Chapter 40 Alpha’s Warpath
Chapter 40 Alpha’s Warpath
Kaelan’s POV
Caius’s council chamber was silent when we enter inside, it was the kind of silence that coils like a snake preparing to strike.
The room is carved of dark stone, torches flickering along the walls. Caius stands at the center, arms crossed, jaw set like granite. His Beta, hovers near his shoulder. Two whit cloaked sentinels line the back wall, watching us with thinly veiled hostility.
Goo, ket them watch. Rhylen walks beside me, steady despite the stiffness in his movements. Behind us, Elara steps in with Liora and Darius flanking her protectively.
The moment Caius’s gaze lands on her, something flickers in his eyes guilt, maybe, but he quickly buried it.
“You asked for this audience,” Caius says, voice flat. “Speak.” I step forward.
The air shifts instantly every sentinel straightening as if bracing for impact.
“There was another attack last night,” I say. “Not subtle and definitely not accidental and this time, the trap was meant to kill.” Caius’s eyes narrow. “Explain.”
I toss a wrapped cloth onto the table between us. It unravels, revealing the crushed herbs, the faint glimmer of residue stolen from the inner guard’s supply. Caius stiffens.
Liora hisses softly, Darius’s jaw cracks with tension. Elara stands silent beside me, fingers trembling despite her steady posture.
“These are materials,” I say, “that only your highest ranked wolves can access.” A dangerous hush falls across the chamber.
The beta steps forward, bristling. “You’re accusing us of attempted murder? In our own home?”
“I’m accusing someone,” I snap. “Someone who has access. Someone who wants Elara dead.” When I say her name, the room tenses even more as if she carries a curse they fear will spill onto their floors.
Caius turns his head slightly. “Elara is not our concern.” "She’s mine,” I growl, the torches flicker violently.
A ripple of unease goes through the room. Everyone feels it everyone sees the way my shadow stretches unnaturally across the stone floor.
Caius’s expression hardens. “Kaelan. You are a guest in my territory. Do not mistake my tolerance for weakness.”
“Then prove you aren’t harboring a traitor.” My voice cuts through the chamber like a blade.
A tense breath passes before Caius gestures to the herbs on the table. “These materials are rare and restricted but not impossible to steal.”
“It’s not theft,” Rhylen says coldly. “It’s access and intent.” Caius’s gaze snaps to him. “You just overstep.” Rhylen doesn’t blink. “I follow my Alpha.” Caius steps forward, but before he can speak agan, Elara gasps.
Her knees buckle and Liora reaches for her, but I was already at her side, catching her before she hits the ground.
“Elara?” My voice drops, sharp with fear. “What’s wrong?” She clutches her chest, right over the mark we found the one that has been haunting her ever since it awakened.
“It’s burning,” she whispers, breath trembling. “Something in here, it’s reacting to something in this room.” Every wolf freezes. Caius’s eyes widen. “What do you mean reacting?”
Elara lifts her head, and for a brief moment her eyes flash with a golden shimmer I’ve only seen once before. When I first found her.
She scans the room slowly. Deliberately.
Every sentinel shifts as if sensing danger. Then her gaze lands on someone and the air in the room lurches.
Corin, Caius’s Beta. He tenses under her stare, throat bobbing, eyes darting too quickly. Darius notices instantly. “Why is he nervous?”
“I’m not,” Corin snaps but his scent betrays him. It was fear, cold and metallic fear. My blood heats. “You.” Corin steps back. “I had nothing to do with” “Your heartbeat jumped the second she looked at you,” Rhylen says, voice low and lethal. Caius turns to his Beta, eyes sharp. “Corin?”
Corin’s shift is almost invisible a tiny tilt of his foot, a twitch of his jaw but I see it.He’s preparing to run but it was too late.
I move faster than breath, slamming him against the wall with enough force to crack stone. He gasps, struggling under the weight of my arm.
“Tell me why,” I snarl in his face. “Why target her?” His eyes flick toward Caius desperate, terrified. “It wasn’t supposed to be her,” Corin spits. “It was meant for you.”The room goes dead still.
He laughs a broken, bitter sound. “She just got in the way.” Elara’s breath stutters painfully behind me. My rage snaps and I shift my grip, pinning Corin harder. “Why? Who ordered you?”
Corin smiles then a twisted, chilling smile. “You really think this is about your precious girl?” His gaze cuts toward Elara. “She’s just the beginning.” Before I can demand more, his body spasms violently and achoking sound gurgles from his throat.
At first, I think he’s trying to shift but then, black veins streak across his skin. His eyes bulge as a dark foam spills from his lips and Liora screams, Darius pulls Elara back. Caius lunges forward but it was too late. Corin collapses and dead.
Elara stares at the body in horror. “Kaelan he was going to say something. Someone is controlling them.” My pulse roars with fury, someone killed him remotely and that someone knew he was about to talk. Someone who is still watching us here and now.
“Elara,” I whisper, drawing her into my chest as chaos erupts around us. “I swear to you I will find who did this.”Her hand curls in my shirt, trembling.
“I don’t want you hurt because of me.” “Too late.” I press a slow, grounding kiss to her temple. “I’m already in this with you.” She closes her eyes, leaning into m and in that moment holding her against the storm I know one thing with brutal certainty.
Whoever is pulling the strings, I’m going to break them when I find them.