CHAPTER 187: BLOOD AND GUILT

Kiel

I didn’t flinch when Michelle screamed. Her voice grated against the stone walls like nails clawing over metal, sharp and broken and desperate. The wolves I had summoned were merciless—teeth snapping, claws ripping into her skin with wet, tearing sounds that echoed in the hollow room. I stood over her, chanting the incantation that kept the pack of summoned beasts under my control.

"End it," I ordered, my voice cutting through her shrieks like a blade.

But they didn’t stop right away—they toyed with her, dragged out her punishment until I snapped, "Enough!" and they pulled back, panting and licking their bloodstained fur.

Michelle lay there—a heap of mangled limbs and crimson. Her hair was tangled, her eyes wide with disbelief that this was how her story ended. I smirked faintly, my chest rising and falling heavily. "You should’ve known not to play with fire," I muttered, stepping closer. "You wanted chaos, Michelle. You got it."

Her lips moved—no words, just a shiver of breath and hate—and then her eyes rolled back. The last sound she made was a choked gurgle before silence swallowed the room.

The wolves bowed their heads low.

"You have honored us again, Alpha Kiel," one of them rasped in a deep, growling voice. "You have always fed the rogues well. Our allegiance is yours."

I swallowed hard and nodded, shoving a handful of blood-speckled diamonds toward them. "Take it. Payment for your service."

They gathered the gems greedily, their movements animalistic and reverent all at once. The power thrummed around me, pulsing in the air like static. The satisfaction of vengeance was hollow in my chest. Something about the whole thing—about Michelle, about the whispers she’d left behind—felt wrong. But I couldn’t think about that now.

Because just then, Varen’s voice thundered through the mindlink, shattering the fragile calm.

Kiel! Get to the cottage now. It’s Thorne. He’s... it’s bad, Kiel. Move!

The world tilted. I barely muttered my apologies to the rogue wolves before I turned on my heel and sprinted toward the cottage, my heart hammering painfully against my ribs. Every tree, every branch seemed to blur as I moved. The metallic scent of blood clung to my hands. I didn’t have time to clean it off.

When I reached the cottage, there was already a crowd. Warriors, healers, elders—all standing there with grim faces and whispers that crawled beneath my skin. The moment they saw me, they parted without a word, eyes flicking between my blood-smeared hands and the storm raging on my face.

The smell hit me first when I stepped inside—blood, burnt herbs, and despair. My stomach twisted violently.

Thorne lay on the bed, his skin a ghastly shade of white, sweat soaking his temples. His breathing was shallow and ragged, each inhale sounding like it cost him his life. Varen was at his side, pressing a bloodstained cloth to his chest.

"What the hell happened?" I barked, moving closer.

The nearest elder sneered faintly. "If we had banished Josie when we warned you, none of this would’ve happened. She brought the curse here. She’s poison—"

"Enough!" I snapped, my voice echoing with an Alpha’s command. "You will not speak of her like that again. Michelle was the one poisoning us from within, not Josie."

The murmurs turned into gasps. Whispers rippled through the room.

"What do you mean, Michelle?" one elder demanded. "She was cast out—she couldn’t—"

"She’s dead," I said sharply, cutting him off. My throat felt raw. "She was here the whole time, pretending to be someone else. Pretending to be Carolyn. I killed her myself."

The silence that followed was suffocating. Even the wind outside seemed to stop.

Varen’s eyes snapped to mine, disbelief and exhaustion mixing in his face. "You what?" he whispered.

"I said—" My voice cracked, but I forced the words out. "She was the one behind everything. She and Liam. I found her with him in the forest—"

Before I could finish, Thorne coughed violently, blood spraying across his chin and Varen’s hands. I froze, my heart plunging into my stomach.

"Thorne!" Varen shouted, catching his head before it hit the side of the bed. "Stay with me, damn it!"

The doctor rushed forward, muttering spells under his breath, trying to pour healing energy into Thorne’s wounds. But his eyes flickered with fear.

"There’s something in his blood," the doctor stammered, voice trembling. "It’s... it’s like a virus, a curse. His body’s trying to fight it, but it’s spreading too fast. I can’t—"

"Don’t you dare say it," I growled, but the doctor only shook his head, his hands trembling as they pressed over Thorne’s chest.

Thorne’s breathing grew louder, then weaker. His lips moved soundlessly. I leaned forward, gripping his hand tightly. "Don’t you dare go quiet on me," I muttered. "You’ve survived worse than this."

He blinked sluggishly, eyes rolling as if he could barely see me. "Where... Josie?" he whispered, the words so faint I almost thought I imagined them.

"She’s here," I lied quickly, squeezing his hand harder. "She’s fine. Just rest."

But the truth was already gnawing at me. Josie wasn’t here. Her scent was gone. Every trace of her presence vanished from the air. I turned sharply to Varen. "Where is she?"

Varen’s expression darkened. "She was here when this happened. The seer said she lost control of her power. After that, she vanished. I told her to stay—"

"She left?" I interrupted, my voice rising in disbelief.

Varen gave a short, frustrated nod. "I don’t know where. She was terrified. Said something about not being a good Luna, about leaving for everyone’s safety."

The words punched through me. Leaving for everyone’s safety. That sounded like Josie—always blaming herself, always thinking she had to bear every burden alone.

I turned toward the door, my pulse thundering in my ears. "Then I’ll find her."

"You’re not going anywhere," Varen snapped. "Look at yourself, Kiel. You’re covered in blood. You look like you’ve been through hell. What happened?"

I hesitated, my jaw tightening. "I told you. Michelle. She was with Liam. She was planning something bigger. I had to stop her."

"Stop her or slaughter her?" Varen’s voice was calm but cold, his eyes narrowing on the faint tremor in my hands.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Thorne suddenly let out a deep, strangled sound—half groan, half growl—and everyone turned toward him. His body convulsed violently. The veins beneath his skin turned black like ink crawling through glass.

The doctor shouted for water. Elders scattered, chanting ancient verses, but the air was thick with panic. I could only stand there, watching as the man who had been our anchor, our leader, seemed to wither before my eyes.

"Hold him!" the doctor yelled. "He’s fighting it!"

Varen pinned Thorne’s shoulders, his own breathing labored. I grabbed the other side, holding Thorne’s arm down as he thrashed.

"Come on, brother," I hissed, my throat tight. "You don’t get to die on us. You don’t."

But the more he fought, the weaker he became. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth.

The doctor’s voice broke. "The infection’s... it’s not natural. It’s feeding off his life force."

"What does that even mean?" I snapped.

"It means he’s dying," one of the elders muttered grimly.

"No!" I barked. "We’re not losing him. Not after everything."

But deep down, I felt the truth creeping in—the slow, gut-wrenching certainty that we might have already lost him.

My vision blurred for a moment. My pulse roared in my ears. I stepped back, my chest heaving. "I need to find Josie," I said again, my voice rough. "If anyone can fix this, it’s her."

"She left," Varen reminded me, his tone weary. "And you—you’re the last person who should be running off right now. You reek of death, Kiel. Tell me everything that happened."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. The blood was still under my fingernails—Michelle’s blood.

"I killed her," I said finally, the words falling like stones into silence. "I killed Michelle."

The room froze. The chanting stopped. Every eye turned toward me.

Even the doctor stopped working for a split second.

Varen’s face drained of color. "You... what?"