Chapter 8
He didn't stay to watch the end.
He didn't need to.
The sounds followed him as he walked back toward the compound—Serena's screams, the snarling of turned wolves, the wet crunch of—
He kept walking.
The system's voice came, quiet and measured. "Serena Vale: deceased. James Clark: deceased. Shadow Plague progression: 60% of territory contaminated. Pack survivors: 40% and declining."
Dominic said nothing.
When he returned to the compound, it was chaos.
Wolves were fighting over the last clean water reserves. Two Elders had barricaded themselves in the supply room. Three wolves had already turned, their eyes black with Shadow corruption.
Dominic walked through it like a ghost.
He went to the detention cells first.
The wolves who'd participated in my burning were locked inside—twelve of them in total. His warriors had followed his orders to the letter.
They started begging the moment they saw him.
"Alpha, please—we didn't know she'd die—"
"You told us it was sanctioned—"
"She was supposed to survive—you said she'd be fine—"
Dominic opened the first cell.
The wolf inside—a patrol captain who'd helped drag me to the pyre—scrambled backward. "Alpha, I have a family—"
"Elara had a family," Dominic said. "I was supposed to be her family. And I stood there and watched her burn." He pulled the wolf to his feet. "We're all guilty. But I'm the guiltiest. So I'll punish myself last."
He broke the wolf's legs, both, clean and precise.
Then he dragged him outside to the compound's central courtyard, where the remaining pack members could see.
One by one, he brought them out.
Some he crippled. Some he threw beyond the compound walls, where the turned wolves waited. Some he simply forced to drink the shadow-contaminated water.
The pack watched in horror.
An elderly she-wolf—Elder Katherine—stepped forward, trembling. "Alpha Ashford, this is madness! These wolves are our defenders! Without them—"
"Without Elara, none of us survive anyway." Dominic's voice carried over the courtyard, cold and clear. "She defended you for three years. Every patrol, every battle, every night watch—that was her. And when Serena said she was hoarding power? You all believed it. When they said she was selfish? You cheered. When she burned alive in that pyre? Some of you APPLAUDED."
Silence.
No one could meet his eyes.
"So don't stand there and tell me about defenders," he said. "You had the best defender who ever lived. And you let her die."
He turned to the broadcast system.
"I want every wolf in this compound to hear what I'm about to say."
The speakers crackled to life as he patched in.
"Three weeks ago, I threw my fated mate into the Blood Moon Pyre so that Serena Vale wouldn't have to face it. I did this because I was told Elara could survive it. I did this because I believed Serena's lies. I did this because I am a coward and a fool and a murderer."
His voice didn't waver.
"Elara Voss is dead. Because of me. Because of Serena. Because of every wolf in this compound who watched and did nothing. And now, without her, the Blood Moon Seal is broken. The Shadow Plague will kill us all within two weeks. There is no cure. There is no escape. We are all going to die."
He paused.
"And we deserve it."
He didn't need to.
The sounds followed him as he walked back toward the compound—Serena's screams, the snarling of turned wolves, the wet crunch of—
He kept walking.
The system's voice came, quiet and measured. "Serena Vale: deceased. James Clark: deceased. Shadow Plague progression: 60% of territory contaminated. Pack survivors: 40% and declining."
Dominic said nothing.
When he returned to the compound, it was chaos.
Wolves were fighting over the last clean water reserves. Two Elders had barricaded themselves in the supply room. Three wolves had already turned, their eyes black with Shadow corruption.
Dominic walked through it like a ghost.
He went to the detention cells first.
The wolves who'd participated in my burning were locked inside—twelve of them in total. His warriors had followed his orders to the letter.
They started begging the moment they saw him.
"Alpha, please—we didn't know she'd die—"
"You told us it was sanctioned—"
"She was supposed to survive—you said she'd be fine—"
Dominic opened the first cell.
The wolf inside—a patrol captain who'd helped drag me to the pyre—scrambled backward. "Alpha, I have a family—"
"Elara had a family," Dominic said. "I was supposed to be her family. And I stood there and watched her burn." He pulled the wolf to his feet. "We're all guilty. But I'm the guiltiest. So I'll punish myself last."
He broke the wolf's legs, both, clean and precise.
Then he dragged him outside to the compound's central courtyard, where the remaining pack members could see.
One by one, he brought them out.
Some he crippled. Some he threw beyond the compound walls, where the turned wolves waited. Some he simply forced to drink the shadow-contaminated water.
The pack watched in horror.
An elderly she-wolf—Elder Katherine—stepped forward, trembling. "Alpha Ashford, this is madness! These wolves are our defenders! Without them—"
"Without Elara, none of us survive anyway." Dominic's voice carried over the courtyard, cold and clear. "She defended you for three years. Every patrol, every battle, every night watch—that was her. And when Serena said she was hoarding power? You all believed it. When they said she was selfish? You cheered. When she burned alive in that pyre? Some of you APPLAUDED."
Silence.
No one could meet his eyes.
"So don't stand there and tell me about defenders," he said. "You had the best defender who ever lived. And you let her die."
He turned to the broadcast system.
"I want every wolf in this compound to hear what I'm about to say."
The speakers crackled to life as he patched in.
"Three weeks ago, I threw my fated mate into the Blood Moon Pyre so that Serena Vale wouldn't have to face it. I did this because I was told Elara could survive it. I did this because I believed Serena's lies. I did this because I am a coward and a fool and a murderer."
His voice didn't waver.
"Elara Voss is dead. Because of me. Because of Serena. Because of every wolf in this compound who watched and did nothing. And now, without her, the Blood Moon Seal is broken. The Shadow Plague will kill us all within two weeks. There is no cure. There is no escape. We are all going to die."
He paused.
"And we deserve it."