Chapter 36 KAI’S RAGE
KAI’S POV
The memories hit me the moment I wake.
Not fragments or flashes but complete, perfect memories of the night my family died.
The claiming with Alicia unlocked something in my mind. Something I'd buried so deep I convinced myself it was gone. But it was never gone. Just waiting.
And now I remember everything.
I remember my mother's face as she shoved me toward the escape tunnel. Remember the smell of smoke and blood. Remember my sister's hand slipping from mine as the ceiling collapsed between us.
And I remember him.
Elder Pascal. Standing at the edge of our burning territory. Watching. Making sure no one escaped alive.
He saw me run. Looked right at me with those ancient eyes. And chose not to follow because a nine-year-old boy running into the wilderness alone wasn't a threat.
He was wrong.
I'm a threat now.
The bond with Alicia pulses steadily in my chest. She's awake. Probably already investigating, trying to find proof of what we both know is true.
But I don't need proof. Don't need evidence or council approval or any of the things pack politics demands.
I just need Pascal's throat between my teeth.
I find him in the great hall. Morning light streams through the windows. He's speaking with Ray about defensive positions for the challenge. Acting like a wise elder. Like someone who deserves respect instead of death.
"Kai." Ray notices me first. "Good, you're up. We need to discuss."
I don't let him finish or slow down. I Just charge straight at Pascal.
The old wolf sees me coming. Has maybe two seconds to register the look on my face before I slam into him.
We crash into the stone table. Wood splinters. Pascal grunts as my hands close around his throat.
"Kai, what the hell!" Ray's shouting. Moving to intervene.
I ignore him. I ignore everything except the face beneath my hands. The face that's haunted my nightmares for nineteen years.
"You killed them." My voice doesn't sound like mine. Sounds like something wild. Something that's been caged too for long. "My mother. My father. My baby sister. You stood there and watched them burn."
Pascal's eyes widen. Not with confusion but like someone who knows what I am talking about.
He knows that I remember. He knows the claiming broke through whatever mental blocks kept those memories buried.
"Kai, you don't understand…" His voice is strangled and weak.
"I understand perfectly." I squeeze harder. Feel his pulse fluttering under my fingers like a trapped bird. "You murdered forty-three wolves because they knew something. Because they opposed you. Because it was easier to kill everyone than let the truth spread."
Ray grabs my shoulder. Tries to pull me off. "Kai, stand down. That's an order."
"You’re not my Alpha." I don't loosen my grip. "And I don't take orders from wolves who protect murderers."
More hands on me now. Logan and Monty both trying to drag me away. But nineteen years of rage makes me strong. Makes me immovable.
Pascal's face is turning purple. His hands claw at my wrists. Weak. Pathetic.
This is how my sister died. Choking. Struggling. Afraid.
"Kai, please." Alicia's voice cuts through the red haze. "Don't do this. Not like this."
Something in her tone makes me pause. I didn’t release him. I just pause.
"He deserves to die." My voice cracks. "They all died because of him. Children. Elders who couldn't fight. My sister was seven years old and he killed her."
"I know." Alicia's hand gently touches my arm. "I know what he did. I found the journal entries. I have proof. But if you kill him now, the others go free. The council members who voted with him. The Veritas agents who gave the orders. Everyone responsible walks away."
The bond between us pulses with her certainty. Her determination to get real justice instead of just revenge.
My hands shake. Everything in me screams to finish this. To feel Pascal's life end under my fingers. To balance the scales with blood for blood.
But Alicia's right. Killing Pascal solves nothing. It doesn't bring my family back. Doesn't expose the conspiracy. Just makes me a murderer too.
I release him.
Pascal collapses, gasping and clutching his throat. Ray moves between us immediately. Protective. Even now, even knowing what Pascal might be, his first instinct is to protect the elder.
"Explain." Ray's voice is hard. "Now. Before I let Kai finish what he started."
Pascal coughs. Struggles to breathe. Finally manages to speak.
"The Rowan pack was a threat. They possessed knowledge about the True Luna prophecy that would have destabilized pack leadership across the territories." His voice is raspy but steady. "The council voted. Five to two. We decided elimination was necessary to preserve order."
"You voted to commit genocide." Monty's voice is cold. "Over a prophecy."
"Over the truth." Pascal slowly stands. "The Rowan pack seer discovered that True Lunas aren't divine gifts. They're bred. Created through specific bloodline combinations by an organization that has controlled wolf packs for centuries."
The room goes silent.
"The Veritas," Alicia says quietly. "You're talking about The Veritas."
Pascal's laugh is bitter. "So you've heard the name. Good. Saves me explaining. Yes, The Veritas. They've been manipulating pack politics for generations. Arranging matings. Eliminating bloodlines that don't serve their purpose. Creating True Lunas when they need them."
"That's insane." Ray's voice is flat.
"Is it? Look at Alicia. Her mother was Elara, descended from the Moon Shadow bloodline. Her father was the Dark Night Alpha, from the Silver Wolf lineage. Two specific bloodlines that haven't mixed in three generations." Pascal meets Ray's eyes. "You think that affair was random? That your father just happened to fall for Vincent's mate?"
"You're saying The Veritas arranged it?" Alicia's face is pale.
