Chapter 8: WHEN SILENCE BECOMES THE HUNTER.

MELVIN'S POV

I hadn't slept.

The fire in my study had burned down to ash hours ago. The glass of whiskey sat untouched on my desk, the liquid dark and still. I had poured it at midnight, It was almost dawn now.

I stared at the window and watched the sky slowly turn gray.

My wolf paced inside me. He hadn't stopped since the council hall. Every time I tried to push him down, he came back harder. Restless, angry, like he refused to accept what we had done.

"Please stop already. I can't take any more guilt." I said it to the empty room.

A soft knock on the door pulled me back to reality.

"Alpha?" The guard's voice came through the wood. "The council requests your presence in the study. Elder Vayric says it's urgent."

I closed my eyes. "Tell them I'll be there."

The footsteps retreated.

I pushed myself up from the chair and walked toward the door. My reflection caught my eye in the dark window—hollow eyes, a shadowed jaw, the same shirt I had been wearing when I rejected her.

I hadn't even changed.

I walked through the halls of my own palace like a stranger. The walls I had known for years felt unfamiliar. Every step echoed against the stone, reminding me of the silence waiting for me everywhere I went.

The study doors stood open.

Elder Vayric sat at the head of the table, his hands folded in front of him. The other elders had gathered around, their faces calm and expectant. Gamma Cassien stood near the window with a relaxed posture.

They had been waiting for me.

I walked to my chair and sat down.

"You are welcome, Alpha Melvin." Elder Vayric didn't waste time. "Regardimg the Luna installation ceremony, we need to set a date."

I looked at him. "Now? She was exiled last night."

"Which is exactly why we need to move quickly." Elder Vayric's voice was calm and measured as he chose his next words carefully. "Thornridge cannot appear divided, the pack needs stability. The other packs need to see that we have moved forward."

"But... she hasn't even been gone a full day."

"The longer we wait, the more questions people ask." Elder Corvin leaned forward. "The pregnancy is confirmed. The heir is secured, the elders have accepted Selene. Why delay?"

I looked around the table. One elder after another nodded in agreement. No one questioned the decision being made. Because I had already given them what they wanted.

"The ceremony should happen within the week," Elder Vayric continued. "Selene is prepared, so is the pack. There is no reason to wait."

I pressed my fingers against the table.

"And what about the traditions? The mourning period? The formal transition?"

"Those traditions apply when a Luna dies," Elder Vayric said. "Auren was not killed, she was rejected. There is a difference."

His eyes met mine. "Unless you believe we made a mistake."

The room went quiet.

Every elder looked at me. Waiting, watching, like they were testing me.

My wolf growled inside me. I clenched my fist and forced the words out. "No mistake was made."

"Then we proceed." Elder Vayric smiled. "I will inform Selene. The ceremony will take place in five days."

My chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.

The elders began discussing the details—arrangements, invitations, decorations. Their voices blurred together into a meaningless hum. I sat in my chair and stared at the wall.

Cassien stepped forward from the window.

"Alpha."

I looked up.

"Would you like me to prepare the official announcement?" His voice was calm. "The pack will need to hear this news directly from you."

I studied him for a moment. Cassien had been my Gamma for six years. Loyal and reliable. He had never given me a reason to doubt him.

"Yes," I said quietly. "Prepare it."

He nodded and stepped back.

The meeting continued around me. Every detail was discussed, every decision made, as though I wasn't even there.

When it finally ended, the elders bowed and filed out one by one. Elder Vayric was the last to leave. He paused at the door.

"You made the right decision, Melvin," he said. "Thornridge will remember this as a turning point, and you'll be glad you did."

He walked out. His footsteps echoed down the hallway.

I sat alone in the study, surrounded by silence. The walls felt like they were closing in. The air felt heavy. I couldn't breathe.

I stood up and walked to the window. Below, the pack was waking up. The sun had started to rise, painting the rooftops gold. People moved through the streets, unaware of the storm inside their Alpha.

I couldn't stay here.

I turned and walked out of the study, down the corridor, past the guards who straightened as I passed. I didn't stop or speak to anyone.

"Alpha?"

One of the guards fell into step beside me.

"Is everything alright?"

"Leave me alone."

"But—"

"I said let me be!" I barked the words before I could stop myself.

The guard stopped, and I kept walking.Through the palace doors, down the steps, across the courtyard.

The pack members I passed bowed their heads and stepped aside, I didn't acknowledge them, conversations lowered as I passed. Heads turned, curious eyes lingering longer than usual.

I walked until the buildings disappeared and the forest swallowed me. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath.

Hollowwood stretched ahead, dark and endless.The same forest she had walked into last night.

My wolf surged forward. I let him take over.

The shift ripped through me. Bones cracked and reformed, fur spreading across my skin. It hurt, but I welcomed it.

The pain was better than the silence, I landed on four paws and ran.

The forest blurred past me. Trees whipped by, leaves scattering beneath my paws. I ran faster than I had ever run, my legs burning, my lungs straining, trying to outrun the damage I had caused.

But I couldn't escape it, her face, her voice, the way she had screamed my name when they dragged her away.

I ran harder.

My wolf howled in pain. The sound tore out of me and echoed through the trees, raw and broken, carrying across the forest like a warning.

I howled again and again. I ran until my legs gave out, until I collapsed onto the forest floor, my chest heaving, my heart pounding, my body screaming for rest.

I lay there in the dirt and let the silence settle over me. It was louder than anything I had ever heard.

My wolf lifted his head, his ears twitched, his nose flared.

Something was wrong.

I pushed myself up, my paws digging into the earth as my senses reached out into the forest.

The scent of blood hit me.

I moved forward, my instincts pulling me deeper between the trees. The scent grew stronger with every step. My heart pounded against my ribs.

The forest opened into a small clearing, dirt and leaves were torn apart. Footprints covered the grounds, deep gouges marked the earth as if something had been dragged through it.

And there, half-buried in the dirt, something gleamed in the pale morning light.

I stepped closer.

Silver chain necklace with a small locket.

I reached down and touched it with my nose, the scent hit me like a physical blow.

It was Auren's scent, mixed with blood and the unbearable reminder of what she had endured.

My wolf let out a deep growl that vibrated through my entire body.

I shifted back to human form, my hands trembled as I picked up the locket. My thumb pressed the latch, It clicked open.

“Forever Starts Now”. The words stared back at me.

"Auren!!…”