Chapter 175

Chapter 175
Layla's POV

Kael shook his head. "Maybe before he was consumed by ambition, he might have been worthy. But when he tried, his mind was filled with power, greed, and ambition. Soulrend wouldn't acknowledge him."

Understanding dawned on me. "So that's why! That's the real reason behind everything. He still wants Soulrend, but he knows he can't take it from you since your family guards the secret." I straightened up, pieces falling into place. "So he targeted me—Luna of the Soulless Pack, who has connections to Thor, Alpha of the Stormhowl Pack, and I'm also the daughter of Damian, Alpha of the Rainier Shadow Pack!"

"Exactly," Kael confirmed, his expression grim but proud. "You're too smart for your own good, Layla."

"But his plan hasn't worked," I pointed out. "He's tried to hurt me, defeat me, hiding in the shadows like a cockroach. I won't let him beat us."

Kael's face darkened. "There's a big problem, though." He looked away, jaw clenched. "I've tried to draw the sword myself. I failed."

"What?" The revelation stunned me. "But you're the Alpha."

"I know." The admission seemed to pain him. "I even wondered if I was really my father's son. But he told me he couldn't draw it either, so I shouldn't lose heart." He shook his head. "Still, it bothers me."

I reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. "Try again. You were probably too young before, or not ready. You're different now."

Hope flickered in his eyes. "You think so?"

"Only one way to find out," I said with more confidence than I felt.

Kael led me out of the bathroom and through the cabin. At the far end of the main room, he moved aside a rug to reveal a trapdoor. "The basement," he explained, lifting the heavy wooden door. Stairs descended into darkness until he flipped a switch, illuminating a narrow staircase.

"Watch your step," he cautioned, taking my hand to help me down.

The basement was nothing like I expected. Instead of a dank, musty space, it was a small, circular chamber with stone walls. In the center stood a pedestal, and on it rested a scabbard containing what could only be Soulrend.

The sword was beautiful—its hilt adorned with silver and gold wirework, forming intricate patterns that seemed to shift in the light. The pommel featured a wolf's head with eyes made of some dark, gleaming stone. Even in its scabbard, the weapon exuded power. As we approached, a faint blue glow emanated from the runes etched along the scabbard's length.

"It's responding to our presence," I whispered, feeling an inexplicable pull toward the weapon.

"Yes," Kael confirmed. "I think that's what you sensed when we first arrived—the magic coming from down here."

I nodded, unable to tear my eyes away from the sword. "Are you going to try?"

Kael squared his shoulders, dropping his towel and quickly pulling on a pair of sweatpants he'd brought down with him. Bare-chested, he approached the pedestal with determination. He placed his hands on the hilt, closed his eyes briefly, then pulled.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, muscles straining, but the sword remained firmly in its scabbard. After a third attempt, he stepped back, frustration and disappointment clear on his face.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"It's fine," he replied, though I could tell it wasn't. "I didn't really expect anything different."

I moved closer to the pedestal, drawn by an impulse I couldn't explain. "May I?"

Kael looked surprised but nodded. "Go ahead, though I doubt—"

My fingers touched the hilt, and the runes on the scabbard flared with brilliant blue light. A strange warmth spread up my arm, and without conscious thought, I grasped the hilt firmly and pulled.

Soulrend slid from its scabbard as smoothly as if it had been coated in oil, the blade gleaming silver in the basement's dim light. The sword felt perfectly balanced in my hand, as if made for me. The runes along the blade pulsed with the same blue light, and I felt a connection to the weapon that defied explanation.

Kael stared at me, his mouth hanging open in shock. "How... how did you do that?"

I shook my head, equally stunned. "I don't know. I just... touched it."

"Soulrend chose you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But why? How is that possible?"

I stared at the sword in my hand, feeling its weight and power. "I have no idea." A thought occurred to me, and I looked up at Kael with wide eyes. "Does this mean... am I supposed to be the Wolf Queen?"

Kael's expression shifted from shock to something more complex—awe, pride, and a hint of concern. "It would seem so." He approached slowly, stopping just short of touching the blade. "Layla, do you realize what this means? With Soulrend, you could command every wolf in every pack. You'd have more power than any Alpha in history."

The implications made my head spin. Me, a wolf who had grown up in an orphanage, wielding a power that could unite or destroy the wolf packs? It seemed impossible, yet the evidence was literally in my hand.

"This changes everything," I whispered, staring at the glowing runes on the blade. "Alex, Olivia, the blood moon ceremony... everything."

Kael nodded, his eyes never leaving the sword. "Yes. And it makes you an even bigger target." His gaze shifted to meet mine, intensity burning in his green eyes. "We have to be more careful than ever now. If they find out you can wield Soulrend..."

I didn't need him to finish the thought. The danger was clear. But alongside the fear, I felt something else stirring within me—a sense of purpose, of power, of destiny. Maybe this was why I had survived everything thrown at me. Maybe this was what I was meant for.

"I won't let them win," I said, my voice stronger than I expected. "Not Alex, not Olivia, not anyone who threatens us or our child."

Kael stepped forward, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close, mindful of the sword still in my hand. "We'll face them together," he promised. "You and me, as it should have been from the start."

As we stood there in the glow of Soulrend's magic, I felt the baby move within me—a tiny flutter that reminded me what I was fighting for. A future. A family. A pack.

And now, it seemed, a kingdom.