The halls of Obsidian Hollow reeked of death and ancient magic. The torches lining the black stone walls burned with eerie blue flames, casting grotesque shadows across the massive throne room. The air itself felt thick, heavy with the weight of unspeakable horrors committed within these walls.
At the center of the room, seated upon a throne carved from the bones of his fallen enemies, was Kael, the Beast King.
His presence was a nightmare given form. He was tall, impossibly broad, his dark hair wild like the mane of the beast he had become. His eyes, molten gold, flickered with something primal, something not entirely human. Even in his human form, there was nothing soft about him—his body was made of battle-forged muscle, his skin scarred from countless wars, his aura drenched in raw, terrifying dominance.
The throne room was silent, save for the occasional drip of blood from the fresh corpse of a warrior who had failed to amuse him.
Two thousand years.
Two thousand years of rage, bloodshed, and torment.
This was his punishment.
The Moon Goddess had cursed him, bound him in this monstrous form, stripping him of his fated mate, of his ability to feel anything beyond hunger and fury. He was meant to suffer, to never die, to remain alone in his darkness.
But there had been one way out.
A child.
A child of his bloodline would break the curse.
And so, he had spent centuries taking alpha daughters, forcing them into his bed, hoping one could withstand his beast's hunger long enough to give him an heir. But none had survived him. Their fragile bodies had broken beneath him. Their wombs had been unable to hold his child.
He had begun to believe there was no end to his suffering.
Until the prophecy.
The rumors had spread like wildfire—a girl blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, a healer, a wolf who could not be defeated. If anyone could break his curse, it would be her.
But the gods had laughed in his face.
Because the girl had died at birth.
That day, Kael had torn through five packs, slaughtered every alpha who had lied to him, burned entire bloodlines to ash. He had waited for too long, suffered for too long, only to be told that his only salvation had been snatched from him before she could even take her first breath.
And so, he had turned to another plan.
If no girl was destined to survive him, then he would make his own fate.
Every two years, he sent his men to take the first-born daughters of the strongest packs, hoping one of them would withstand him long enough to break the curse.
None had.
Now, White Shen Pack was next.
Kael's lips curled in a cruel, merciless smirk as he leaned back into his throne. Alpha Rhys and Luna Catherine were a pathetic pair—a man who had betrayed his own fated mate for power and a woman who had schemed and murdered her way to the top.
What a joke.
For years, he had watched them, waiting, but they had made it clear—they would not hand over their daughter.
They refused. Their only child was off-limits, and they guarded her fiercely, unwilling to let anyone claim her.
It was this defiance that had caught Kael's attention. His instincts told him they were hiding something. But whether it was their refusal to comply stir something deeper, he didn't care.
Kael's gaze darkened as he thought about the impending confrontation. White Shen Pack would be his next target. Alpha Rhys would fall. And if the pack refused to surrender their daughter, he would show them just how easily the flames of war could turn their entire world to ash.
He would break them.
A low growl rumbled from his chest.
The Beast King would not let anything stand between him and his goal.
And if Alpha Rhys and Luna Catherine continued to defy him, their pack would pay the price.
Burn them all.
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