BloodMoon: Captivated by the Forbidden Lycan Alpha
Chapter 247: BLIND SIDED KAEL

Chapter 247: BLIND SIDED KAEL

{"Traitors are more dangerous than enemies."}

Three days of quiet.

Three days of careful hope.

The mantle hung behind my chair now, displayed like a banner of defiance and unity. I had not worn it since the ceremony. I told myself it was symbolic, not sacred. But even so... it felt like it was watching the room with me. I was in the command office, finalizing the restructuring for cross-pack training, when the first alarm went off low, sharp, and not the usual practice tone.

A real breach, and before I could reach,t the door to the main corridor exploded inward, ripped from its hinges like it was paper. And Kael Thornclaw walked in, flanked by six enforcers in stripped, blackened armor, rogues. Their insignias had been torn off. I could still smell blood on one of them.

Kael’s eyes were cold. Too calm. "Wave," he said. "Still pretending you belong in that chair?"

"You’re out of uniform," I said coolly, even as my wolf roared beneath my skin. "And out of your damn mind."

"I’m restoring order," he snarled. "You think a Council ruling makes you worthy? You are still an Omega. Wearing a stolen mantle. You turned the enforcers into a den of weakness. I am here to end it."

"You’re here to betray your oath," I shot back.

My wolf surged forward, not out of rage. Out of instinct. Out of the need to survive. I twisted, drove my elbow into one rogue’s throat, disarming him and swinging low. Another came from behind. I ducked the blow, and I turned and drove my boot into his knee.

The office was not meant for a fight. Too tight. Too many corners, but I was trained for this.

I was born for this, and blood hit the floor as we fought, and then I heard the front gate alarms begin to rise. I sensed him before I saw him, and then, through the shattered door, Spark appeared. His eyes blazed with fury. A lightning charge built beneath his skin. "Touch him again," he said to the room, "and I’ll rip your bones out of your skin."

Kael lunged for me, but Spark was faster, and they collided mid-air, claws out and teeth bared. I dropped two more rogues and pressed my hand against my bleeding side, bracing against the overturned desk. I watched as Spark drove Kael down, pinned him hard against the floor, snarling into his face.

"You came for a seat that was never yours," Spark growled. "And you brought a rebellion with no spine."

Kael spat blood. "He’s an Omega, he’ll never lead us into war."

"He doesn’t have to," Spark whispered, cold. "He’ll lead us into something better."

I stepped forward, limping slightly, and I looked down at Kael Thorncla,w the enforcer who tried to break me.

"You’re under arrest," I said, my voice like steel. "For treason, assault, and dereliction of oath. And Kael?" He glared up, defiant even now. "I am not just an Omega. I am the reason your kind is afraid."

After we dragged him to the enforcer jail, the cell stank of cold iron and blood. Kael sat on the floor in chains, wrists bound, a thick collar pulsing with dampening runes to suppress his shift. His knuckles were bruised. His pride was shattered. But his hate still burned like wildfire in his eyes. I stood just outside the barrier ward. Spark was beside me, silent, arms crossed. Enforcer Kerris flanked the hallway, watching from a respectful distance.

Kael looked up slowly as we approached, blood crusted along his jaw. He grinned like a wolf too bitter to die with grace. "Come to gloat, Omega?" he spat.

"No," I said calmly. "I came to understand. Why betray your oath? Why throw away everything we have bled to build?"

He let out a hoarse laugh. "You don’t get it, do you?"

His voice sharpened with fury. "You do not belong in that seat. You never did. You think a Council vote and a fancy mantle make you a leader?" He rose slowly to his feet, eyes wild. "You are a male wolf who can bear pups. A male with a womb. A thing that was never meant to command warriors."

Silence fell, heavy and sharp, and my pulse thudded once in my ears, but I did not look away. Spark stiffened beside me, but I placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.

