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Chapter 16: Shadows of Secrets

Author: Nancy's Best
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-17 15:24:54

MARCUS’S POV

I sat at the head of the obsidian table, my claws tapping the polished surface, the firelight casting jagged shadows across the pack’s council chamber. The air in our forest stronghold, deep in the BloodMoon pack’s territory, was thick with tension, the scent of pine and ash heavy. Veron, my Beta, leaned forward in his chair, his silver hair glinting, his eyes narrow and sharp like a hawk’s. I could hear his wolf, Grim, prowled behind his gaze, itching for a fight. My own wolf, Raze, growled low, sensing the challenge in Veron’s posture. We were allies, bound by blood and ambition, but trust? That was a fragile thread, ready to snap.

“Alpha Marcus, how is Caleb’s progress coming on?” Veron asked, his voice smooth but edged, his fingers steepled. “Has he found the Moonborn already? It’s been two full moons since he left in search of her. Surely he’s found her by now.” His tone dripped with doubt, a jab at my bloodline, my heir.

I leaned back, my leather chair creaking, my face a mask of calm despite the fire in my chest. “There’s no news from him yet,” I said, my voice steady, my eyes locked on his. “But best believe he’s tracking her at Crestwood University, and very soon we will get the news of her death.”

Veron laughed, a cold, mocking sound that echoed off the stone walls. “Very soon?” he scoffed, standing, his hands slamming the table. “He’s wasting time, Alpha. Giving me more weeks to find her means giving her more time to gain her powers. The longer that girl stays alive, the more her powers grow—that means the greater threat she is to your throne and your pack.”

Raze snarled, my fists clenching under the table, my jaw tight. “Caleb’s not playing,” I snapped, my voice low, dangerous. “This is his first time out of the pack, Veron. The human world’s different—crowded, chaotic. He’s learning to navigate it, to hunt without exposing us to their hunters. Give him time.”

Veron’s eyes flashed gold, his wolf rising. “First time?” He laughed again, pacing, his boots heavy on the floor. “You think this is Caleb’s first jaunt to Novella? You’re blind, Alpha Marcus. Your son’s been slipping out for years, sneaking to the human world whenever your iron fist gets too tight. Bars, clubs, their filthy cities—he’s no stranger to them. You raised him to be a killer, not a coward, so why the delay?”

My blood ran cold, my wolf roaring, betrayal cutting deep. Caleb, sneaking out? Defying me behind my back? I stood, my chair scraping, my claws extending, scraping the table’s edge. “What are you talking about?” I growled, stepping closer, my voice a blade. “Speak plainly, Veron, or I’ll rip the truth from you.”

He smirked, unfazed, leaning in. “Caleb’s been running to Novella since he was sixteen, Marcus. When your punishments—your lessons—broke his bones, his spirit, he’d escape. He’d blend with humans, drown his pain in their world. You didn’t know?” His eyes gleamed, mocking. “Some Alpha you are.”

Rage surged, my vision tinting red, Raze howling to tear into him. I’d raised Caleb hard—whips, claws, blood—to forge him into a weapon, an assassin who’d kill without question. I’d broken his arm at twelve for talking back, cracked his ribs at fifteen for failing a hunt. The pack feared me, and so did he, but I’d made him strong, ruthless, a mirror of my own cruelty. If he’d been sneaking out, hiding from my wrath, it was a betrayal I’d punish later. But now, the Moonborn was the priority—the girl who could end my reign, claim the throne that should’ve been my brother Adrian’s.

“You question my son’s loyalty?” I said, my voice low, my claws digging into my palms. “Caleb’s my blood, Veron. I sent him to Novella as punishment, yes, but also because he’s the only one I trust to kill her. The Moonborn’s a threat to us all, and Caleb’s trained to end threats. He’ll find her, rip her heart out, and bring it back.”

Veron’s smirk faded, his eyes narrowing. “Are you sure sending Caleb was wise?” he asked, his voice softer, probing. “What if he finds the truth, Marcus? What if he learns why we need her dead?”

I froze, my breath catching, my mind spiraling to a memory I’d buried deep. The chamber faded, and I was back twenty years, in the pack’s old territory, before the coup that changed everything. My stepbrother, Adrian, stood tall, his golden eyes shining, his wolf noble, chosen by our father to be Alpha. I hated him—his mother a mistress, his blood impure, yet he was favored over me, the trueborn son. Father called me a tyrant, a beast who’d burn the pack to ashes, and gave the throne to Adrian. I seethed, my ambition a poison, and found an ally in Veron, hungry for power himself.

We plotted the coup, turning werewolves against humans, shattering the peace that let Adrian love Elise, a human woman. She was pregnant, carrying a child—Adrian’s heir, a girl born under a blood moon, the Moonborn. During the coup, we burned their village, thinking we’d killed Elise and the baby. Blood stained my claws, Adrian’s screams echoed as I ended him, claiming the throne. But Elise had escaped, giving the child to her human family, hiding her in Novella. Now, eighteen years later, we’d learned she was alive—a student, a threat, her power dormant but growing. If she awakened, she’d come for my crown, for Caleb’s future, and I’d lose everything.

I snapped back to the present, Veron’s eyes boring into me, his question hanging. “What if Caleb learns the truth?” he repeated, stepping closer, his voice a whisper. “That you killed his uncle, started the war, all to steal a throne that’s not yours? What then, Marcus?”

My heart pounded, my wolf snarling, but I held his gaze, my voice steady. “Caleb won’t find out,” I said, my tone cold, final. “He’s loyal. He kills who I tell him to kill. The Moonborn’s just another target, a girl he’ll gut without blinking. If he hesitates, I’ll break him again until he obeys.”

Veron tilted his head, his smirk returning, but his eyes were wary. “And if he fails? I could go, Marcus. I’d find her in days, end her before she knows her power. A Beta’s touch—quick, clean.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter, stepping into his space, my claws twitching. “You, Veron? You think I’d trust you with this?”

Raze growled, sensing the betrayal I’d always suspected. Veron was loyal now, but his sons—Ethan, Noah and Sebastain, the pack’s golden boy—were threats. I’d seen Veron’s hunger, his schemes to push Caleb aside, to elevate Sebastian as Alpha one day. I used Veron’s cunning, his strength, but I’d never let him near my throne.

“Caleb’s my heir, my killer. He’ll do this, or he’ll answer to me.”

Veron’s jaw tightened, his wolf flashing, but he backed off, sitting down. “Fine,” he said, his voice clipped. “But time’s running out. The Moonborn’s power will wake, and if Caleb’s distracted—chasing skirts, playing human—she’ll destroy us all.”

I nodded, my fists unclenching, my mind racing. “He won’t fail,” I said, more to myself than him. “He’s my son.”

But doubt gnawed at me, Caleb’s secret escapes a crack in my control. I’d find him, drag him back if I had to, and ensure the Moonborn died. My throne, my legacy, depended on it.

The chamber fell silent, the fire crackling, our wolves watching each other, ready for war. I turned, striding out, my boots echoing, my heart heavy with the past and the blood I’d spill to keep it buried.

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