Kane's Quest

CHAPTER 5: KANE'S QUEST

Kane

The Lycan King's departure created a heavy silence in the big room, making me realize the importance of my new duty. I stood motionless for a moment, grappling with the gravity of the situation. Serena, the mate i rejected, was now my main concern.

Turning on my heel, I immediately set out to gather my most trusted warriors.

 The early morning light made long shadows on the walls as I walked to the pack's meeting hall. The pack felt uneasy when I arrived, and you could feel the tension in the air.

"Beta Garrett, Lucan, assemble the others," I ordered, my voice slicing through the quiet like a blade. "We have a Lycan princess to find."

Beta Garrett, a seasoned tracker with scars mapping his face, nodded solemnly. "We'll need every nose we have, Alpha. The snow's made a mess of things out there."

Beta Lucan, ever the strategist, chimed in, his brow furrowed. "We must consider that she may not be on foot. She could have found other means to flee."

I rounded on them, my frustration flaring. "I don't care if she's sprouted wings and flown! We will find her."

The meeting hall filled swiftly with the members of my pack, their murmurs of concern and curiosity bouncing off the stone walls.

The elder's voice cut through the gathering, his grizzled features etched with disapproval. "Alpha excuse my boldness, but why bother with a rejected she-wolf? A mere pawn in the grand scheme, Alpha. We have more pressing matters."

Another elder, his eyes narrowed, added, "Your focus should be on strengthening our alliances, not chasing after a disgraced mate."

A gasp rippled through the crowd as an elder, known for his bluntness, spoke up, "Serena is a burden, Alpha. There are others who would gladly serve you without the stain of rejection."

The murmurs intensified, disbelief etched on their faces. I wasted no time in laying out the stakes.

"Serena is of Lycan royalty," I revealed, watching their reactions with a hawk's intensity. "She is the King's daughter, and my negligence has led to her disappearance. We will find her, and we will leave no stone unturned."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, eyes widening as the gravity of their Alpha's plight took hold.

Damon, a young but fierce warrior, stepped forward, his chest puffed out in determination. "Alpha, where do we begin the search? The snow's covered everything."

I glanced at the faces before me, each one etched with the resolve that came with unyielding loyalty. "We start at the borders and move inward. Every patrol, every scout, every warrior will be looking for any sign of her."

Tara, our pack's lead healer, approached, her eyes soft with concern. "Alpha Kane, you must take care of yourself as well. Your strength is paramount."

I let out a harsh laugh, the sound bitter and hollow. "My strength is of no consequence if I cannot protect what is mine."

As night fell, the snow continued its relentless descent, erasing the tracks of the day's fruitless search. My warriors returned, one by one, their faces etched with the fatigue of failure.

"We've found no sign, Alpha," Garrett reported, his voice a mixture of apology and resolve.

I slammed my fist against the wall, the stone cracking under the force. "Then we search again! We expand the search beyond the borders. We question the humans, the rogues, anyone who might have seen her."

Lucan approached, his voice low. "Alpha, we've done all we can. The snow—"

"I don't want to hear about the damned snow!" I roared, my rage a living thing within the confines of the hall. "We find her, or we face the wrath of the Lycan King and the disgrace of failing my pack."

Silence fell, heavy and suffocating, as my pack members exchanged uneasy glances. I took a breath, struggling to rein in my fury, my regret gnawing at my insides.

"We will continue at first light," I declared, my voice a low, seething growl. "No one rests until Serena is found."

The following day dawned with a biting cold that seemed to seep into my very bones. As I led my pack into the forest, the heavy snowfall obscured our path, turning the landscape into a blank canvas of frustration and despair.

"Spread out," I ordered, my voice clipped with tension. "We cover more ground this way. Look for any sign of her, no matter how small."

Hours passed with no breakthrough, the relentless snowfall adding to our frustration. As night approached, we regrouped at the edge of the forest, the failing light casting long shadows around us.

"Any luck?" I demanded, my eyes searching the weary faces of my warriors.

Damon stepped forward, his expression grim. "Nothing, Alpha. The snow has swallowed any trace of her."

A surge of anger and helplessness coursed through me, a tempest of emotions I struggled to contain. "We cannot give up. She's out there, and we will find her."

As we returned to the pack's territory, the weight of failure settled upon us like a suffocating shroud. I found myself unable to rest, haunted by the thought of Serena lost in the unforgiving wilderness. The enormity of what I had lost gnawed at me, fueling an obsession that bordered on madness.

Days turned into weeks, and the search for Serena consumed me entirely. I interrogated every member of the pack, my voice a relentless force demanding answers.

"Someone must know something," I seethed, my eyes ablaze with a mixture of anger and desperation.

"We've told you, Alpha, we don't know where she went," one of the pack members insisted, his voice tinged with fear.

"Enough!" I bellowed, the sound echoing through the halls of the pack's den. "She cannot have vanished without a trace!"

The heavy snowfall continued, a relentless adversary that seemed to mock our efforts. Every day, I pushed my warriors to their limits, unwilling to accept defeat. But each day yielded nothing, and the weight of my failure grew heavier with every passing moment.

One frigid night, as I stood on the outskirts of our territory, a lone figure approached through the swirling snow. It was Tara, her expression one of concern and apprehension.

"Alpha Kane, you must stop this," she implored, her voice cutting through the biting wind. "You're pushing the pack to exhaustion. We cannot keep this up."

I rounded on her, my eyes flashing with a volatile mix of anger and anguish. "I will not rest until she's found. I cannot bear the thought of what she might be enduring out there."

Tara placed a gentle hand on my arm, her touch a stark contrast to the tempest raging within me. "We all want to find her, but this relentless pursuit is tearing you apart. And it's tearing the pack apart as well."

Her words pierced through the haze of my obsession, and for a moment, I felt the weight of my actions bearing down on me. But before I could respond, Markus, my head guard, appeared at the edge of the clearing, his expression grave.

"Alpha Kane," he called out, his voice heavy with urgency. "The Lycan King is here, and he is furious. He demands to see you immediately."

A surge of dread and apprehension washed over me as I realized the gravity of the situation.