Chapter 56
The moment Kaldrek shifted and left Duskwood Manor behind, the night air struck him sharp and clean.
He ran toward the Shaw estate, damp ground yielding beneath his paws, cold air filling his lungs.
At last, the ballroom’s suffocating formality had fallen away.
No silk. No polished manners. No careful smiles.
Only movement.
Only instinct.
This was where he belonged.
He cut across the fields toward the encampment, letting the rhythm of the run clear his mind. The pack was waiting, and he needed to check on them before returning to Evelyne.
Oathroot gathered near the outer edge, quieter than Ironwolf but no less alert. Heads lifted as he approached.
“Where is she?” Zade asked immediately.
Kaldrek slowed, shifting back as he stepped into the firelight. “At the manor. She’ll return in the morning. Training as usual.”
The tension eased.
Good. They trusted him.
But more than that, they trusted her.
Holden emerged soon after, stepping from the dark less tense than before. He gave a brief nod, and when Kaldrek asked if he was well, Holden managed a faint smile.
“Much better.”
It would do. Kaldrek nodded to his second. “Keep watch over both packs while I scout.”
Holden’s brow furrowed. “Do you feel something?”
Kaldrek glanced toward the outer fields. “I don’t know yet.”
He did not linger. He turned, shifted into his white wolf form, and surged toward the trees, his senses stretching with every stride. Something felt wrong. The breeze had changed, and the silence no longer felt peaceful. It felt watchful.
He picked up speed, cutting through the dark until the grove came into view, the Solwyn Tree rising beneath its vast canopy. The wind shifted again, and the whispers returned.
Closer. Get closer, Alpha.
No. It was another trick. He knew it, yet his paws moved forward anyway. They were near. He could feel them. Reckless or not, he was tired of their hiding, their games, their obsession with him. Let them come out. Let them face him.
His breath slowed as something pressed against his mind, circling, tightening, dulling every thought except the voices.
To the source. To the source.
What the hell were they talking about?
The whispers grew louder and colder, unraveling his focus. His attention lifted to the tree, and once again he felt the power beneath its surface recognize him. So much strength lived there. So much he could use to destroy the darkness, if only he could—
You led us to her. Good. She has the power you need.
Kaldrek took another step, then forced the shift.
Pain cracked through him as he tore himself free. The voices sharpened, shouting now, but this time it was his name.
Then silence.
The shadows peeled away, and Cillian stood before him.
***
Kaldrek warned his pack through the bond, told them he was coming. But as his paws struck the ground, one thought hammered through him.
Not again.
He could not have let them trick him again. This time, he had not even been in control. The whispers had turned to shouts, drowning out every instinct except the need to move toward them, to force them into the open.
Why did they keep calling to him? What did they want?
Evelyne? He could not stop his fear from slipping through the bond.
What is it? Where are you?
I’m heading back to the pack. He let a second pass before adding, They’re here.
I’ll come to you, she said immediately.
No. Stay where you are. Please, Evelyne.
I will make sure everyone is safe first before coming to you.
For fuck’s sake, why couldn’t she ever follow his command?
Cillian is on his way home. Stay with him.
Cillian? But he is asleep… She paused. Anger and fear flooded the bond.
Kaldrek pushed harder, sending the same reassurance to his packmates with every stride.
I’m coming. I’m coming. I’m coming.
When he reached camp, he skidded to a stop.
Everyone was calm. No Noskari.
He couldn’t even sense them anymore.
Relief tore through him. Both packs were unharmed. But Evelyne’s fear still burned through the bond, stronger now.
The packs are all right, he sent. The Noskari are gone.
For a few breathless moments, there was only silence.
Then her voice reached him.
They are not gone, Kaldrek.
Her voice trembled in his mind.
They came here.