Bonds

Chapter 84

Alex’s POV

The sterile smell of disinfectant was a constant assault on my senses, blending with the metallic tang of blood that seemed to linger in the air despite there being no visible wound on my father. His chest rose and fell with each labored breath, his once powerful frame now reduced to a frail shell. Yet, as he spoke of the past, a spark of his former self ignited in his eyes- a chilling mixture of pride and something akin to

amusement.

“We were young and foolish then,” he rasped, “Ambition burned bright in both our bellies, Daniel Stone and I. We craved power, influence, dominance that stretched across both worlds- the human and the werewolf”

A humorless short escaped his lips, a dry rasp that echoed in the sterile silence. “There was a constant struggle, skirmishes along the borders, tests of strength. But there was also a… respect. We understood the boundaries, the lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, his weathered face etched with a weariness that went beyond illness. When he opened them again, they glinted with a cold, steely resolve.

“Then came the opportunity. A chance to cripple Stone’s hold on a crucial exchange route, a power move that would solidify my position as the alpha with the most influence.”

My throat tightened. This was it, the moment he would explain the attack, the one that had fractured the fragile peace between the packs. But as he spoke, a different picture emerged–one devoid of remorse, painted solely with ruthless ambition.

“The plan was simple,” he continued, his voice gaining a sliver of strength. “A swift raid, a display of force, a message to the other packs. Nothing more.”

A cold dread settled in my stomach. “But it went wrong, didn’t it?”

He gave a curt nod, his expression unreadable. “There was a fight, of course. It was brutal, fangs and claws bared. But then… chaos. A stray bullet, a panicked shift… and then silence.”

The silence in the room felt even heavier now, “Daniel’s son, a young boy barely out of his pup year just like you, he was caught in the crossfire. Dead and…” He trailed off, a flicker of something that might have been regret crossing his face, but it was fleeting.

“The details are unimportant,” he continued, his voice laced with a dismissive arrogance. “Collateral damage is inevitable in any war. You will come to understand.”

was a mere statistic in his quest for power. “How can you say that?” My voice was

scoffed, a harsh, grating sound. “Sacrifices are made. It’s the price of power.” His voice hardened, a cruel edge creeping in. “Besides, Stone wasn’t blameless either. He retaliated,

loses.”

with tension. My father’s words hung heavy in the sterile silence, his justifications hollow and empty. He spoke of war, of a game, but all I saw was the shattered innocence of a young life lost, a life needlessly taken in the crossfire of his ambition. He was responsible

of satisfaction creeping into his voice, “the Moon Goddess decided

10:28 Sat, 22 Jun

Chapter 84

she turned out to be

+88%

saying. I must have been around

The reason for the constant tension between our packs, the unspoken hatred simmering beneath the surface – it all stemmed from this single, horrific event. My

father’s insatiable greed.

what? It is a harsh world, Alex. The strong survive,

through me. “You don’t

weary resignation that seemed at odds with his earlier arrogance.

words hung

death. But for him, it seemed, that responsibility had morphed into a

I pressed, “How can you justify taking an

gaze fixed on a point on the sterile white wall. Finally, he spoke, his voice laced with a bitterness that sent shivers down my

to me died. We all have scars, Alex, both physical and

ignore. The death of a child, regardless of the perpetrator, was a tragedy that couldn’t be justified by power struggles or the weight of leadership.

courting them. You didn’t just walk into a warzone, you orchestrated it! And for what? A flimsy

sparked in his cloudy eyes. “It wasn’t flimsy, Alex! It was about control, about securing a future for our pack. Don’t be naive. In this world, the weak are devoured by the strong. I was protecting

desperation that surprised me. Was this the fear of death talking, or

now it’s crumbling around you. Look at yourself, a shell of the

drained from his face, replaced by a profound weariness, a hollowness in his