Julian’s POV
The truth hits harder when you finally stop running from it. My conversation with Seraphina stripped away every excuse I’d been clinging to, leaving face to face with the ugly reality of my own actions.
There’s a razor-thin line between love and hate, and I’ve been dancing on it for too long. What I’ve been calling hatred was actually sothing much more dangerous - raw, consuming anger. Anger that she left . Anger that she chose to walk away when I needed her most. That fury had blinded to everything else, including my own massive mistakes.
I watched her deteriorate right in front of , saw the light slowly drain from her eyes, and still I kept her here. I told myself it was justice, that she deserved to suffer the way I had. But the truth was simpler and more selfish - I wanted her close, even if it ant watching her wither away.
I’d completely disregarded her ntal state, prioritizing my wounded pride over her wellbeing. The realization sat in my chest like a stone.
"Alpha, you need to co here. Now. It’s... it’s bad."
My head jerked up, personal turmoil instantly replaced by sharp alertness. The panic bleeding through my Beta’s mindlink cut through everything else like a blade. Sothing was seriously wrong.
"On my way," I replied, already moving before the thought fully ford. My wolf stirred restlessly, every instinct screaming that danger was close. I’d been so wrapped up in my own drama that I’d neglected my duties to the pack these past few days. Now it seed that neglect might cost us.
Holden had called to the far periter, where our territory t the wild lands beyond. Usually, this walk was filled with the comfortable sounds of pack life - children playing, adults working, the steady rhythm of a thriving community. Today, the air felt different. Heavy. Wrong.
A tallic scent began creeping into my nostrils as I got closer, growing stronger with each step. It was the sll of death, but not the clean scent of a successful hunt. This was sothing foul, sothing that made my stomach turn.
When I rounded the cluster of oak trees, the sight that greeted nearly brought to my knees. A violent curse tore from my throat, raw and harsh in the sudden silence.
Bodies. Not just one or two, but a grotesque collection of them, arranged along the forest’s edge like so twisted art installation. They lay unnaturally still, pale and lifeless, the stench rising from them in nauseating waves. These people hadn’t died here - there were no signs of struggle, no blood soaked into the earth. They’d been dumped here like garbage, a deliberate ssage left at our doorstep.
My wolf snarled, a dangerous sound rumbling through my chest. White-hot rage surged through , burning away everything else. Who would dare bring this horror to my territory? Who had the audacity to threaten my pack this way?
Holden stood near the grisly scene, his usual stoic expression replaced by grim shock. This was a man who’d seen the worst of what our world had to offer - if sothing could shake him like this, we were dealing with sothing beyond ordinary cruelty.
Caleb flanked him, shoulders hunched, staring at the bodies with obvious revulsion. Both n looked up as I approached, their faces reflecting the sa dread that was building in my chest.
"What happened here?" I demanded, my voice barely controlled.
Holden gestured with a gloved hand, his movents careful and deliberate. "Northern patrol found them during their morning sweep."
"How long have they been here?" I asked, forcing myself to scan the bodies despite every instinct telling to look away.
Both n shook their heads. "Unknown, Alpha," Caleb answered, strain evident in his voice. "No struggle signs. No tracks leading to or from the site. It’s like they just materialized."
"Do we know who they are?" The question ca out harsher than I intended, my heart hamring against my ribs.
Holden t my gaze, troubled. "That’s the strangest part, Alpha. No one from our pack is missing. Every mber is accounted for."
The implications hit like a physical blow. If these weren’t our people, then soone was using innocent lives to send a ssage. This wasn’t just an attack - it was a declaration of war, delivered with calculated cruelty.
"Contact every pack in the region," I ordered, my voice cutting through the morning air. "Find out if anyone’s missing mbers. Anyone at all."
As Holden and Caleb prepared to carry out my orders, Caleb hesitated, reaching into his jacket.
"Alpha," he said, extending a crumpled piece of paper. "We found this near the bodies."
My hands trembled slightly as I unfolded the parchnt. The ssage was written in bold, deliberate strokes: "You took sothing very special from but I will take everything from you."
Ice flooded my veins. Sothing special? My mind raced through every enemy I’d made, every life I’d taken, every decision that might have created this level of hatred. The list was long - too long - but this felt different. Personal.
Whoever had done this wasn’t just targeting . They were going after other packs too, using innocent people as pawns in their twisted ga. The scope of their cruelty suggested resources and connections that made my blood run cold.
On any other day, a direct challenge like this would have planning imdiate retaliation. But this wasn’t just about anymore. This threat extended to my family, and that changed everything. Iris ant everything to , and the little boy I’d just discovered - my son - was already embedded so deeply in my heart that losing him would destroy .
I’d felt the connection before I even t him, so instinctive recognition that he was mine. When I finally saw him, it was like finding a missing piece of my soul.
Sotis it takes being backed into a corner to see clearly. When Seraphina asked what I wanted to do, I hadn’t had an answer. How do you choose between the child you raised and poured all your love into, and your own blood who doesn’t even know his father exists?
Now, with this threat looming over everyone I care about, I realize the choice isn’t mine to make alone. I have to protect them all, and that ans making decisions that will leave soone hurt no matter what I do.
But first, I have to find out who’s declared war on my family.
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