Chapter 21

• The first rays of dawn, painting the fractured remnants of the Moonwood sky with hues of bruised purple and hesitant gold, did little to dispel the suffocating shroud of dread that had descended upon Kael and his pack. The silence left by the vampires was a deafening accusation, a testament to their efficiency and the gaping void where Tallia had once been. Yet, within that silence, a fire had been kindled in Kael’s soul—a molten core of fury and unwavering resolve. His mate, his heart, his very reason for existing for the past century, had been stolen, and no creature of the night, no matter how ancient or powerful, would deny him his fated bond.
• “Lyra, gather the elite trackers. Those with the sharpest noses, the keenest eyes, the deepest understanding of the hidden paths,” Kael commanded, his voice a low growl that vibrated with the power of a suppressed storm. His golden eyes, usually alight with a gentle warmth when he looked upon his pack, now burned with a fierce, unwavering intensity. He needed more than just instinct; he needed the collective prowess of his most trusted warriors, individuals whose very beings were attuned to the whispers of the forest and the subtle disturbances within its sacred boundaries.
• Lyra, her own face etched with the strain of the past hours but her spirit unbroken, nodded with a determined set to her jaw. “They are ready, Kael. They await your command.” She knew the unspoken burden her Alpha carried, the agonizing weight of responsibility for Tallia’s safety, and she offered no platitudes, only silent, steadfast support. Her own connection to Tallia, though not that of a fated mate, was deep and genuine, forged in shared laughter and whispered confidences under the moonlit canopy.