “We will mourn the loss of our fallen brothers and sisters, but we will rise from the ashes stronger than ever.”

But even as I tried to exude confidence, doubt gnawed at me from within. What if Gray returned with a vengeance? What if his thirst for power consumed him and he became even more dangerous? I knew I couldn’t let my guard down; I had to be prepared for anything.

In the days that followed, we held a somber funeral for the fallen warriors, paying our respects to those who had given their lives for our cause. I made it a point to address the pack, emphasizing unity and loyalty, hoping to bind them closer together in the wake of our losses.

As the moon cycled through its phases, we began the task of rebuilding our camp. The wounded slowly recovered, and the pack grew stronger with each passing day. But despite the progress, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Gray was still out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike back.

In the midst of the chaos, a thought occurred to me: Clyde. I realized that I hadn’t seen him since the battle’s end. There was a possibility that he was hiding and would come up with another scheme we would not be able to foreshadow—I had allowed my joy to blind me to his actions.

I sought the siblings who had been captured in order to demand his whereabouts, but they were nowhere to be found; they had fled as their fellow traitor had fled. They were a very smart duo, and catching them or seeking them out was not going to be easy.