"I'm saying nothing happens by accident when The Veritas is involved. They wanted a True Luna. They arranged the circumstances to create one. Your entire existence was planned before you were born."
The words hit like physical blows. I feel Alicia's shock through the bond. Her horror at learning her life has been orchestrated.
"The Rowan pack discovered this." I force my voice to stay level. "And you killed them to keep it secret."
"The council killed them to prevent chaos." Pascal's eyes are hard. "If wolves knew True Lunas were manufactured instead of blessed by the moon goddess, the entire power structure would collapse. Packs would fracture. War would spread. Thousands would die."
"So you killed forty-three to save thousands." Logan's voice drips with sarcasm. "How noble."
"I did what was necessary." Pascal straightens despite his bruised throat. "Just as I've done everything necessary for the past forty years. Protecting the packs from truths they can't handle. Maintaining the order that keeps wolves from tearing each other apart."
"By lying. By murdering. By serving an organization that treats wolves like breeding stock." Alicia steps forward. "You don't get to call that protection. That's tyranny."
"Call it what you want. The alternative is worse." Pascal looks directly at her. "You think you're the hero in this story? You're not. You're a weapon. Created by The Veritas to serve their purposes. And everything happening now, Jake's challenge, the pack conflicts, your awakening, it's all part of their plan."
"What plan?" Ray demands.
"The Convergence. The ritual that uses True Luna power to reshape wolf kind entirely. To evolve us into something stronger. Something that can't be controlled by human governments or supernatural rivals." Pascal's voice drops. "And Alicia is the key to making it happen."
Silence fills the hall. Heavy. Suffocating.
"Ray." Pascal's tone becomes urgent. "Arrest me. Put me in chains if you want. But listen to what I'm saying. The Veritas has been watching Alicia since birth. Everything you've faced, Vincent's betrayal, the corrupted bond, Jake's attacks, it's all designed to push her to full awakening. To make her desperate enough and powerful enough to trigger the Convergence."
"Then we stop them." Alicia's voice is steady. "We expose The Veritas. We break their hold on the packs."
Pascal laughs really loud. "You can't stop them. They're everywhere. Council members, pack elders, alphas you think you can trust. They've been building this network for centuries. You're one girl with four mates and a pack that barely tolerates you. What exactly do you think you can do?"
"I can start by making sure you face justice." Ray gestures to the guards. "Take him. Tie him with silver chains. Lock him in the holding cells until we figure out what to do with him."
The guards move forward cautiously. Pascal doesn't resist. He lets them bind his wrists with silver without flinching.
But as they lead him toward the door, he looks back at Alicia. And smiles.
"You're not ready for what's coming. None of you are." His voice carries clearly across the hall. "I'm not the one you should fear. The Veritas has been watching her since birth. They know every move you'll make before you make it. And when the time comes, when they decide she's ready, they'll take her. Take all of you."
"Shut up." One of the guards shoves him forward.
Pascal's laugh echoes through the hall as they drag him away. "The challenge with Jake today? That's just the beginning. Win or lose, The Veritas gets what they want. They always do."
The door slams shut behind him.
Silence settles over us like ash.
Ray looks at me. "Is what he said true? About your pack knowing The Veritas created True Lunas?"
"I don't know." Honest answer. "I was nine. My mother never told me specifics. She just said we had to keep secrets that powerful people wanted buried." I pause. "She died protecting those secrets. Protecting the truth about what True Lunas really are."
"And now we know." Alicia's voice is hollow. "I'm not blessed. I'm manufactured. A weapon someone built to serve their agenda."
"You're not a weapon." I move to her side. Let her feel the bond between us. "Whatever The Veritas intended, you're making your own choices now. That makes you more than their creation."
"Does it?" She looks at each of us. "Every major decision I've made has somehow served their purposes. Falling for Ray created the corrupted bond. The corrupted bond led to four mates. Four mates triggered my awakening. Everything Pascal described, I've done exactly what they wanted."
"Then we start doing things they don't want." Logan's voice is firm. "We refuse to play their game. We find another path."
"There is no other path." Alicia touches the mate marks on her neck. "I have four bonds that need completion. A challenge with Jake in less than an hour. Pack enemies on every side. And now I know that some ancient organization has been orchestrating my entire life." She laughs bitterly. "How exactly do we fight that?"
The question hangs in the air. No one has an answer.
Because Pascal's right about one thing. We're outmatched. Outmaneuvered. Fighting an enemy we can't see with resources we don't have.
But I've fought impossible odds before. Survived when I shouldn't have. Made it nineteen years alone in the wilderness because I refused to give up.
"We fight the same way I survived after my pack died." I take Alicia's hand. "One day at a time. One enemy at a time. Starting with Jake's challenge. We win that first. Then we worry about The Veritas."
"And if Jake is working for The Veritas too?" Monty asks the question we're all thinking.
"Then we beat him anyway." Ray's voice is hard. "And we make The Veritas understand that Alicia isn't their weapon. She's ours. And we protect what's ours."
The pack bonds beat with agreement. United. Strong.
The sun climbs higher outside and dawn begins to approach. Time for the challenge.
Time to show Jake, The Veritas, and every other threat that we're not pawns to be moved around a board.
We're wolves. And wolves fight back.
Even when the odds are impossible.
Especially then.