The clearing went quiet the second Elysia said it.
*You were bait.*
Kael felt the word sink in like teeth. Not fast. Slow. Deep.
He stared at her.
She stared back.
Eyes the same gray-green as his, but older. Worn. Like someone had sandpapered the hope out of them years ago.
No one moved.
The two wolves who'd escorted them stayed back—watching, silent. Liora stood a step to Kael's left, arms crossed tight, face blank. But her breathing was shallow. Kael could hear it. Too loud in the sudden hush.
Elysia took another half-step. Hands out, palms up—like approaching something wild.
"Kael—"
"Don't." His voice came out rough. Scraped. "Don't say my name like that."
She stopped. Hands dropped.
"I had to," she whispered. "They would have killed you. Both of us."
"Who?"
"The pack. The old Alpha. The curse was already waking in you. Even as a baby. You cried and windows cracked. You laughed and lights flickered. They called it a sign. They called it *danger*."
Kael's laugh was bitter. Short. "So you ran. Left me in a shitty apartment with cash under the mattress and a note that said 'be good.'"
Her face crumpled—just for a second. Then smoothed over. "I thought distance would keep it dormant. Keep you human longer."
"It didn't."
"No."
He looked around the clearing. Tents. Fire pit still smoldering. Faces half-lit—some curious, some hostile. All watching him like he was a bomb with a short fuse.
"And now?" he asked. "Now what am I?"
Elysia swallowed. "You're still my son."
"Funny way of showing it."
A new voice cut through—smooth, low, confident.
"Family reunions are touching. But we have bigger problems."
Kael turned.
A man stepped from the largest tent. Tall. Broad shoulders under a dark coat. Hair black, streaked with silver at the temples. Face handsome in a way that felt practiced. Eyes sharp. Green like poisoned water.
Darius.
He smiled. Small. Controlled.
"Welcome home, Kael."
Kael's stomach turned. "You're the Alpha."
"I am." Darius walked closer—slow, easy. Like he owned the ground under Kael's feet. "And you're the reason half this pack hasn't slept in years."
Kael felt the shift stir again. Low. Hungry. He clenched his fists. Claws pricked skin.
Darius noticed. His smile widened just a fraction.
"Easy," he said. "We're not here to fight. Not yet."
Elysia stepped between them. "Darius. He just got here."
"And he just killed a human in an alley," Darius replied mildly. "Word's already spreading. Hunters are moving. Rival packs too. We don't have time for tender moments."
Kael looked at his mother. "You let him talk to you like that?"
Elysia didn't answer.
Darius chuckled—soft, almost kind. "She doesn't *let* me do anything. She knows her place. And she knows yours."
Kael took a step forward. "My place?"
"You're silverblood," Darius said. Simple. Like stating the weather. "That makes you valuable. And dangerous. To everyone."
Liora shifted beside Kael. Small movement. Tense.
Darius glanced at her. "Liora brought him in. Good work."
She didn't reply. Just stared at the ground.
Kael felt something twist—sharp—in his chest. "You knew about the kill order?"
Liora's jaw tightened. "I knew the risk."
"And you still dragged me here."
"I gave you a choice."
"Did you?"
Darius raised a hand. "Enough. Both of you."
He looked straight at Kael.
"I knew your father," he said. "We were brothers. Pack born. He carried the silverblood too. Thought he could control it. Thought love would fix it." His eyes flicked to Elysia. "It didn't."
Elysia flinched. Barely. But Kael saw it.
Darius continued. "When he started to turn—really turn—the pack fractured. Half wanted him dead. Half wanted to use him. I chose the practical side."
Kael's voice came out low. "You killed him."
Darius didn't flinch. Didn't look away.
"I gave the order," he said. "Yes."
The clearing went dead silent.
Elysia made a small sound—choked. Like air had been punched out of her.
Kael felt the world narrow. Heat roared up his spine. Bones ached. Vision edged red.
"You're my uncle," he said. Flat.
Darius nodded once. "And I'm not sorry."
Kael lunged.
Not thought. Not plan. Just motion.
He crossed the distance in two strides. Fist already swinging.
Darius moved faster.
Caught Kael's wrist mid-air. Twisted. Hard.
Pain flared white. Kael snarled—teeth bared, longer than they should be.
Darius leaned in close. Voice calm. Almost gentle.
"You're strong. But you're not ready."
He shoved.
Kael flew back—slammed into the dirt. Breath exploded out of him.
The pack murmured. Some stepped closer. Some stayed back.
Liora moved—fast. Kneeled beside Kael. Hand on his shoulder.
"Breathe," she hissed. "Don't let it take you."
Kael shoved her hand off. "Don't touch me."
She didn't move away.
Darius stood over them both. Calm. Untouched.
"You want revenge?" he asked. "Earn it. Learn control. Prove you're more than a walking curse."
Kael pushed up to his knees. Blood in his mouth. Tasted like copper and rage.
"I don't want your pack," he said. "I don't want your lessons."
Darius crouched. Eye level.
"You don't have a choice," he said softly. "You're here. You're claimed. And if you run again… I'll send Liora next time. And she won't hesitate."
Liora's breath caught—just audible.
Kael looked at her.
Her face was stone. But her eyes—her eyes were screaming something he couldn't read.
Darius stood. Brushed dirt from his coat.
"Take him to the eastern tent," he told the two escorts. "Chain him if he fights. Feed him if he doesn't."
He turned to Elysia.
"And you," he said. "We'll talk later. About what you owe me for keeping your secret this long."
Elysia didn't answer. Just stared at Kael like she was memorizing him.
The escorts grabbed Kael's arms.
He didn't fight.
Not yet.
They dragged him toward the tent line.
Liora followed a step behind. Silent.
When they reached the tent flap, Kael stopped. Looked back.
Darius was already walking away. Back straight. Like nothing had happened.
Elysia stood alone in the clearing. Shoulders hunched. Face wet.
Kael met her eyes one last time.
She mouthed something.
Two words.
*Forgive me.*
He turned away.
Inside the tent—dark, smelled of canvas and pine and old blood—they shoved him down onto a cot.
One chain snapped around his wrist. Cold metal. Click.
The escort left.
Liora stayed.
She stood in the doorway. Backlit by firelight.
Kael looked up at her.
"You knew," he said. "About the kill order on my father."
She didn't deny it.
"I grew up hearing the story," she said quietly. "Pack hero turned monster. Alpha did what he had to. I believed it."
"And now?"
She looked away. "Now I don't know what to believe."
Kael tugged the chain. It rattled.
"Why didn't you shoot me in the park?"
Liora's voice dropped. Almost too soft to hear.
"Because I looked at you. And I saw someone who didn't ask for any of this."
She stepped closer. Close enough he could smell the pine on her again.
"And because," she whispered, "if I kill you… the curse might not die with you."
Kael stared.
"What?"
She crouched. Eye level.
"Darius thinks you're the key to ending it. Or starting it. He's not sure which. But he's willing to risk the whole pack to find out."
Kael felt cold crawl up his spine.
"And you?"
Liora's eyes met his.
"I think you're the only one who can decide."
She stood.
Turned to leave.
At the flap she paused.
"Looked back.
"Darius wants you broken," she said. "Don't let him."
Then she was gone.
The tent flap fell shut.
Kael sat in the dark.
Chain cold against his wrist.
Moonlight slipped through a tear in the canvas—thin silver line across his face.
He felt the wolf stir.
Not angry this time.
Patient.
Waiting.
And somewhere outside, he heard low voices.
Darius's voice.
Laughing.
Soft.
Like he'd already won.