Chapter 108 The Serpent Silence

Chapter 108 The Serpent Silence
The pathway stretched before me.

My encounter with Kieran had left me unsettled, the mask of his friendly smile now seeming like a grotesque parody of the person I had once trusted. 

I needed to get back to my room, to the book, to the answers I was desperately seeking.

But as I rounded the corner, I nearly collided with a figure emerging from one of the side chambers.

Soren.

The Elder stood before me, his posture was rigid, his face carved from stone. His cold eyes swept over me with barely concealed disdain, the corners of his mouth pulling down in a frown of disapproval.

"Sylvia." His voice was flat and dismissive, like he was addressing an insect that had wandered into his path. "I trust you're not wandering where you shouldn't be."

I forced myself to meet his gaze, refusing to shrink under his scrutiny. "Good morning, Elder Soren. I was just heading back to my room."

"Indeed." He didn't move aside. He simply stood there, blocking my path, his eyes boring into me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

I stepped to the side, intending to pass him, but something stopped me. 

Something that had been building in my chest since the moment I had heard the rumors.

I stopped and turned back to face him.

"Elder Soren," I said, my voice carefully neutral. "May I ask you something?"

His eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering behind the cold mask. "You may ask. Whether I choose to answer is another matter."

I took a breath, steeling myself. "Have you heard what the pack members are saying about Zarek? About the rumors that the Elders are calling for a vote to remove him as Alpha?"

Something flickered in Soren's expression. Surprise, perhaps or  amusement. It was gone before I could identify it.

"I have heard many things," he said slowly, his voice dripping with condescension. "The pack is full of gossips and fools who will believe anything they hear. I pay little attention to idle chatter."

"But the rumors are spreading," I pressed, my heart pounding. "People are scared. They're saying Zarek is unfit to lead, that the pack needs someone stronger. I'm worried about what might happen if this continues."

Soren tilted his head, studying me like I was a particularly interesting specimen. "And why would that concern you, Sylvia? You are not a member of this pack. You are not even a true wolf. What do you care about the leadership of Shadowfang?"

I felt the blood rise to my cheeks, but I refused to back down. "I care because Zarek is a good Alpha. He's sacrificed everything for this pack, he has protected everyone here. And now people are turning against him because of unfounded rumors."

Soren laughed. It was a cold, brittle sound that sent a chill down my spine.

"Unfounded rumors," he repeated, savoring the words. "Is that what you think this is? A simple misunderstanding? A case of misguided fear?"

"What else would it be?" I didn’t relent back.

He stepped closer, his eyes boring into mine. "The pack is not turning against Zarek because of rumors, girl. They are turning against him because they can see the truth. They can see that he is weak, that his judgment is compromised."

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. "That's not true. Zarek has never been anything but dedicated to this pack."

"Hasn't he?" Soren's voice dropped, becoming almost conspiratorial. "Tell me, Sylvia, where is Zarek now? While his pack is in turmoil, while his people are afraid, while the Elders are discussing his fate, where is he?"

“He went to track down the blood fang.” I answered back quickly.

“Is that what he told you? Because explain to me why of all the places he chose, it was around the human territory, a place where blood fang members can’t reside, which he clearly knows as the alpha of this pack. A vampire walking into human territory is not diplomacy, Sylvia. It is strategy. And if Zarek truly believed the Blood Fang was there, why didn’t he bring warriors? Why did he go alone?"

” Soren tried painting an ugly scenario.

I opened my mouth to counter him, but the words wouldn't come. Because I didn't know where Zarek was. I only knew that he had left, that he had gone to face the Blood Fang, that he had walked into danger without telling me.

"Exactly," Soren said, his smile widening. "You don't know. Because he didn't trust you enough to tell you. He didn't trust any of us enough to tell us. He left his pack to fend for itself while he pursues his own agenda."

"That's not fair," I said, my voice shaking. "He's trying to protect us. He's trying to stop the Blood Fang—"

"Is he?" Soren stepped closer, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. "Or is he running away from the mess he's created?"

I stared at him, my heart pounding. I wanted to argue, to defend Zarek, to tell Soren that he was wrong. But the words wouldn't come. Because part of me, the part that was tired and scared and confused, wondered if he was right.

"Zarek loves this pack," I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. "He would never try to ruin it, ."

"Wouldn't he?" Soren's eyes glittered with something that looked almost like satisfaction. "Then where is he, Sylvia? Where is your Alpha when his pack needs him most?"

I didn't have an answer. I didn't have anything but a hollow ache in my chest and a growing sense of dread.

Soren stepped back, his expression returning to its usual cold mask. "I suggest you focus on your own affairs, girl. Stay out of matters that don't concern you. The pack will survive, with or without your concern."

He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.

I stood there, frozen, my mind reeling. He had been so calm, so certain, so utterly convinced of his own righteousness. And I had been powerless to argue with him.

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