CHAPTER 280: _THE MOON WASN’T WATCHING

"Which of the packs did this happen in?" I asked Layla, stepping down from my throne and heading toward her.

She moved quickly, typing on her tablet. "Uhh... It’s called the Blue Ridge pack. They’re located in Transylvania County... Just a twenty-minute drive away from here or—"

"Five minutes give or take if I run there," I said coldly, steeling my expression as I walked past her and headed for the throne room door.

But then...

"Kaelos, slow down for a second," Odessa called behind me and then I heard her footsteps heading for me.

I turned around only to see her clutching her red gown with a worried expression on her face. "Can’t you give yourself a freaking break? You just ended a call with Alpha Kings judging your case."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "And now this is a situation happening in my continent. My territory. Tell me... Do you think those same Alpha Kings will come here and help?"

She pouted her lips, her eyes lowering just slightly.

I sighed. "No, they wouldn’t, Odessa. It’s my responsibility and it appears some unruly wolves need a little reminder of whose rule they’re under."

Without another word, I continued walking, my mind reeling.

’Burn the whole pack down once we get there.’ Damon snarled with irritation in my mind. ’That will show them not to defy you by killing one of your Alphas.’

I shook my head as I left the throne room, turning a corner down the hallway.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed me from behind, causing my eyes to widen as I swerved my head back.

It was Odessa again but this time her expression was resolute.

"Can’t you send Marcellus in your stead?"

I blinked at her, my shoulders falling. "No. I have to go there by myself. You don’t know how serious a case this is, Odessa. The people of a pack killed their Alpha."

"And now you’re going there on your own!" Odessa snapped back, her voice thick with frustration. "You’re the reason they killed the Alpha and you’re offering yourself to them in open hands."

I let out a scoff, withdrawing my arm from her grip. I saw the hurt that flashed briefly in her eyes but she was quick to hide it from me.

"Offering myself? Have you forgotten what and who I am?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She hesitated, staring into my eyes for a few seconds before shaking her head. "My point exactly. It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s the people you’re about to confront."

I gritted my teeth as she continued with a lower voice now, glancing back at the two guards who stood in front of my throne room door.

"Emotions are high, Kaelos. You’re under a lot of pressure. I don’t want you going there and doing something you might come to... Regret later."

I stared at her as a heavy silence fell between us after that.

Do something that I might regret...

Like my father?

Well, I didn’t regret that. I might feel some guilt for killing him... But not regret. Those were two different things.

"Whatever I unleash on that pack will be well deserved, Odessa. Rest assured." I placed my hand on her shoulder briefly before turning away from her. "Don’t wait up. I’ll be back in time for the public statement I want to make later—"

"I’m coming with you." She blurted firmly, as if I had no other choice but to comply.

Maybe I didn’t...

"Very well then, my Luna Queen." I nodded, glancing over my shoulder. "This might be a good chance to let you use your wolf speed. Just... Try not to slow me down..."

.

.

I got to the Blue Ridge Pack with Odessa following my lead. We got there without our wolf forms... Since Odessa couldn’t shift yet and I didn’t use Damon often.

The pack didn’t have any gates and was like a village carved out of wild defiance.

Unkempt stone houses, fire pits still smouldering, clothes hanging carelessly from lines, even though it was well past sunrise. And no guards. Not a single wolf greeted us.

It reeked of arrogance or fear.

Possibly both.

Odessa walked beside me, her gown fluttering around her heels. She stayed quiet, sensing the tension wrapping tighter around me with every step.

"They knew we were coming," I muttered. "And still, no one came out."

"We didn’t mask our scent," she replied quietly. "They’re not being careless. They’re daring you."

I stopped in the middle of the dirt path.

Ahead, a group of wolves—six, maybe seven—stood in front of what looked like a central house. The Alpha’s residence, probably. Except the roof had a fresh scorch mark and the door looked like it had been forced open and then slammed shut again.

One of them, a wiry old man with a fresh scar running down the side of his jaw, stepped forward.

