The underground chambers hadn’t changed, but I had. The last time stood here, I was barely more than a frightened Omega, Now, I saw these walls through eyes that understood the weight of pack tradition, the necessary harshness of its laws. I knew now, with chilling certainty, that misplaced mercy was a weakness, one that could easily prove lethal to oneself.
The survivor had been placed in one of the smaller cells, not the main chamber where I’d seen Kaius execute a man. He lay on a narrow cot, his body a mass of injuries. Some looked like the result of the fight in our bedroom; others seemed fresher. I didn’t ask how he’d acquired them.
“This is how we would work,” Kaius said, approaching the wounded man. “I ask you questions, and if you give me the answers I like to hear, then your death would be quick; if not, I would make sure your last hours are worth my time.”
The man’s eyes flickered briefly to me, perhaps expecting mercy from the female presence. I kept my expression neutral, offering neither compassion nor cruelty.
“You don’t look like a member of this pack,” Kaius began.
The man licked his dry, cracked lips. “I am not, but I and the others had managed to camouflage as one of your soldiers. The security was tight–tighter than we anticipated, so we had to change the initial plan. The direct order had been to wait till dawn before attacking.“.
“And who gave you these orders?”
“We don’t know who this person is; he always sends his messenger to deliver the message.”
Kaius’s expression darkened. “You risked your lives for a man who you’ve never even seen.” It wasn’t a question but an accusation. “What is the name of his messenger?”
“I don’t know,” the man whispered.
Kaius moved closer, lifting something from a nearby table–a small, pointed instrument I chose not to look at too closely. “Are you sure about that?”
The man’s eyes widened in terror. “Silas!” he gasped. “The messenger’s name was… Silas.”
“Good,” Kaius said, setting the instrument down. “When was the last time you spoke to him?”
“Three days ago, that had been before we got into this pack.”
Frost, who had been silently observing, suddenly spoke. “Kaius?”
Something in his tone made both Kaius and I turn toward him.
“They were here for you,” Frost said, his voice low.
“They were here for the Lycan,” Kaius corrected.
The man on the cot jerked at those words, confirmation flashing across his face before he could mask it.
“Yes!” he admitted, perhaps hoping cooperation would earn him mercy. “We were asked to kill the Lycan. We were also given a map of this pack to show which room exactly we were to find him.”
“They weren’t even informed,” Frost observed, a note of disbelief in his voice.
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“The fools were practically sent to their own graves, Kaius replied. There was no satisfaction in his voice, only cold assessment.
“Could this be another warning?” Frost ‘asked.
Kaius shook his head slightly, his attention returning to the prisoner I don’t think this has to do with the elders; they would do better than this. I believe whoever sent them was also not as informed either. He leaned closer to the man. “What were you offered
for this job?”
“Money.” A hint of bitter regret colored the word. “More than I could ever imagine–lands too, women–we were offered everything.”
“When you die, I want you to go with the knowledge that your greed was your own doom, Kaius told him, his voice almost gentle. “Whoever sent you had deceived you. I am the Lycan, and would you really think you could kill me?”
The man’s eyes widened in horror as the true extent of his mistake finally registered. Before he could respond, Kaius’s hand moved in a blur, and the light in the man’s eyes faded. I hadn’t even seen the killing blow.
I should have felt something–horror, disgust, pity. Instead, I felt nothing but a cold, practical certainty that this had been necessary. The realization should have disturbed me, but even that emotion seemed distant.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Kaius said, turning back to me.
“How is it possible that there are others who know about the fact that a lycan lives in this pack?” Frost asked, his brow furrowed in
concern.
“I don’t know either, but if he knows, then it means there are others who do too, and there are even more who have suspicions.”
“I could arrange a team to find the messenger–Silas. He would lead us to the master–mind of this operation,” Frost suggested.
“No, I think by now it would be clear that the men he had sent are all dead. If this ‘master–mind‘ is any but clever, he would kill the messenger or at least make him disappear, just so he wouldn’t be traced back to him.”
“We have to do something, Kaius; we can’t sit here idle,” Frost insisted.
“I didn’t say we would.”
“Then what do you propose we do?”
Kaius’s lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Set up a party; invite as many as you can.”
“A party?” Frost repeated, staring at Kaius as if he’d grown a second head. The underground chamber suddenly felt colder, the air heavy with disbelief.
“Yes, a party,” Kaius confirmed, his tone maddeningly calm as he wiped his hands clean of the dead man’s blood.
In
“Alpha, I mean no disrespect but have you gone nuts?” Frost’s voice echoed against the stone walls.
“Offense taken,” Kaius replied coolly. “I would prefer it if you could start up the preparations.”
I watched the exchange with growing confusion. How could Kaius be thinking about celebrations after what had just happened? Men had broken into our room, tried to kill us, and died for it. The survivor’s words about hunting a Lycan still hung in the air like a poisonous mist.
“That isn’t a wise choice, Frost argued, standing his ground despite Kaius’s obvious displeasure. “A party is the last thing we need. I am your Beta, and I have every right to advise you if you go wrong, and this is very wrong.
Something dark flickered across Kaius’s features. “Perhaps you should have considered this when you decided to keep Lysandra’s
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deeds. secret.”
Chapter
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