Back at the cabin, Casten had never felt more useless. Every time he remembered the incident from a few minutes ago, he inwardly slapped himself.
While Thalia had fought to escape Kyle's grip, he had just stood there, frozen, watching as everyone slaughtered themselves. Maybe if I had put up a fight, we would have overpowered Kyle, he thought as he silently watched Kyle rummage through his boxes.
After their escape, Casten had tried to argue and reason with Kyle that they should head back and at least look for survivors. But Kyle simply Thalia on the couch and entered the other room.
Casten remained, feeling helpless and frustrated—but he was not stupid enough to go back there alone. He didn't want anything like that happening to him. He had already accepted his fate of an early death as an omega, but unconscious suicide was not something he was ready for.
He sat next to Thalia, and even in her unconscious state, he could clearly see her distress. Her fiercely beautiful features were scrunched up in a frown, and her olive skin had turned a hot pink.
"I hope you'll be okay," he whispered, gently holding her limp hand.
Kyle emerged from the door holding a very rustic metallic box and placed it on the table without a word. He then lifted Thalia off the couch and carried her into the other room.
"Get some sleep," he told Casten and collapsed onto the couch, leaving him to fend for himself.
Casten's eyes widened at Kyle's words. As if the word Alpha had awakened him from a long slumber, he jumped to his feet and asked hastily,
"The Alpha? Where is he now?"
"Not within the pack," Kyle replied, eyes still closed.
"Who else is with him?" Casten pressed, now looming directly over Kyle.
Kyle had meant to brush off the question, but the urgency and worry in Casten's voice made him reconsider.
"His Beta, the witch, and a few brutes."
"Oh God, no," Casten paled and weakly sat on the floor.
"There was also a blonde omega," Kyle added absentmindedly.
"You moron! Why didn't you say that earlier?" Casten cried, tears of relief glistening in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he was thankful his sister was with the Alpha.
***
Cornelius was seething. First, one of the cars had broken down—and had it not been his personal vehicle, they would have just continued the journey. But he loved his car too much to abandon it, and that had cost them two hours.
The delay had forced him into a longer negotiation than expected with the new Alpha of the Blood Moon pack—a prick who clearly thought he could be eliminated easily.
As if that weren't enough, none of the elders were picking up their calls, meaning he had to prepare for a physical meeting.
"Have you tried contacting your father?" he asked his Beta.
"He's not picking up," the Beta replied, completely unbothered.
Cornelius cast a glance at Bianca, who sat rigidly beside him, but didn't feel any urge to touch her. He simply closed his eyes and began plotting how to get rid of his new ally.
Suddenly, he tensed—something was off. They had entered his territory. He could feel it. The acrid stench of blood and burnt flesh was almost suffocating, yet the others in the car remained clueless—useless baggage. All except his Beta, whose eyes were sharp, that irritating, practiced grin now completely gone.
Despite what Cornelius felt about the boy and his old hag of a father, he had to admit the Beta was effective.
"Drive to the pack house," he ordered. The driver obeyed without question.
When they arrived, Cornelius was livid. Everyone was dead. Most had slit throats; others were burned beyond recognition. A few had their skulls shattered against trees.
He was furious. That someone would invade his territory without fear of consequence was so infuriating it was almost amusing. He was willing to do whatever it took to find whoever had done this and show them what happened to those who touched what belonged to him.
As for the dead pack members—if the devil cared, fine. He didn't. They had brought this on themselves with their weakness. Once again, power proved to be the most important thing.
Bianca was horrified. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Dead bodies were everywhere, and the smell of burnt flesh made her gag. Had it not been for the shock, she might have passed out—but she couldn't, not when his body might be among them.
The last she had heard from Casten, he had been spending his days in the pack house.
"No, no, please no," she chanted like a prayer as her legs moved robotically toward the carnage. Her face was already wet with tears, which only increased as she turned over body after body. Relief mixed with anxiety as she failed to find Casten among the dead.
"What do you think you're doing?" growled the Alpha.
Even that didn't deter her. If Casten was dead, the Alpha might as well kill her too.
"She's probably looking for her brother," Raphael reasoned.
Cornelius frowned. Not important enough to waste time on.
Raphael stared at the bodies in front of him, deeply unsettled. He'd never flinched at blood or gore before—but this… this was a pure massacre. There wasn't a single body of an attacker. That was what disturbed him most.
He thought of his father but didn't bother being optimistic. If the elders were alive, they'd be here by now—doing more than staring like it was a regular Tuesday.
The guards looked distraught. Their families had lived here. Still, none dared take a step without the Alpha's command.
Raphael silently applauded Bianca's strength. Please, moon goddess, let Casten be alive, he prayed.
Remembering something from earlier, he jogged over to Bianca, who was still sobbing.
"Casten was assigned to the Luna. He's probably at her place," he said, silently praying it was true—and that her place hadn't been attacked, too.
Bianca looked at him with hope and let him guide her back to the Alpha's entourage.
"What are we going to do about all these bodies?" Cassandra asked emotionlessly. She was still wondering how all the wolves had been killed at once, but not being one herself, she didn't feel much remorse.
"Burn them," Cornelius ordered without looking back and headed toward the elders' homes.
"I'll go check on the Luna," Raphael said and helped a shaking Bianca into the forest.