Chapter twenty nine
Kai and the others raced back to the pack’s settlement, the weight of what they had just uncovered pressing down on them. The rogue camp had been too easy to take down. The way the last wolf had smirked before taking his own life, the way he had whispered, You’re playing right into his hands—it gnawed at Kai’s thoughts like a disease.
Orion wasn’t just preparing for war.
He was setting traps.
The realization made Kai’s stomach twist as they neared the settlement. The pack was already stirring, wolves moving through the clearing, their instincts sharp enough to sense something was wrong.
Lucian was waiting for them the moment they entered the meeting hall, his sharp blue eyes locking onto Kai first. “What happened?”
Kai didn’t hesitate. “The camp was a setup.”
Mira, who stood near the table, frowned. “Explain.”
Kai took a steady breath, forcing himself to replay the events. “We hit the camp fast. Too fast. They fought, but not like soldiers protecting something important. They fought like wolves who already knew they weren’t going to make it.”
Kieran, standing beside him, crossed his arms. “The last one we caught had a suicide capsule. He said something before he died—he told us we were playing right into Orion’s hands.”
Lucian’s expression didn’t change, but Kai felt the way his energy shifted.
Mira swore under her breath. “So we’ve been baited.”
Kai clenched his fists. “Yeah.”
A tense silence settled over the room.
Rhett leaned against the table, his usual grin absent. “So what’s the move? Because I’m not exactly interested in waiting for Orion to spring whatever trap he’s setting.”
Lucian exhaled slowly, calculating. “If Orion knew we were going to attack the camp, then he knows we’re preparing to strike again.”
Mira nodded. “Which means he’s waiting for us to overextend.”
Kai felt frustration coil in his chest. He hated this. Hated the feeling of being chased, even when they were the ones on the offensive. Orion wasn’t just another Alpha. He wasn’t like the warlords or rogue leaders Kai had fought before.
He was something else.
Something that had to be stopped.
Anna’s voice broke through the tension. “Then we stop playing by his rules.”
All eyes turned to her.
Kai had almost forgotten she was there, sitting quietly in the corner, wrapped in a thick blanket, her fingers still curled protectively over the mark on her arm.
Lucian’s gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”
Anna exhaled, shifting uncomfortably under everyone’s attention. “Orion is controlling the game right now. He knows we’ll strike again, so he’s positioning himself accordingly. We keep going after his outposts, his men—but that’s just picking at the edges of something bigger.”
Kai frowned. “So what do we do instead?”
Anna hesitated. “We cut out the heart of the operation.”
Mira’s brow furrowed. “Which is?”
Anna’s fingers dug into the fabric of her sleeve. “His bonded wolves.”
A chill ran down Kai’s spine. “Anna—”
She lifted her gaze, meeting his. “I was one of them, Kai. I know how he controls them. He doesn’t just manipulate their minds—he anchors them to himself. If we sever that connection…”
Lucian’s expression darkened. “Then we cripple him.”
A heavy silence followed.
Kai swallowed hard. “You’re saying we should turn his own wolves against him?”
Anna nodded. “If we can break his hold—really break it—his entire system collapses.”
Mira’s lips parted, something unreadable flickering across her face. “That’s a dangerous gamble.”
Anna’s jaw clenched. “I know. But I also know it’s the only way to take him down permanently.”
Lucian’s gaze flickered toward Kai. “Thoughts?”
Kai took a slow breath. His instincts screamed at him that Anna was right. He had seen firsthand what Orion had done to her.
And now?
Now, they had a chance to undo it.
Kai met Lucian’s gaze. “We do it.”
Lucian nodded. “Then we plan for war.”
The next few days were a flurry of preparation.
The pack mobilized quickly. Warriors trained harder, scouts ran deeper into enemy territory, and strategies were laid out carefully.
But the real work?
That belonged to Anna.
Kai stayed by her side as she worked through everything she knew about Orion’s control. Every memory, every feeling, every moment of forced submission—she laid it out, piece by piece, like a puzzle waiting to be broken apart.
At night, they sat by the fire, her voice quiet but strong.
“He doesn’t just use fear,” she murmured, staring at the flames. “He uses need. He finds the wolves who are broken, who don’t know where else to go, and he gives them a purpose.”
Kai’s chest tightened. “And then he takes it away.”
Anna swallowed. “Yeah.”
Kai exhaled, rubbing his hands together. “So how do we undo that?”
Anna hesitated. “We have to show them there’s another way. That they don’t belong to him.”
Kai frowned. “And if they don’t want to listen?”
Anna’s eyes darkened. “Then we make them.”
Kai felt the weight of her words, the quiet steel in her voice. Anna wasn’t the same as before. Orion had tried to break her.
But he had only made her stronger.
And now?
She was going to help them end him.
Three nights later, the attack began.
The target wasn’t an outpost this time.
It was one of Orion’s reprogramming centers.
Kai stood at the edge of the trees, his heart hammering as he watched the facility from the shadows. Wolves moved in and out, their movements mechanical, their eyes vacant.
Controlled.
Kai clenched his fists. Not for long.
Lucian’s voice was steady in his earpiece. “Positions?”
Mira answered first. “North side, ready.”
Kieran followed. “South, in position.”
Rhett smirked. “East side, looking pretty.”
Lucian ignored him. “Kai?”
Kai inhaled. “We’re ready.”
Anna stood beside him, her body still weak but her mind sharp.
Tonight, they were going to cut Orion’s strings.
Lucian’s voice was firm. “Go.”
Kai moved.
They struck fast and hard.
Wolves shifted mid-air, claws flashing in the moonlight. The guards barely had time to react before they were overwhelmed.
Kai sliced through them, moving like a shadow, his focus razor-sharp.
Anna stayed behind him, her voice steady as she whispered, “Break them. Make them remember who they are.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
One by one, Orion’s wolves hesitated. Their attacks slowed. Their bodies trembled.
Because Anna was calling them back.
Because the bond Orion had twisted was breaking.
The tide shifted fast.
Lucian’s voice came through the comms, sharp and victorious. “It’s working.”
Kai turned, breathless, watching as wolves collapsed, their eyes clearing, their bodies shaking.
They weren’t Orion’s anymore.
And for the first time—
Kai felt it.
The beginning of Orion’s end.