Blood And Silver:Rise of the Alpha’s Rejected Mate

Chapter 217 TRAJAN Its a celebration thats starting to feel very far away, somehow due to the feeling of tension coiling around the packhouse.

Wolves stand in groups, their voices hushed, eyes darting nervously toward the forest.

I pace by the window, my stomach tied.

Its too quiet.

That kind of quiet that signals trouble.

Dane steps into the clearing, pale face drawn tight.

His hand opens, disclosing a piece of bark with strange, glowing marks etched into it.

We got a problem, he says; the tone urgent as hell .

But before he has a chance to explain himself, I am bursting through the packhouse door, my heart beating with an irregular rhythm, words bursting from my lips well in advance of the possibility of a rational mind actually preventing them from happening.

Its too late, I whisper, shaking.

Theyre already here.

The room falls silent, and all eyes whip to me.

Aurora elbows her way through the parted crowd, a mask of fear and determination across her face. What do you mean, theyre already here ? she asks, her voice Chapter 217 my mind.

The Forgotten, I spoke low and quietly.

It has waited for such a thing, and it now... comes to us.

The eyes of Aurora narrowed on the question of who.

Who were they, and what would they do? 2/6 I swallow hard, the weight of the truth heavy inside.

The Forgotten were exiled a very long tago, I begin.

In Kaels time.

They felt this grove was to be used, wielded.

To control life, not to help it.

The room seems to tilt; whispers spread as the pack exchanges uneasy glances.

They saw the grove as a weapon, I continue.

And when Kael and the rest wouldnt side with their beliefs, they exiled them.

No one ever heard of them again.

Many thought they were murdered.

Auroras eyes narrow.

But theyre not, she says.

I shake my head.

No.

They went into hiding, just waiting for the day that the groves powers were restored.

And now that it is back.

They think it should be theirs, Dane concludes grimly.

Auroras gaze flicks down to Eira, who still shivers as she sits at the hearth .

Her eyes dart nervously and widely about the room, but she says nothing.

Eira, Aurora says softly, falling to one knee beside her, you did know this, didnt you? That was why you acted so uneasy ever since the grove was fixed.

Chapter 217 the words to describe it.

3/6 Aurora reaches out and lays a comforting touch on her arm.

You need to tell us everything.

We cant protect the pack if we dont know what we are fighting against .

Eira stammers, her voice shaking, before she finally says, The Forgotten werent just exiled .

They made a pact, an oath to return when the groves power was at its peak.

I didnt believe it was anything more than words.

And then I found the marks within the forest and felt their presence.

Theyre coming to take what they believe belongs to them.

The weight of her words hangs heavy within the room, and the pack listens in tense silence, their fear palpable Dane steps forward, his face unreadable.

Where did you see the marks ? In the western forest, Eira says .

Near the old riverbed.

Dane nods, clenching his jaw.

Ill go, he says.

We need to know how close they are.

Ill go with you, I say before I can stop myself.

Dane narrows his eyes, staring atominously.

You dont have to .

I know, I respond.

But I want to.

Aurora gets up between the two of us; her tone allows for no argument.

Be careful.

Both of you.

We do not know what they Chapter 217 Dane nods in acquiescence as we leave the packhouse, the responsibility for pack safety weighing our shoulders down.

4/6 The forest feels different now : darker, colder.

The normal night sounds are gone ; instead, an uncomfortable silence laps around us.

We hurry onward but cautiously, our senses high.

As we are deep within, something unnatural grows in strength.

At last, when we reach the riverbed.

I see them, the signs Eira described carved into the trees, their twisted lines glowing faintly.

Dane steps closer, his hand back brushing against the bark.

Theyre alive, he whispers.

I shiver as it catches my eye, a pulsating sheen filling the symbols, and is suddenly so unnatural it feels wrong.

What does that mean? I dont know, Dane replies.

But they arent just warnings.

They are claiming this land.

We go further inside the forest.

Whatever is unnatural becomes heavy.

We find it eventually, an abandoned campsite.

The firepit is cold, but everywhere are the signs of recent occupation.

Bones etched with runes lie scattered on the ground, their surfaces gleaming in the moonlight.

A map pinned to a tree marks Broken Ridge, the lines leading straight to the grove.

Chapter 217 Dane stoops and picks up one of the bones.

His face has gone hard.

And theyre planning something big.

The thought sends a shiver down my spine.

We need to get back, I say.

Now.

5/6 Dane nods, and we wheel toward the packhouse, our movements swift and urgent.

As we reach the clearing, I see it, a thick unnatural fog creeping through the trees, shrouding the territory in a heavy veil. My breath catches in my throat.

Its too late, I whisper, the words weighted with dread.

Theyre already here.

Dane stiffens beside me, his hand going instinctively to the top of his blade.

The fog presses forward, unnatural in its movements, curling around the trees like sentient branches.

We gotta get word to others, he says with all emphasis on his quietened one, thenmods as the weight weighs on his stance.

My head nodded; but my feet wouldnt rise a single movement the that we knowledge that we adat waited odge backup seemed to press down onhard enough I felt ice pour through me. for Dane, I said in just over a whisper, I think you hear them, Dane turned to me, his face deadly serious.

Its not about the fog The air grows colder and sharper .

A faint sound rises from Chapter 217 my spine.

Theyre in there, I whisper.

6/6 Dane grasps my arm and tugs backward.

Cant take them alone.

Lets go.

We turn and run, the earth watery and unstable beneath our feet as the fog closes in .

My heart pounds in my chest, every beat louder than the last.

We burst into the packhouse, and the tension is instantaneous.

Wolves turn to us, their faces pale with concern.

Aurora is the first to reach us, her eyes scanning our features.

What is it? she asks her voice tight with urgency.

The fog, Dane says, his breathing rapid.

Its not natural.

They are using it to advance.

The packhouse erupts in chaos: growling, murmurs, wolves shuffling frantically and scurrying about.

One sharp gesture by Aurora quiets them.

Prepare for defense, she says, her voice slicing through the panic.

No one leaves the territory until we know what were dealing with .