Kael kept going, venom dripping from every word. "You think they will follow you when your belly swells and your scent changes? When your instincts pull you away from battle to nest like a trembling bitch in heat?" He sneered. "You are not a leader. You are a breeder. "

I took a slow breath, and then I stepped closer right up to the edge of the ward, until only a shimmer of light separated us. "I am everything you fear, Kael," I said, voice low. "I am strong, that does not wear your shape. I have an instinct that protects, not dominates. I am the new blood of this pack, and your hatred is ancient dust."

Kael’s face twisted, and I leaned in just slightly, letting the words fall like steel between us. "And if I do bear life one day, know this: I will do it as a warrior, a protector, and you are better. And they will still follow me."

Kael roared, slamming himself into the barrier. It flared, throwing him backward in a snap of light.

Spark moved to my side, eyes hard. "Let him rot."

I nodded, heart steady now. "Let the world see what the old order dies screaming about."

The news spread like wildfire, carried by wind that Deputy Enforcer Kael Thornclaw, once respected and feared, had led a rogue faction in an attempt to seize control of the enforcers. He had attacked the compound. Tried to assassinate me, but by an Omega, the Enforcer leader and the mate of the Bay shifter pack.

As the news spread and the first to arrive were the Stone claw emissaries, elders from the mountain stronghold, who bowed before me and offered their loyalty with no hesitation. Their leader, a rigid woman named Veda, declared it publicly:

"It is not the nature of the wolf that commands our loyalty, but the strength of their spirit. Wave has proven what Enforcers can do, he leads without domination."

The Frost Howls followed, and then the Rogourau shifters followed. Some were slower, but even they could not ignore the unity building behind the enforcer ranks.

At night, I stood on the main tower and watched firelight bloom from the outposts and listened to the words of the enforcer recruits whisper, "If Commander Wave can lead us, maybe I can be more than what I was born for, too."

Spark found me that evening, his expression unreadable until he pulled me close, arms wrapping around my waist. "They see it now," he murmured against my neck. "You gave them more than safety. You permitted them."

I held him back, tightly.

"No one gives us permission anymore," I whispered. "We all have a right to be who we are."

Hours later, Spark was behind me, arms around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder as we stared out across the courtyard from our quarters. Wolves trained below, laughing, sparring. No tension, no fear.

I leaned back into him, eyes fluttering closed. "Do you think it’ll last?"

He brushed his lips against my neck. "It is only the beginning. But this time... we are strong enough."

The scent of the guard reached us before we spotted him, and he knocked on the door of the office, and "Enter," Spark called, voice already shifting into command.

The door burst open, and a young enforcer, Aedric, rushed in, breathless, a scroll half-unfurled in his trembling hand.

"Alpha Spark, Enforcer Wave." He bowed quickly. "Apologies for the intrusion, but this just came in from the Sky wind runners. It is urgent."

Spark stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "What is it?"

Aedric swallowed. "Alpha Tor is returning. He has company, and they have just come from Bloodstone Mountain.

My heart skipped "Blood Stone Mountain..." I whispered. "They were supposed to stay through the full moon."

"I don’t understand," Spark muttered, scanning the message.

"He’s coming back for a reason," I said quietly. "Either they defeated it early... or something forced them to leave."

He looked toward the window, toward the distant stretch of trees beyond the courtyard.

"We met him in the Royal Garden," Spark said.

I blinked. "The Garden?"

"It’s neutral ground," he explained. "And private at the same time.

I turned to the guard, Aedric, who still lingered at the door, the urgency in his stance clear. "Send word to my mother," I ordered, voice sharp but calm. "Let her know Tor is back. I want her, Elder Crystal, and General Mortas to meet us in the Royal Garden."

Aedric nodded immediately, already moving to conduct the command. As he passed the threshold, I added, "And just keep the message quiet and to them."

As the door clicked shut, I turned to Spark, who had already started gathering the cloak and armaments that would allow him to remain both authoritative and prepared. "You think Tor will be willing to discuss what happened at Blood Stone Mountain?" Spark asked, his voice low, but there was an edge of concern there.

I shrugged, though the tightness in my chest suggested I was not as unconcerned as I let on. "I hope we need to ensure that the threat is neutralized."