Chapter 8 The Whisper In The North

• KAEL
• As soon as my eyes flung open, I was back, locked up in the brick walls of the dungeon.
• The rage and memories of the events that occurred a few hours ago slammed into me; I mentally complimented whoever thought it was best to chain me back as my bloodshot gaze fell on the person at the gate.
• "Thorne?"
• He whipped his head towards me, flinching at the sound of my voice.
• "Alpha—
• Not Thorne...
• — Beta Thorne left a few minutes ago."
• I squinted, blinking away the dizziness.
• "Get him."
• In less than ten minutes, the guard's stuttering figure was replaced with my Beta's shocked one. Thorne's face wasn't his usual unreadable mask. His lips parted, then closed. Then parted again,
• He stared at me, curiosity shining in his eyes as he swallowed like the words were too heavy for him to speak.
• I frowned, eyeing him suspiciously before tugging at my bind.
• "How about you get these chains off first? Then you can continue your show."
• That was enough to get him out of his head, and he hurriedly swung the gate open.
• "Sh*t. I'm sorry... It's just... I was surprised. I can't believe it, you—
• "I shifted." The words 'dry' and 'disbelieving' fell from my lips.
• "For the first time in 300 years..." He added, but I could hear the words he didn't say.
• For the first time since Liora...
• A pang of hurt shot through me just at the thought of her name, yet my face remained impassive...emotionless.
• Emotion was dangerous... hope... fatal.
• I'd learnt the hard way that surviving didn't mean living. That's how I got through the last three centuries I've lived. In all my 720 years as a wolf, I'd rarely heard of a wolf surviving after the death of their mate, yet I did.
• Liora was the only name I knew. The only one I lived for... the tragedy of losing my parents became bearable because I found her.
• She got me through it all, acting as the light in my darkened world, but like every other thing I had, she was snatched away from me.
• Goddess... I didn't even get to know her...
• And the most haunting fact of all?
• This, too, was my fault.
• I should've learnt from my parents' experience.
• You can never have it all.
• "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself." Thorne's amazed voice broke into my thoughts. "You were... there. Staring at the tree, and then all of a sudden, you began to shake...
• His voice faded, replaced by the ghost of the cold, searing memory, the scent of fear and burning skin.
• Her scent...
• ...It was terrible, Kael. I thought something was wrong... I thought we might have a repeat of..." He trailed off, his fascination fading into dread. Shaking off my stiff limbs, I grumbled, walking over to the empty chair in the middle of the room.
• "We didn't."
• My eyes found the burnt marks of the silver cuff on my wrist as I sat. It was already healing.
• This was... this was real. I really had gotten my wolf back.
• I hadn't heard Ry's voice since that time in the clearing, but I knew he was in there; unlike before, I could feel him. He was weak, but he was there.
• "You shouldn't have broken out of the dungeon." Thorne's tone of disapproval caused me to narrow my eyes at him.
• "I didn't want to. I just..."
• "I could feel the fear of the entire pack. You know what the full moon does to your wolf. You should've been able to hold it ba—
• Anger that flared within me.
• "You think I wanted to lose control?" I snapped. "You think I would intentionally be out there knowing that at the slightest push, my wolf could grow rabid from trying to break free from the curse and kill my people?"
• Was he being serious? Wasn't that why I alerted him about the intrusion?
• His words and reactions were valid, but I didn't need to be reminded about my past. I knew the implications of coming out during a full moon. After all, I'd only suffered the consequences of my actions for years.
• It was thanks to this that I could endure the loss of my mate. At least one good thing came out of my wolf being bound. Letting out a heavy sigh, I ran a hand down my face, taming my temper.
• "This doesn't make sense, right?"
• Thorne plopped down opposite me.
• "I thought I was the only confused one. The curse cannot be lifted except by the Elders themselves, and I doubt they'd ever want to do that, considering the reason they placed it in the first place. So, how exactly was your wolf able to return?"
