Kael
The final battle between Magnus and me abruptly ended when Marek appeared.
One-on-one, I had the strength to kill Magnus. But I hadn’t expected this place to be crawling with his people. I was already running on fumes, desperately holding on until Frederick could arrive. Failure was not an option.
Then Marek showed up.
I let my guard down when I saw him.
“Marek, why did you follow me?” I asked.
“I couldn’t leave you alone. I pushed myself to come here as fast as I could,” he replied.
Hearing this, I relaxed slightly. “I’m glad you’re here,” I said, reaching out to pat his shoulder. But in the next moment, my hand pierced through his chest, straight into his heart.
Even though the man in front of me looked exactly like Marek, I couldn’t sense the curse I had placed on him. That’s how I knew this wasn’t the real Marek-just someone pretending to be him.
Magnus had always been a master of deceit, fond of using tricks to gain the upper hand. But he clearly didn’t know about the curse I had placed on Marek long ago. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize the real him.
As my hand plunged into the impostor’s heart, a faint smile spread across his face. Blood gushed out, and before he could shift forms, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
But something was wrong.
Suddenly, my body felt weak, my head spinning. I tried to summon my strength, to awaken Shadow, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it.
Damn it! What was happening to me?
Before I could figure it out, Magnus stepped forward, watching me with the amusement of someone toying with a new gadget.
“Surprised, Kael?” he said, smirking. “I knew you’d see through my trick and kill him. That’s why I made sure the impostor was dosed with my new drug. It’s designed to strip you of your powers, rendering you no different from a regular human. You can’t awaken the wolf inside you. And your wounds? They won’t heal.”
Magnus reached out and slashed my arm with a blade. Pain shot through me, and I couldn’t stop the groan that escaped my lips. Blood trickled down, staining the ground.
“You bastard, Magnus,” I growled. “I’ll kill you for this.”
But deep down, I knew I couldn’t. My body was paralyzed, unable to move. The frustration gnawed at me, making me clench my teeth.
I hated this.
I hated feeling powerless.
Magnus chuckled, clearly pleased with himself. “The drug works perfectly. Just wait, Kael. I’ll transform you into a better, stronger wolf. You’ll see.”
With that, he turned and walked away. I wanted to yell something in response, but before I could, the world around me went black.
In the haze of unconsciousness, Shadow’s voice cut through. “Kael, wake up. Wake up now! Hey, don’t fall asleep!”
Shadow’s urgency was unlike anything I’d ever heard.
“If you keep sleeping, you’ll never find Seraphina again,” Shadow said.
The mention of her name jolted me awake.
“Seraphina? Where is she?” I asked, my voice strained as I opened my eyes.
I found myself in a small, windowless room. The only door was made of iron, and heavy chains bound me to the wall.
I struggled, pulling against the chains, but they wouldn’t budge. The rough iron scraped my wrists, tearing my skin, but the chains remained unyielding.
Frustration welled up inside me.
“Don’t worry, Kael,” Shadow said. “I can feel Seraphina’s scent nearby. She’s close.”
“But my powers are suppressed,” I replied. “You’re weak too. I can’t even shift.”
“We’ll find a way,” Shadow reassured me.
As if on cue, the door creaked open, and Magnus entered. His face lit up with surprise when he saw me awake.
“Well, well, Kael,” he said, his lips curling into a sinister smile. “I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon. Impressive.”
Gone was the facade of the kind doctor he once pretended to be. In its place was a twisted, deranged expression.
“You went to great lengths to capture me,” I said, glaring at him. “Aren’t you afraid my father will find out?”
“Afraid?” Magnus laughed. “Kael, you think I fear Alaric? Once you’re dead, he’ll lose his only heir. The chaos in your tribe will keep him too distracted to wage war against me.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. His plan was meticulous, calculated.
I gritted my teeth and pulled against the chains. “You really think everything will go your way? Don’t you worry that one day, you’ll pay for this?”
Magnus shook his head dismissively. “Worry? No. My priority is building an army-a pack of wolves loyal to me. Lunaris Eclipse lacks numbers, but that’s about to change.”
It all made sense now. The growing number of wolves in the town, the secrecy-it was all Magnus. He had been preparing for this all along, right under our noses.
Magnus picked up a whip and lashed it across my body. The sharp pain made me wince, but I refused to cry out.
“How does it feel, Kael?” he taunted. “You’re as weak as a human now. I’ll break you piece by piece, and then I’ll make Seraphina kill you.”
“You can do whatever you want to me,” I said through gritted teeth. “But leave Seraphina out of this.”
“Leave her out?” Magnus sneered. “Impossible. I want her, but she seems to want you. So, I’ll have her kill you. That way, she and I can be together.”
He was insane.
Looking at him, I realized just how unhinged the Alpha of Lunaris Eclipse truly was. My father, cold and ruthless as he was, didn’t even come close to this level of madness.
Magnus raised the whip again, and I braced myself as it struck my already battered body.