"Alpha King Kaelos," he said with a mocking tone, as if he tasted something sour in the title. "Come to inspect the damage?"

Odessa’s hand twitched by her side but my eyes didn’t leave his.

"No. I came to find the ones responsible." I tilted my head. "Starting with you, perhaps?"

The wolves behind him shifted uneasily, glancing at each other.

He laughed dryly. "You think I killed him?"

"I didn’t say that." I took a step forward. "But the fact that your heartbeat jumped just now tells me I hit close."

The man sneered. "Alpha Deveraux was a tyrant. Everyone hated him. He ruled with fear... like someone else I could name."

Odessa moved slightly closer to me. I could feel her pulse rising. She was already imagining bloodshed.

But I raised a hand, stopping her and silencing the low growl rumbling in my chest.

"I didn’t come to debate ethics," I said coolly. "I came for answers."

He stepped to the side. "Then look for them inside the Alpha’s pack house. If you’re brave enough."

My eyebrows snapped into a frown.

Brave?

I walked past him, brushing past his shoulder intentionally. I felt him stiffen but he didn’t retaliate. That told me everything.

A coward.

Odessa followed, shooting a glare his way as we entered the Alpha’s house.

.

.

Inside, it was worse.

The place was destroyed. Not just ransacked... It was violated. Furniture splintered, blood smeared across the wall like someone had been dragged. The fireplace was still burning low, as if someone had tried to make it look normal.

Odessa covered her nose. "This wasn’t a political rebellion. This was an execution."

I crouched near the broken table, my fingers brushing a patch of dried blood.

"No silver scent. They didn’t poison him with wolfsbane either. It was physical and brutal." I said solemnly.

Odessa glanced down the hall. "Should we split up?"

"No," I said quickly, standing. "Stay close."

We reached what must have been the Alpha’s office. His body had already been removed... probably burned or kept in a morgue. But the chair behind the desk was still coated in blood.

There was a message scratched into the wall with claws:

"He bled for your sins."

Odessa read it aloud, then looked at me. "They think this is on you."

"They’re wrong," I replied calmly. "But I’m not here to explain myself. I’m here to remind them who gave them the right to lead in the first place."

Back outside, the same wolves were waiting. But now, the rest of the pack had gathered behind them. Maybe over a hundred adult wolves. Some looked confused. Others looked hungry for violence.

"Find them," I said over my shoulder to Odessa.

"What?" she asked with confusion.

"The ones who led the rebellion. They’re not in this crowd. Which means they’re either hiding or watching."

She frowned but obeyed, stepping into the growing group with an eerie calm she wore so well.

Questions fell out of her mouth like velvet daggers as she walked through the crowd, interrogating them:

"Where were you when it happened?"

"Did you hear the Alpha scream?"

"Who cleaned the blood?"

And then...

"Kaelos," she called, a sharp note in her voice.

I turned.

She stood near the edge of the gathering. At her feet, a young boy no more than thirteen shivered.

"He saw something," she whispered to me. "And he’s scared."

I crouched before him.

"What did you see?" I asked gently.

His lip trembled. "Th-they weren’t from here. The wolves that killed Alpha Deveraux. I heard them talking. They said... They said the moon wasn’t watching anymore. That... Someone new was."

Odessa froze beside me.

A chill rolled down my spine.

The moon was not watching?

I looked up at her, meeting her eyes.

"Ryker."

Her mouth parted slightly. "He has agents in the packs now."

I stood slowly, my hands curling into fists.

’Why don’t we just burn this place to the ground,’ Damon growled again in my mind.

Not yet.

"We leave," I told Odessa, loud enough for the whole pack to hear. "But know this... if any more Alphas fall under suspicious circumstances, I won’t just burn your homes."

My eyes swept across the crowd, catching the scarred wolf’s gaze again.

"I’ll bury your name from the registry of our kind. You will be forgotten."

And with that, I turned, Odessa beside me once more as we walked back into the woods.

’Marcellus will handle the rest.’ I said through the mind link as we sprinted, my mind reeling.

This was only the beginning.