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Chapter 2 - Heir's of shadows

Silence.

That's what came after my words. A thick, suffocating silence that hung in the hall like smoke after a fire.

Dozens of eyes stared at me — wolves I'd once called brothers, sisters, family. They didn't recognize me now. My scars told their own story; so did the darkness that followed me like a shadow that refused to die.

"Kael Varyn," Ronan finally said, his tone calm, but his hands trembled against the silver cup he held. "You should have stayed dead."

A low growl escaped my throat before I could stop it. "You should have kept your promise."

The words hit him like claws across the face. I saw it — the flicker of guilt, the tremor in his jaw. Then it was gone, replaced by that same cold smirk that made my blood boil.

"I made many promises," Ronan said. "To rebuild the Nightshade Pack. To erase the stain your father left behind."

My fists clenched. "You mean the stain you created."

The crowd shifted uneasily. I could smell the fear, the confusion. No one dared speak. To question the Alpha was to court death — and Ronan had killed for less.

But I wasn't one of his pack. Not anymore.

"You think you can walk back in here and claim what's gone?" he continued. "This is my pack now, Kael. My rule. My blood in every oath."

I took a slow step forward. "Your blood? Then maybe it's time we spill some and see whose runs darker."

A few gasps. Someone muttered my name like it was a curse. Ronan's Beta — a brute named Draven — moved toward me, baring his teeth.

"Enough," he growled. "You're trespassing on sacred ground."

I smiled. "Then let the ground remember what real blood feels like."

Before he could blink, I moved. One heartbeat — and I was behind him. My claws stopped just short of his throat, the air humming with energy. My wolf surged inside me, eager, violent.

The hall exploded in chaos. Wolves shifted, claws scraped against stone, and the scent of adrenaline filled the air. But then, Ronan's voice cut through it all.

"Stop!"

Instant silence. Even the air froze. That's how much power he had over them.

But he was losing it — and he knew it.

He looked at me with eyes that gleamed like molten gold. "You want the truth, Kael?" he said. "You want to know who killed your father? It wasn't me."

I narrowed my eyes. "Lie again, and I'll rip the skin from your throat."

"It was the Council," he hissed. "They ordered it. They said your father was too strong. Too loyal to the old ways. They feared him."

My breath caught.

The Council. The same serpents who branded my father's corpse with their sigil.

"And you?" I asked quietly. "What did they promise you, Ronan?"

He smiled bitterly. "Everything."

He lunged at me then, fast as lightning, but I was faster. Our claws met midair, sparks of red energy flashing as our wolves collided. The hall trembled with every strike — years of rage and betrayal unleashed in a single storm.

I could hear bones crack, roars echo, glass shatter. The others didn't dare interfere. They just watched — two Alphas locked in a dance that could only end in death.

When I finally pinned him against the wall, his eyes flashed between gold and black — his wolf fighting for dominance.

"This isn't over," he gasped.

"It never is," I whispered.

Then I let go.

He collapsed to the ground, choking on his pride. I turned toward the door, the whispers of the pack chasing after me like ghosts.

As I stepped outside, the night air hit me — cold, sharp, alive. The forest stretched before me, silent except for the whisper of the wind through the pines.

That's when I saw her.

A figure standing in the clearing — cloaked in silver light, her eyes glowing faintly blue. A stranger… yet somehow familiar.

"You shouldn't have come back," she said softly.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She tilted her head. "The one who warned your father before he died. The one who knows the truth about your blood."

I froze. My heart thundered.

"What truth?"

Her gaze darkened. "You're not just the son of the Nightshade Alpha, Kael. You're the last heir of the Shadow Moon — the bloodline they tried to erase."

The wind howled. My wolf stirred, restless.

"Then it looks like they failed," I said.

Her lips curved into a faint smile. "For now."

Then she vanished into the mist, leaving me alone beneath the blood-red moon.

And for the first time, I wasn't sure if I was the hunter… or the hunted.

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