• His mention of the horrific past caused an uncomfortable stirring at the bottom of my stomach, and the image of a weak-looking girl formed in my mind.
• Could she be connected to this?
• My empty gaze met Thorne's.
• "You really didn't see anyone last night?"
• He gave me a serious look.
• "Do you think I'd lie? The moment I received your mind link about the intrusion, I instructed the men to begin a thorough search. You'd never been wrong about these things, so I knew I couldn't joke with that either."
• "But you saw nothing?"
• "Yes." His lips pulled into a thin line as he nodded. "I figured it was probably the full moon messing with your senses."
• "It wasn't." I corrected it, although I'd thought the same at a point. "I'm sure I felt something in the North. This wasn't the first time either. I'd been having the same dreams for the last three days.
• His eyes flashed with concern.
• "The one about Liora?"
• It was my turn to push down my words, worried he'd see through me.
• Thorne was more than just a Beta to me. He was a brother... the man I'd grown up with and the only one who had seen me at my lowest. Our friendship stemmed from our parents' relationship. His father had been my father's head warrior when he was Alpha, so it only made sense that Thorne became my training partner.
• Growing up, I always knew I was going to make him my Beta, and he always knew we were going to rule together, just not with me in the shadows.
• Liora's death killed something in me, both physically and emotionally. I couldn't live like I used to... even after my wolf was taken away, it just didn't feel right; I was laughing and living each day like I didn't lose a part of myself, but Thorne was there.
• Without a word, he took over ruling at the forefront and maintaining the communication I couldn't with the outside world.
• No one in my pack had really seen me in years. It wasn't like they would want to anyway.
• To them, I was a ruthless Alpha who ruled through fear and brute force, but Thorne was the balance the pack needed. Still, even he had no idea what those dreams were about.
• How it always ended with the same words every time...
• "No," I said, my voice low. "It wasn't that dream."
• He gave me a pointed look. "A different one?"
• "Yes... The only thing I saw was myself standing at the border of a pack."
• "Your visions are back, too?"
• "I didn't think I ...realised it until now myself."
• "What pack was it?"
• I blinked.
• "I don't know... but it was north."
• He frowned. "You said you sensed the intrusion in the North... that's why we searched there..."
• From his tone, I could tell he was probably filling up the blank spaces.
• ...Wait, does this have to do with our pack being in the North Central? Perhaps it's one of the packs in our region?"
• My exact conclusion...
• "I think so too",
• "But we can't be too sure. I don't think there's any correlation between your vision and what you sensed. There was no one there anyway." He reasoned, and I closed my eyes, shuffling between my thoughts.
• "There was."
• One of his eyebrows jolted up.
• "What?"
• "A girl..."
• Thorne's jaw slackened. "But we didn't see—
• His eyes fogged over as he abruptly halted the conversation, a sign he was being contacted through the mind link.
• "I just got news from Sam. A letter just arrived. The gathering of fangs is to be hosted by the Northern region this year."
• The Gathering? A decadent tradition that was practically an excuse for the Alphas to meet and brag about their packs?
• I almost rolled my eyes.
• I hadn't set foot in one in decades. I never knew it was still a thing.
• "I know we're the host this year, but you can still avoid it if you want. It's not like they're not used to you being absent." Thorne commented, an amused grin spreading as he saw the bitter taste on my face.
• This time, I intentionally rolled my eyes.
• "I wasn't going t...
• An idea struck my mind.
• If I were going to check to see if last night was truly real, to get an explanation as to why my wolf was free, this was my chance. I sat up.
• "You said we're the host?"
• He eyed me dubiously.
• "Yeah?"
• "Good. Get me the file of every pack we oversee." I instructed.
• "And what do you need that for?"
• I threw him a bored stare.
• "To pick out the host for the gathering."
• If that girl were real, the gathering might be my only chance to find her again. I was going to sift through any information that could give me the slightest clue.
• This might be a futile attempt, but I couldn't stop the gut feeling that told me she had the answers I needed.