Chapter 43
Kane's POV
The moment I heard Stella's words, the entire world seemed to freeze.
"What war?" I stared at her, my voice dropping to a near-growl. "What did you agree to?"
Stella's expression was particularly vicious. She didn't answer me, only let out a cold laugh and whirled toward Uma. "Stop dawdling! Plant the thorn chains now! I'm taking this fire element for myself!"
My heart pounded violently, blood roaring in my ears.
What was she saying? An agreement with the Blood River Pack? That meant—
Before I could sort through my thoughts, the scene before me left me utterly stunned.
Those three massive wolves—golden, copper, and iron-gray—didn't lunge toward the unconscious Ella. Instead, they turned as one and charged straight at Uma as she prepared to cast her spell.
The shadow witch let out a shrill scream as black thorns exploded from her hands, only to be torn apart by the three wolves' uncanny coordination.
"What are you doing?!" Stella's voice nearly tore through the night sky. "Stop this instant! Do you want Nicholas to execute you?!"
The lead golden wolf dodged Uma's black spike counterattack with a sharp sidestep, then shifted back to human form the instant he landed.
He was a heavily muscled middle-aged man with a scar running through the corner of his eye, his amber eyes burning with undisguised fury.
"General Brian Gonzalez of the Golden Claw," he announced coldly, his voice seeming to claw its way from deep in his chest. "Former subordinate of the Crimson Flame Warlord. Nicholas, that traitorous bastard—we'll settle accounts with him eventually!"
My mind exploded with a deafening buzz.
Former subordinate of the Crimson Flame Warlord?
That meant—Ella, she really was—
"You're insane!" Stella's roar cut through my thoughts. The dark purple flames around her surged, threatening to consume her entirely. "Betraying Blood River—do you know what the consequences will be?!"
Uma seized the moment to retreat, slamming both hands against the ground.
A black magic circle flared to life amid the ruins, and a thorn mass several times larger than before burst from the earth. The twisted vines grew with horrifying speed, surging toward Brian and his two companions. Wherever the thorns passed, the ground's vitality was instantly drained—even the stones began to crack and decay.
"Fine then," Stella snarled, raising her hand as dark purple flames coalesced in her palm. "Let me add fuel to your fire!"
She hurled the fireball at the base of the thorns. Dark flames instantly raced along the vines, black magic and forbidden fire intertwining to release a nauseating burnt stench.
The temperature across the entire battlefield shot up, the air itself beginning to warp and twist.
"No one can stop me from claiming the fire element!" Stella's voice rang with crazed triumph.
Uma's right hand traced a sinister pattern in the air, and the burning thorn vines split as if on command—one mass charging toward Brian and his men, the other lunging straight for the unconscious Ella.
"No—!"
In that instant, an ice-blue radiance descended from above.
A thick ice wall materialized out of nowhere, blocking the vines completely.
Immediately after, a blood-soaked figure stumbled out from the forest's edge, shifting back to human form the moment he landed.
It was Julian.
His clothes were torn to shreds, a wound on his left arm so deep the bone showed through, blood dripping steadily from his fingertips.
Yet his gaze was exceptionally sharp, his ice-blue pupils burning with a fury I'd never seen before.
"Stella," his voice was hoarse yet commanding, "you've colluded with external enemies and used forbidden magic. When General Marcus told me you were manipulating dark elements, I had my doubts. Today the evidence is irrefutable—"
He took a forceful step forward, the surrounding air instantly crystallizing into frost.
"As the Alpha heir, I'm bringing you to justice!"
A deathly silence fell.
I could feel every gaze shift to me.
Stella slowly turned her head, those eyes—made eerie by the reflection of dark flames—fixed directly on mine.
"Isn't this the moment you've dreamed of?" Her voice was low and seductive, like a whisper rising from the depths of hell. "Go. Kill Julian."
My fingers curled involuntarily.
Kill Julian.
How many nights had I replayed this scene in my nightmares? That elder brother who was always polite and gracious before Father, that crown prince who effortlessly won everyone's adoration—if he died, the Alpha position would be mine, Mother's vengeance would be fulfilled, every humiliation washed away.
My feet moved toward Julian without conscious thought.
He didn't retreat. He simply watched me coldly.
But when I reached three paces from him, I stopped and slowly turned around.
"Betraying the Silver Moon Pack," I raised my head slowly, meeting Stella's shocked eyes, "has never been my choice."
Stella's expression twisted instantly.
"So you're betraying me and my daughter instead?" Her voice filled with incredulous rage. "Have you forgotten who gave you power? Who promised to help you take revenge?!"
Behind me came Victoria's anguished cry: "Kane! What are you doing?!"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Forgive me, Mother.
I will avenge you in my own way, but before that, I cannot stand by and watch the pack destroyed by civil war.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer Kane—Blaze's consciousness surged forward, black fur bursting through my skin, bones cracking and reforming.
I threw back my head and howled, the clearest answer to Stella, to this cruel fate.
Fate! I have made my choice!