Torn Between Destinies-Chapter 33 - Thirty Three

The air was too quiet.

I had felt it for days—an itch at the back of my neck. Something wasn’t right, and no matter how many times I told myself it was just nerves, my wolf didn’t believe it.

She paced more. Growled more. Warned me with every step I took near the western watchtower.

So I followed the feeling.

It started when I walked by the strategy hall late one night. Darius was asleep in our cabin, finally getting rest after weeks of stress. I had stepped out for water when I heard voices inside the stone hall.

The door was cracked.

I crept closer, staying low in the shadows.

"...we should have moved when he was weak," a voice said. Low and sharp. Male.

"Too late now. She’s back," someone else replied. "He’ll never doubt her again."

"No," the first voice said, firm. "It doesn’t matter. We finish what we started. The pack needs new blood—strong leadership, not love-blinded fools."

My heart froze.

I knew that voice.

It belonged to *Caleb*.

Darius’s most trusted Beta.

I didn’t wait to hear more. I backed away, heart thudding like a drum. I ran straight to the cabin and locked the door behind me.

---

I didn’t sleep.

I couldn’t.

My hands shook. My mind raced. Caleb? Of all people?

He’d stood by Darius for years. Fought beside him. Protected this pack. And now...

Now he was planning to take everything.

I waited until morning before telling Darius. I needed proof first. I needed to be sure.

So I went to the old training shed, where the scouts logged night patrols. If Caleb had been meeting in secret, there’d be missing time on his reports.

I found what I needed.

Three nights with no record. His name scratched out on two of them. When I checked the patrol logs, I saw that he had ordered Mira to take his place.

He was hiding something.

And I was done waiting.

---

That afternoon, I walked into the training field. Caleb was barking orders at a group of new warriors. When he saw me, his face shifted.

Not with guilt—but with something sharper.

Annoyance.

"Luciana," he said, voice smooth. "Here to give more tips?"

I didn’t answer him.

I walked straight to him, meeting his gaze.

"We need to talk," I said.

He raised a brow. "Now?"

"Yes. Now."

He looked around, clearly not wanting an audience. He gave a short command to the trainees and led me toward the edge of the field, near the old weapons shed.

"Whatever this is," he started, "it can wait. I have—"

"I heard you."

He went still.

"I was outside the strategy hall last night," I said. "I heard everything. You were planning to move against Darius."

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t deny it.

"You were going to betray him," I whispered. "Your own Alpha. Your friend."

His jaw tightened. "He stopped being my Alpha the moment he let love blind him. He let this pack fall apart while he chased ghosts." freёnovelkiss.com

"And so your answer was to destroy him?"

"I was going to *save* us," he growled. "He was weak. And weak Alphas get people killed."

My chest tightened with rage. "He was grieving. And even then, he led. You just waited like a coward. Waiting for him to fall so you could take his place."

"You don’t understand how packs work," he spat. "You think love is enough to hold us together? It’s not. Fear. Power. Strength. That’s what keeps us alive."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Loyalty does. Unity. And you tore that apart when you turned your back on him."

He stepped closer, voice lowering. "Do you really think they all want you back, Luciana? That the pack believes in this happy ending you’re trying to build? They look at you and see weakness. Distraction. And they’re right."

His words cut deep, but I didn’t flinch.

"I’m not the one hiding in the dark, whispering poison," I said. "You are. And I’m done letting you play your little game."

He laughed, low and bitter. "So what now? You’ll tell Darius? And then what? He kills me? Banishes me? That won’t fix what’s broken."

"No," I said. "But the truth will."

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.

"Be careful, Luciana," he said, voice like ice. "You think you’ve won, but all you’ve done is delay the fall."

I yanked my arm free and walked away.

---

I found Darius near the river, checking on new border markers. He smiled when he saw me, but the smile faded quickly when he saw my face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Come with me," I said. "We need to talk. Now."

He followed without question.

We went to the cabin, and I closed the door behind us.

Then I told him everything.

The voices in the hall. The missing reports. The conversation near the shed.

At first, he just stood there, silent.

Then he sat down, his hands shaking.

"Caleb," he whispered. "He was like a brother."

"I know," I said gently. "But he was going to take everything."

"While I was... broken," he said. "He waited."

"He planned."

Darius ran a hand down his face. "I should’ve seen it. The signs were there. The way he pushed the younger wolves harder. The way he questioned me during meetings."

"He never stopped acting like he was in charge," I added.

Darius stood and paced the room. "This isn’t just betrayal. It’s treason."

"What will you do?"

He didn’t answer at first. Then he turned to me.

"I’ll call a Council meeting. Tonight. He’ll face the pack."

---

That night, the pack gathered under the full moon.

Darius stood tall before them, with me at his side.

Caleb arrived late, walking slowly, as if he knew what was coming.

Darius didn’t waste time.

"My mate heard something last night," he began. "Words spoken in the dark. Words of betrayal."

The pack murmured, confused.

"She heard a Beta—a man I trusted—planning to overthrow me."

Gasps echoed across the clearing.

Then Darius said the name.

"Caleb."

All eyes turned.

Caleb didn’t speak. Didn’t deny it.

"You spoke of strength," Darius said. "Of taking power while I was grieving. Do you deny it?"

Caleb met his eyes. "No. I don’t."

Silence fell.

"Then by law of the Luna and Alpha," Darius said, "you are stripped of your title. You are no longer Beta of this pack."

Murmurs turned to shouts.

Caleb stood tall, but his face was pale.

"You’ll regret this," he said coldly. "You think this pack will follow you forever. But one day, they’ll wake up."

"And when they do," I said, stepping forward, "they’ll still choose the Alpha who stood with them. Not the one who waited for them to fall."

