Chapter 26:
I turned my gaze to the horizon, where the faint glow of Talon Pack’s campfires dotted the dark landscape. They thought they were safe, that their unity could protect them. But unity was a lie. It was a fragile shield made of glass, and I would shatter it with a single blow.
POV: Elara
The night was quiet, yet the tension in the air was undeniable. Patrols had reported strange activity near the western border—wolves moving through the shadows, too fast and too coordinated to be rogues. It was enough to put the pack on edge, and the whispers of unease grew louder with every passing hour.
I stood at the edge of the clearing, my gaze fixed on the distant tree line. Osric approached from behind, his heavy footsteps muffled by the soft earth.
“You’re worried,” he said, his voice rough.
“I’d be a fool not to be,” I replied, without turning to face him.
“Silas is testing us. He’s waiting for the right moment to strike.”
“And what do we do in the meantime?” Osric asked.
“Wait for him to make the first move?”
I turned to face him, my jaw set in determination.
“We strengthen our defenses. Increase patrols, double the guards on the borders. And we watch. Silas wants us to make a mistake, to lower our guard. We won’t give him that chance.”
Osric nodded, his expression grim.
“And Dante?”
The mention of his name caused a flicker of unease within me. Dante had proven himself in small ways since his return, but doubts still lingered. Among the elders. Among the council. And, if I was honest with myself, within me.
“He stays where I can see him,” I said finally.
“For now.”
Osric didn’t argue, but his silence spoke volumes. The pack was holding together, but just barely. And I knew it wouldn’t take much for everything to fall apart.
As I turned back toward the treeline, the faint howl of a wolf echoed in the distance—a sound both haunting and foreboding. Silas was out there, watching, waiting. And though I didn’t know when he would strike, I knew one thing for certain: he was coming.
POV: Elara
The council room was suffocating, the air thick with tension and the weight of too many opinions. Around the long, worn table sat the elders and my closest advisors, their faces shadowed by the flickering light of the torches on the walls. The walls, lined with centuries of carved symbols representing Talon Pack’s history, felt like they were closing in on me. The voices around me were loud, overlapping, each one trying to drown out the others in a cacophony of frustration and fear.
“Silas’s wolves were spotted again near the western border!” Miriam barked, slamming her hand on the table. The sound reverberated in the confined space, silencing a few murmurs.
“We can’t just wait for him to attack. We need to strike first.”
“And risk walking into a trap?” Osric countered, his tone biting. His sharp eyes flicked to her, challenging her without hesitation.
“That’s exactly what he wants us to do.” Miriam’s glare could have melted steel, but Osric didn’t flinch. The two had been at odds since my father’s time as Alpha, their arguments legendary in the pack. Now, it seemed, they were only growing more contentious. I could almost feel the room itself bracing for the next clash.
“He’s testing us,” Geth said, his quieter voice cutting through the noise. His face was drawn with lines of worry, his fingers drumming an uneven rhythm against the table.
“Silas wants to see how we’ll react. If we strike too soon, we’ll show him exactly how desperate we are.”
“And if we wait too long, he’ll take advantage of our hesitation,” Miriam shot back.
