Chapter 80:
“Dante.”
I took a step closer, searching for the right words.
“You don’t have to carry all of this alone. You have the council, the pack… me. We’re all here to support you.”
She looked away for a moment, her shoulders tense.
“I know that. But it’s hard to let go of the responsibility. Every decision I make affects them, every choice could mean life or death. I just… I need them to be safe.”
I nodded, understanding her fear more than she knew.
“That’s what makes you a great Alpha, Elara. You care about them. But caring doesn’t mean you have to shoulder every burden alone. Trust us. Trust me.”
She met my gaze, and in that moment, I saw a flicker of vulnerability, a crack in the armor she wore so well. She nodded, her voice soft.
“Thank you, Dante. I’ll try.”
As she walked away, I felt a fierce resolve settle within me. I had left Talon once, but I would not leave again. Not now, not when it mattered most. Whatever battle lay ahead, I would face it with her, protect her and this pack with everything I had.
As the night deepened, I found myself standing guard along the border, listening to the quiet sounds of the forest, feeling the tension in the air. Silas was coming, and he would bring everything he had to try to break us. But he would find us ready, united, bound by a loyalty and strength that he could never understand.
I was here for Talon, for the wolves who had given me a second chance. And above all, I was here for Elara, ready to fight for the future she was building, a future I now believed in with every fiber of my being.
When the time came, I would stand beside her, unyielding, prepared to face whatever darkness lay ahead.
The night air was sharp, biting against my skin as I moved silently through the underbrush, my pack following closely behind me. The forest was alive with the sounds of night creatures, but I barely registered them. My focus was fixed on Talon Pack’s borders, the familiar territory that had once been mine—my home, my inheritance.
Once, I had walked these paths with the confidence of a wolf destined to lead. I’d believed that I would inherit the mantle of Alpha, that the pack would recognize my strength and vision. But they hadn’t. Talon Pack had betrayed me, cast me aside in favor of weaker leaders—wolves who thought peace was worth more than power, who valued family and loyalty over dominance.
I had tried to show them another way, to help them understand that we could be more than just another pack blending into the trees, bound by outdated ideas of loyalty and tradition. But they had refused to see it. Instead, they’d clung to their precious values, their unity, as if that alone could protect them from the harsh reality of the world.
When I’d spoken out against their leadership, when I’d challenged the Alpha’s decisions, I’d believed they would see my strength, my potential. But they hadn’t. Instead, they’d branded me a threat, an outlier who dared to question the “values” that supposedly held Talon Pack together.
And so, they’d exiled me, forced me to leave the only home I’d ever known.
They thought they’d broken me that day. They thought that casting me out would weaken me, that I would disappear into the wilderness, just another rogue with nothing left to fight for. But they were wrong. My exile had only made me stronger, sharpening my instincts, hardening my resolve. And as I wandered, gathering wolves who understood what true power looked like, I’d realized that Talon Pack was nothing more than a crumbling relic, clinging to a legacy that meant nothing.
It was Dante who had pushed me over the edge. Dante, with his naive loyalty, his unshakeable faith in Talon Pack’s unity. He’d stood against me, a wolf who should have been my ally, a brother-in-arms in the pursuit of strength. But he, too, had been seduced by their lies, their illusions of honor and loyalty. When I’d challenged the Alpha, when I’d tried to take the leadership that was rightfully mine, Dante had been there to stop me, to stand against me.
I had never forgotten that moment, the look in his eyes as he fought to protect a pack that didn’t deserve his loyalty. He had chosen them over me, over the future we could have built. And for that, I would make him pay.
