The stone walls of Silverclaw Castle echoed with the weight of silence, thick and heavy, as if even the walls themselves could sense the storm brewing within their master. Silas stood at the head of the grand hall, his back to the towering windows that overlooked the jagged cliffs below. The wind howled through the cracks in the stone, carrying the scent of salt and danger from the sea far below. But the scent of rage burned hotter than anything the sea could offer.
The hours dragged on in tense silence, the air thick with the unspoken tension of the pack. Silas, though cold and composed outwardly, seethed internally. His wolves had been sent out to find Aylin, to retrieve her and bring her back to him. He would make her understand the gravity of what she had done and of the betrayal that hung between them like an insurmountable wall. She would learn, just as he had been forced to learn.
None of his men dared to touch her, not if they wanted to cut their lives short. Silas was not one to hesitate in the face of betrayal, but he could not forgive Aylin, his supposed mate. But this did not mean he wanted to lose her.
A night of good running through the forest, chased by his men would make her understand the danger she was in, or so he hoped.
"Aylin…" he muttered to himself, the name of a jagged shard of ice lodged deep in his chest.
His hands clenched at his sides, his claws pushing out just enough to tear through the fabric of his tunic. His mind raced as he stared at the stone floor, the shadows of the room creeping around him like hungry wolves.
The door to his chamber creaked open, and Valen, one of the guards he assigned for Aylin. His expression was grim, his posture stiff with the weight of failure.
Alpha," Valen began, his voice measured but tight; his gaze was piercing the stone floor. "We searched the woods. I caught her for a moment. I told her she has to come back... but she vanished."
Silas turned slowly, his eyes narrowing as he studied Valen. The man refused to meet his gaze, pining to the floor in desperation.
'You are lying.' Silas thought. He turned with his back at him, seemingly watching the endless forest beneath them.
"How?" he demanded, his voice thick with the threat of violence.
"She grabbed her silver pendant while I was distracted by the other wolves, and then she vanished into thin air." Valen explained, his words coming out haltingly.
'This isn't a lie.' Silas could tell very easily when someone was telling the truth; Aylin didn't say anything. So he couldn't tell if she was lying or tricking them.
'Why now? She had all the chances until now. Why today?' He asked himself.
The air in the hall thickened with a strange, heavy energy as Silas's eyes flicked toward Valen. The room seemed to close in on the guard; the tension was palpable. Silas's lips curled into a thin, predatory smile as the power within him stirred—dark and undeniable. He was an Alpha, and his abilities were beyond what any wolf had ever dared to comprehend.
"Valen…" Silas's voice came low and deadly, like a growl from the depths of a wolf's throat. The guard froze, his body tense, as if he could feel the oppressive weight of Silas's presence bearing down on him. "You've lied to me. I can feel it in every word you speak. Do you think I'm a fool?"
Valen's face paled, his entire body trembling under the Alpha's gaze. He fell to his knees, unable to hold himself up against the crushing pressure of Silas's power. His breath came in quick, shallow gasps, his heart racing in fear.
With a flick of his fingers, Silas sent Valen sprawling to the floor, his body slamming against the marble with a sickening thud. Blood seeped from the impact, staining the pristine floor with the vivid red of his failure.
"Oh, look at you. You're staining my floors," Silas mocked, his tone dripping with disdain. He took a step closer to the kneeling man, his smirk growing wider with each passing second. "You were one of those who stayed here in safety, didn't you?"
Valen's mind was spinning with terror. He had never seen Silas like this. This was a side of the Alpha that no one had ever witnessed before—cold, vicious, and utterly merciless. He could feel the power radiating from Silas, wrapping around him like a noose, squeezing tighter with every breath.
"Let me show you what happens when I'm lied to." Silas growled, his voice low and filled with promise of something terrible.
"Alpha, I'm sorry, I should've..."
"Too late. I don't give ordinary wolves like you a second chance." As Silas finished speaking, a strange, suffocating power filled the room. Valen gasped for breath, but it was as if the very air had thickened, becoming harder to breathe, suffocating him from within. His vision blurred, and his body burned as something twisted and coiled its way into his veins. He screamed in agony, but no one moved to help him.
Silas's power surged once again, and he forced himself into Valen's mind. He saw everything—the lies, the betrayals, the whispers of the pack. How Valen had touched Aylin, how he had tried to manipulate her into thinking that she was alone. He had wanted her for himself, even as the other men in the pack lusted after her.
Rage surged within Silas's chest, hot and fierce. Aylin had suffered more than he ever could have imagined. She had vanished, not because of her own will but because of the men who had failed her. The men who had betrayed her. And he was the same as them.
Silas sent her out alone in the castle and this night, the night when they had to become one, he banished her.
"She's gone, Valen," Silas growled, his voice filled with venom. "And it's because of you."