Bound By Blood, Torn By Power

the ancient oak, its massive limbs stretching out like twisted fingers reaching toward the heavens. Wolves stood in tight clusters, the

quiet, but the tension in the air was palpable. The rumors of Kael's return had spread like wildfire through the pack, and no one was sur

pear unyielding in the face of the uncertainty that threatened to engulf them. But even Seraphine could see the

a

e had been a brother, a friend, someone Darius had trusted with his life. But that trust had been shattered when Kael h

weight of concern. "What will we do if he returns? What

in the silence of his own thoughts. He had made his decision long ago-

They feared Kael, feared what he had become, and that fear w

e steady despite the storm brewing inside him. "We p

o full of life, so devoted to his pack, had become something else entirely. The Moonbane's curse had corrupted him, and she knew there was l

. He could feel the weight of their eyes on him, waiting for him to speak, to offer reassurance that everything would be all right. But t

him together," he said, his voice resolute. "We will show him that the

em through this storm. But she knew better than anyone that the curse that had taken Kael was far more powerfu

's R

ly at first, but now, it had taken full hold of him, shaping him into something monstrous. His once-bright blue eyes now glowed with an un

nger bound by the ideals of leadership and loyalty that had once defined him, Kael had set out on a mission o

spoke of Darius's increasing paranoia, of the cracks within the pack. Kael had heard the whispe

d this place home. He had once fought for it. But now, it was nothing more than a symbol of his betrayal, a reminder of everything he

ess. The signs of division were clear. But Kael didn't care about the pack's survival anymore. He cared about revenge

ine's

p. But the more she saw the pack's unease, the more she realized that Darius's grip on the wolves was slipping. His obsession with keeping control, with holding

gether. But as the days passed, she began to doubt him. The wolves had begun to question his decisions. They had

er he had become. She wanted to believe that he could be saved, that there was a way to break the curse, to bring him back to his senses. But ever

me came. Would she stand by Darius, the Alpha who had always been her leader,