Chapter 128: The Price of Redemption
The purple fire in the King's eyes flared, illuminating the skeletal remains of the First Alpha's wolf. Silas pushed Elara behind him, his own wolf howling internally, not in dominance, but in ancestral fear.
"I am no traitor," Silas spat, his voice echoing through the massive bone-lined cavern. "I am Silas, Alpha of the Moon-Oak pack. I came here for the truth, not to pay for sins I didn't commit."
The King laughed, a sound like dry leaves skittering over a tombstone. "Your blood carries the same scent as the one who chained me. He promised a balance, a union of gold and silver. Instead, he stole my crown and left me to rot in the roots of his precious tree."
Before Silas could respond, the sound of the Elders reached the cavern's edge. Elder Thorne stepped into the light, his face twisted in a mixture of terror and fanaticism.
"Kill them both!" Thorne screamed, pointing a trembling finger at Silas and Elara. "The boy has awakened the beast! If the King rises, the Moon-Oak dies, and our power goes with it!"
The Elders didn't hesitate. They shifted mid-air, a pack of grey and brown wolves lunging toward the center of the chamber. But they weren't attacking the King—they were attacking Silas.
"No!" Elara cried out. She raised her hands, the silver orb shattering into a thousand shards of pure lunar energy. The blast knocked the first wave of Elders back, but it wasn't enough.
The King watched the chaos with a cruel smile. "Fools. You fight each other while your world crumbles." He turned his gaze to Silas. "If you wish to survive the night, little Alpha, you must do what your ancestor was too afraid to do. You must break the chains, or become one yourself."
Silas looked at the massive silver chains binding the King. Breaking them would mean releasing a monster. Leaving them would mean certain death at the hands of his own pack.
"Elara, stay down!" Silas roared. He didn't shift. Instead, he grabbed the hilt of the obsidian sword he had found in the archives. "The era of lies is over."