MasukRen didn’t go back to his chamber immediately.For a while, he just walked with not direction or destination. Because if he stopped, he would start thinking too much again.And right now, his thoughts were already too loud.Running into Wayne like that shouldn’t have meant anything, it should have been just someone from the past, someonehe used to know. Someone he used to feel something for, even though he never liked to admit it. That should’ve been it, but it wasn’t.Ren exhaled slowly, dragging a hand across his jaw. "Something’s off.”He couldn’t explain it, he couldn't quite place his hands on it, not properly. But the way Wayne looked at him, like he was trying to stay calm in the midst of a storm. Like he was hiding something.Ren didn’t like that, he has neve trust strange environment, and he definitely wasn’t going to ignore it. His steps slowed and then stopped as decision settled in.“Yeah,” he muttered, confirming within himself that he wasn't leaving bloodfang anytime so
Wayne didn’t go far after he parted ways with Ren. He told himself it didn’t matter, and that it was just a random meeting. A simple coincidence of some from the past showing up where they weren’t supposed to.By the time Ren disappeared from sight, Wayne already knew he wasn’t going to let it go, because no matter how he wanted to let it go—something about that encounter didn’t sit right. And more than that and everything else he missed Darius, their bond had been stronger lately. Even Deeper, and harder to ignore. And right now he needed him. Needed the steadiness, the clarity, and someone who would look at this and tell him he wasn’t overthinking it. So he turned and headed for him.Wayne didn’t knock. He pushed the door open and stepped inside Dariu's chamber and Darius looked up immediately. He didn’t need an explanation to know something was wrong.“What is it?” Darius asked.Wayne shut the door behind him, still a bit unsettled. "I just ran into someone,” he said.Darius’s gaz
Ren had had enough.The silence between him and Darius dragged longer than it needed to, and Ren wasn’t built for standing still while someone else controlled the pace. He exhaled once and then straightened.“So that’s it?” he said. “You’re not going to show me.”Darius didn’t move. “Not today.”Ren let out a quiet, humorless laugh.“Of course,” he muttered. “Still the same.”Darius’s gaze stayed on him. Calm. Firm. Final.“It’s not your decision to make,” he said.Ren nodded slowly, like he expected nothing else.“Yeah,” he replied. “That’s your favorite line.”Then Ren added, more direct this time“Is it really true that your mate is not a woman?.”Darius’s jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.Ren continued, voice low but clear. “A male mate,” he said. “In this pack. You know what that means. The elders won’t accept it, and the warriors won’t accept it. You built this place on rules, and now you’re the one breaking them.”Darius’s voice dropped. “I’m not breaking anythin
Ren didn’t move from where he sat.The hall had emptied, but the tension stayed behind like it belonged there. His Beta leaned against one of the pillars, arms folded as he watched everything without pretending not to.Darius stood across from Ren, quiet, like he had all the time in the world.“So?” Ren said finally. “Are we going to stand here all day, or are you going to show me?”Darius’s expression didn’t shift. “You don’t give orders here.”Ren tilted his head slightly. “I’m not giving orders. I’m asking a simple question.”“You already asked,” Darius replied. “You’ll get an answer when I decide.”Ren let out a short breath through his nose. “Still like this, huh.”“Like what?”“Control has always come first for you before anything else.”Darius didn’t respond to that, then Ren took a few slow steps forward, boots quiet against the floor.“You confirmed it,” he said. “You have a mate.”“Yes," replied Darius.“And you expect me to just accept that without seeing who it is?”“I ex
Something had already changed inside Ren, and this time he wouldn’t look away.He didn’t sleep, and for him the night passed without rest or dreams. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling beams of the longhouse while the pack settled around him, unaware that the ground beneath their certainty had begun to fracture. Wolves breathed, shifted and murmured in his half-sleep, because life would go on no matter what.By the time dawn thinned the dark, the decision had already been made. He rose before the Beta Ajax returned, and even before the enforcers finished rotating off watch. He dressed with deliberate calm—boots pulled on, coat fastened, weapons secured not out of fear but habit. Everything about his movements was steady, controlled. And nothing was rushed or wasted.The letter was burned to ashes and gone to ash. But the words remained, carved somewhere deeper than memory.Ren stepped outside the stretch of the morning, where it had dragged across the park in muted color. Pale
Ren stood at the edge of the ridge, arms folded across his chest with his eyes fixed on the park below The land was his. Every ridge, every path, and every tree answered to him.”Wolves moved through the clearing in practiced rhythm—two scouts circled the treeline, a small group sparred near the rocks, and the rest checked the borders where Bloodfang territory pressed too close for comfort. The air carried familiar scents of pine, damp earth, wolf, sweat. But control and order was stronger in the air.And that was how Ren liked it.“Western boundary’s clear,” his Beta, Ajex, said as he approached, stopping a respectful distance away. “No trespass or markers crossed.”Ren didn’t look at him. “And the north?”“Quiet. Too quiet.”Ren’s jaw tightened slightly. “Double patrols tonight.”Beta Ajax hesitated. “That’ll stretch us thin, Alpha.”Ren turned then, enough to let his gaze land.“Then they’ll learn endurance,” he said. “I won’t have Bloodfang thinking this land is unguarded.”The B
CHAPTER 53 — Whispers in the WallsWeeks passed, and the tension in Bloodfang only got worse. The deadline for the next full moon hung over the pack like a storm cloud, and everyone felt it—even talked about it.And somehow Wayne’s name kept slipping into those talks.At first, it was small things
Wayne was still leaning against the couch with flushed cheeks catching his breath. Darius stood a few steps away, frozen, guilt sitting heavy in his chest.He watched Wayne’s chest rise and fall, watched the exhaustion pull at his features, and the shame twisted even deeper.Wayne finally spoke, vo
Darius stood by the window, staring into the dark woods.His hands were still shaking, and the meeting replayed in his head like a curse.The elders and the Luna talk, with Rylan’s name on their tongues.He gritted his teeth. “They want to weaken me,” he muttered. “Make me easy to control.”The doo
The air in the council hall was cold.Too quiet, and Darius stood at the center of the room, arms crossed, eyes narrowed as the elders murmured among themselves. He hated being summoned like this—like a child called to explain himself.Elder Rowan finally cleared his throat. “Alpha Darius,” he bega







