Chapter 3 Blood And Recognition

KAEL POV

I stood at the edge of Darkfang territory, breathing in the scent of home and betrayal. Eleven years in the brutal Northlands had changed me. Where once stood an idealistic young alpha now stood a scarred warrior with storm-gray eyes and hands that knew only violence.

The packhouse looked smaller than I remembered. Stone walls that had once seemed imposing now appeared fragile. I could break them easily now.

Time to reclaim what's ours, Fenris growled in my mind.

"I know," I whispered. My wolf had been restless for weeks, driving me south toward something I couldn't name. Now I understood. Home called to me, but so did something else. Something that made my wolf pace with anticipation.

Three young sentries emerged from the treeline, shifting to human form. I recognized none of them. Fresh faces, probably born after my exile. They moved with false confidence.

"Alpha Brutus said you were dead," their leader declared, trying to project authority he didn't possess. Fear rolled off all three in waves.

"Brutus." I tested my uncle's name. "So the pack made him alpha after Magnus died? How pathetic."

"You're trespassing," another sentry said. "Leave or face the consequences."

I laughed coldly. "Consequences? Do you know what I survived in the Northlands, pup?"

Before they could react, I moved. Eleven years of constant warfare had made me faster than any pack-raised wolf. My claws opened the first sentry's throat. The second managed a partial shift before my fist crushed his ribs. The third tried to run.

Fenris surged forward, demanding the hunt. I let my wolf take control just long enough to catch the fleeing man and snap his neck with bare hands.

Blood filled the air. Good. I wanted them to smell death coming.

I strode toward the packhouse, stepping over bodies without looking back. The great wooden doors were reinforced with iron bands from my time here, but they barely slowed me down.

My shoulder hit the doors like a battering ram. Wood exploded inward, splintering across the main hall as pack members scrambled for cover. Some faces I recognized. Others were strangers.

"Where is Brutus?" My voice echoed off stone walls.

Elder Ash stepped forward, hands raised. "Alpha Kael. We thought" The Elder stared at me, refusing to complete his sentence.

"Dead? Yes, I'm sure you hoped." My claws extended. "Where is my uncle?"

"The alpha is indisposed, but we can arrange"

I crossed the space in two strides and lifted Ash by the throat. "The only arrangement you need is with the Moon Goddess."

My claws punched through the elder's windpipe. Blood sprayed across ancient stones as the body hit the floor.

"Does anyone else want to waste my time?" I asked conversationally.

Silence stretched. Then a female voice spoke from the back of the group, steady. "He's in his chambers on the third floor at the east wing."

I studied the speaker. Sharp features, intelligent dark eyes, the bearing of a fighter. Not originally Darkfang, I could tell by her scent. "What is your name?"

"Mira Voss," she replied without hesitation, meeting my gaze directly.

"You're not pack-born," I observed, tilting my head slightly.

"No, Alpha," she confirmed, her voice steady despite the violence around them. "I was rogue until recently."

Interesting. My uncle had been accepting rogues. Either desperation or unusual foresight. "Stay close, Mira Voss. We'll talk later."

Two more elders moved to block my path to the stairs. Wolves I remembered from my youth. They stood silent when Magnus branded me a traitor and cast me out.

"Stand aside," I ordered.

"Kael, please," one said. "We can discuss this. There's no need for more bloodshed."

"There was no need for any of this," I replied. "But here we are."

My fist drove through the first elder's chest, crushing his heart. The second tried to shift, but I was already moving. Claws opened the man's throat before transformation could complete.

Death's scent filled the hall. The remaining pack members pressed against walls, terror radiating from every pore. Good. Fear was at least honest.

I climbed stairs three at a time, following familiar paths to my father's old chambers. Brutus would be there, probably cowering behind whatever pathetic defenses he'd managed.

But as I reached the second floor landing, another scent hit me. Faint but unmistakable. Silver, a power held dormant.

Fenris went completely still, then began pacing with predatory focus. Mate, my wolf whispered. Our mate is here.

I froze on the stairs. In eleven years of exile, through countless battles and endless loneliness, I'd never caught my mate's scent. Now it drifted up from somewhere below, calling to parts of me I'd buried under rage.

She was here. In this place where I'd suffered my greatest betrayal, where my father had cast me out like garbage. My mate was here.

Heavy oak doors marked the alpha's chambers ahead. I could hear Brutus inside with his guards, planning some desperate last stand. But the scent from below pulled at me like a gravity.

Later, I told Fenris. First we claim what's ours by right. Then we find her.

My kick sent the doors exploding inward. Six wolves surrounded Brutus, who sat in Magnus's old chair like a pretender king. Graying hair, frightened eyes, soft gut from years of easy living.

"Nephew," Brutus said, trying to sound calm. "Welcome home."

"Uncle." I stepped over the door wreckage, my boots crunching on splintered wood. "I see you've made yourself comfortable in my father's chambers."

"Magnus named me successor," Brutus said, straightening in the alpha chair with forced dignity. "The pack council confirmed."

"The pack council." My laugh held no humor as I circled closer, predatory and slow. "The same cowards who watched an innocent son be exiled on false charges?"

"Your exile was justified," Brutus insisted, his voice rising with desperation. "You challenged pack laws."

"I exposed corruption." My claws extended fully, gleaming in the lamplight. "I revealed Magnus's deals with rogue traders. For that truth, I was branded a traitor."

Brutus's scent soured with guilt. "Magnus did what he thought best."

"Magnus did what profited Magnus. Just like you." I gestured at the opulent chamber. "Tell me, uncle, how many pack members have disappeared during your reign?"

"That's enough!" a guard snarled, stepping forward. "You have no right"

My backhand sent the wolf through the chamber window. Glass exploded outward as the body vanished into darkness.

"Anyone else?" I asked pleasantly.