Darius didn’t wait for more words.

He turned to the guards.

"Take him to the eastern ridge. He has until dawn to leave our lands."

Caleb didn’t fight. But his eyes burned as they dragged him away.

---

After the crowd broke up, Darius and I stood under the moonlight.

"I trusted him," he said softly. "With everything."

"I know."

He looked at me. "Thank you. For not turning away. For seeing what I didn’t."

I nodded. "We protect each other. That’s what we do now."

He reached for my hand.

"And we don’t let shadows take root again," I added.

"No," he said. "Never again."

As we stood together, the wind shifted.

And for the first time in a long while, I felt safe.

Not because danger was gone—but because we were finally facing it together.

---

The sky was still dark when Darius summoned the pack.

Cold wind swept through the trees. The moon had long set, and only stars lit the clearing. Wolves stood in a wide circle around the council stone, eyes sharp, backs straight. They knew something was coming. They could feel it.

So could I.

Darius stood beside me in full Alpha presence. His jaw was tight. His shoulders squared. The calm before a storm.

Then the guards dragged Caleb forward.

His hands were bound in silver cuffs, his lips pressed together. He didn’t look scared. He looked proud. Defiant.

But that wouldn’t save him now.

Darius stepped forward. His voice, when it came, rang through the clearing.

"Loyalty is what holds a pack together. Not just strength, not fear—loyalty."

He turned slowly, meeting every eye around the circle.

"When we fall, we trust others to carry us. When we stumble, we rely on our pack to hold us steady."

He pointed to Caleb.

"But this man—this Beta—used my grief as an excuse. He whispered lies in the dark. He planned to take what wasn’t his."

Murmurs rippled through the pack. But no one spoke aloud.

"He would have risked everything we’ve built," Darius continued. "Our lives. Our peace. Our family. All for power."

He looked back at Caleb.

"I trusted you," he said, quieter now. "I would’ve died for you. And you sold me out the first chance you got."

Caleb didn’t flinch.

"I did what had to be done," he said. "You were weak. Someone had to protect the pack."

Darius stepped closer.

"You call betrayal protection? You plotted to tear us apart. You lied. You poisoned hearts. You wanted the title, not the burden."

Darius turned to the pack again.

"Let this be known," he said. "By my right as Alpha, and under the law of the Luna beside me—this man is no longer one of us."

Gasps. A shift in energy.

"I strip Caleb of his Beta rank. I strip him of pack ties. He is exiled, effective immediately."

Guards moved to grab Caleb, but he shoved one off.

"So that’s it?" he spat. "Throw me out like trash?"

"You threw yourself out the moment you betrayed us," I said, stepping forward.

He sneered. "You think they follow you? That you’re Luna now? You were gone for months. Came back bleeding and weak."

"I came back fighting," I said. "I stood when you stayed in shadows."

"I did more for this pack than you ever have."

"Then you should’ve done it with honor," Darius snapped.

Caleb’s hands shook. His wolf pushed against his skin, but the silver held it down.

"You could’ve spoken to me," Darius said. "You could’ve been honest. But instead, you planned to take everything behind my back. That’s not leadership. That’s cowardice."

Silence.

The weight of truth hung heavy in the air.

"You have until sundown to leave this land," Darius said. "If you step past our border again, you’ll be hunted."

The guards began dragging Caleb away.

But he turned once more.

"This isn’t over," he said. "You’ve made an enemy of someone who knows your every weakness."

Darius didn’t answer.

Neither did I.

There was nothing left to say.

---

After they were gone, Darius didn’t speak for a long time. He just stood in the circle, breathing in the quiet. Then he turned to face the pack.

"I failed," he said. "I let my grief blind me. I let darkness fester in my own home."

He paused.

"But no more. The pack comes first. Always."

Wolves bowed their heads. Not in fear—but in respect.

"And I want you all to know something else," he added. "Luciana is my Luna. She earned her place with blood, fire, and loyalty."

He looked at me, eyes soft for just a second.

"She stood by me when others turned away. She exposed this betrayal when no one else saw it."

He turned back to the others.

"She is Luna not just by bond—but by action."

A low growl of approval spread through the wolves. Even those who once looked at me with doubt now nodded, shoulders relaxed.

I stepped forward beside Darius.

"This pack gave me a home," I said. "Even when I didn’t think I belonged. I promise you now—I will protect it. Always."

A howl rose into the sky. Then another. And another.

Not forced. Not commanded.

Given.

To us.

---

Later that day, we watched Caleb vanish into the woods with two guards. He walked without a word, head high, but I could see the bitterness in his shoulders.

As soon as he passed the boundary line, the guards returned.

He didn’t look back.

"I didn’t want it to end like this," Darius said softly.

"I know," I said.

"He was family once."

"He chose power over us."

Darius nodded, then turned to me.

"You sure you’re ready for all this?" he asked. "Not just being Luna—but all that comes with it?"

I looked at him. At our land. Our people. Our unborn pup growing inside me.

"Yes," I said. "Because we’re doing it together."

---

The next full moon, we held a bonding run. It was Darius’s idea. A way to bring the pack together after so much tension.

The moon was silver and sharp. The wind cool against my fur as we ran through the forest. Darius kept pace beside me. Others followed. Young. Old. Strong. Tired.

But united.

My wolf howled with joy.

She had longed for this.

Not just for Darius—but for *them*. Our people.

At the riverbend, we paused. Darius shifted back first, the others following.

I shifted last.

He reached for my hand, and I took it.

"This," he said, voice low, "is how we begin again."

Not with secrets.

Not with fear.

But with truth, and loyalty.

And punishment for those who forget it.