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Lahat ng Kabanata ng INSTINCTLESS: A Scentless Bloodline : Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

32 Kabanata

CHAPTER 10: FIRST LIGHT, FIRST BLOOD

We didn't wait for dawn. We became the darkness that moved before it.The pack gathered in the main hall twenty men and women, their faces hard. They had changed into simple, dark clothes. No one spoke. The only sound was the soft click of weapons being checked.Rhydian stood before them, dressed in black from head to toe. He looked less like a CEO and more like a ancient warrior king. "They think we will hide behind our walls and mourn," he said, his voice cutting the silence. "They think their message broke us. They are wrong."He looked at each of them. "We are not prey. We are the hunters. And tonight, we remind them why this territory is called Blackthorne."A low growl of agreement rippled through the room.He turned to me. "You stay at my side. Your job is not to fight with teeth and claws. Your job is to be the shield. When I give the signal, you silence everything around us. You create a hole in their world. Understood?"I nodded, my mouth dry. My heart was a drum in my chest

CHAPTER 11: THE EDGE OF THE BLADE

The walk back to the manor was quiet. No one celebrated. We had won, but we had also lost. The smell of smoke was in our hair and on our clothes. The first light of dawn made everyone look tired and pale.Inside, the mood was heavy. The injured from our night attack were being helped to the medical room. I saw the healer moving between them, her face tight.Rhydian went straight to his war room. I followed. The room had maps on the walls and a big table in the center. Kellan was already there."We lost one," Kellan said. His voice was flat. "Marco. Went down in the first charge. Took three of them with him."Rhydian closed his eyes for a second. He placed his hands on the map table, head bowed. "See that his family is cared for. Full honors.""Yes, Alpha."Rhydian looked up. "And the Conclave? Did Kieran's warning have truth?"Kellan nodded. "My scouts confirm it. A small group. Four of them. They crossed into the northern territory last night. They move fast. They could be here by to

CHAPTER 12: THE CONCLAVE

They came at first light.No warning. No sound. One moment, the forest around the manor was quiet. The next, they were just there. Four figures standing at the edge of the trees.They wore no armor. Just simple grey clothes. They didn't look big or scary. But the air got colder when they appeared. The birds stopped singing.From the manor window, I watched them. My blood felt like ice.Rhydian stood beside me. "The Conclave," he said, his voice flat. "Remember the plan."The plan. Let them think I was weak. Then cut their bond.Kellan came into the room. "The perimeter is silent. They took out all the outer guards without a sound.""How many?" Rhydian asked."All of them." Kellan's face was grim. "They're not just knocking. They're clearing a path."Selene walked in then. She looked out the window. A small smile touched her lips. "They are efficient. I told you this was a waste.""Go to your position," Rhydian told her, not looking away from the window.She left, but the smile stayed

CHAPTER 13: AFTERMATH

The silence after the Conclave left was the worst kind. It was not peaceful. It was heavy, like a blanket of snow that smothers everything.I stood in the clearing. My hands were shaking. I could still see the man's eyes how they went from sharp and deadly to empty. Like windows into a dark, empty house.Around me, the pack was moving. Helping the wounded. Kellan was shouting orders. Rhydian was checking on everyone, his face set in hard lines.But their eyes kept flicking to me. Not with thanks. With a new kind of fear. They had seen it too. I wasn't just the strange girl who broke bonds. I was the thing that could unmake a person.I turned and walked back into the manor. My legs felt numb. I walked past people without seeing them. I went to my room, the beautiful prison, and closed the door.I sat on the bed and stared at the wall. I replayed the moment in my head. The man's hand coming toward me. The panic. The push of silence I shoved into his mind. The click as something turned o

CHAPTER 14: THE ROAD NORTH

Dusk came too quickly.The manor was a hive of tense activity, but it was quiet. No one shouted. People moved with grim purpose, packing supplies, checking weapons. The air felt like a held breath.I didn't have much to pack. Just the clothes I came with and a thick, dark coat Rhydian had sent to my room. I put it on. It was too big, smelling of pine and cold air. His scent.When I went downstairs, the main hall was divided.On one side, a group of about fifteen wolves stood ready. Kellan was with them, checking a map with Rhydian. Leo was there too, his jaw set with determination. They were the ones going.On the other side of the hall stood the rest. Maybe ten people. They didn't look at Rhydian. They looked at the floor, at their hands. They were staying. Selene stood with them, a calm, satisfied look on her face.Rhydian finished with Kellan and looked at the whole pack. "The choice is made. Those who stay will guard this house. Protect our home. Those who go… we walk into the wol

CHAPTER 15: THE BROKEN ONE

The Rougarou didn't roar. It screamed. A human-like sound of pure madness from an animal throat.It charged straight for me. Its yellow eyes were fixed, empty holes of pain."Shield formation! Protect Nyx!" Rhydian's command cut through the panic.The pack moved as one, shifting to put themselves between me and the creature. But the Rougarou was fast unnaturally fast. It ducked under a swinging knife and swiped a massive paw at Leo, sending him flying into a tree.It didn't stop to finish him. It wanted me.Kellan leaped in front of it, his own wolf form erupting in a crackle of bone and fur. He met the Rougarou in a crash of teeth and claws. They rolled, a blur of snarls.But the Rougarou wasn't fighting to win. It was fighting to get through. It raked its claws down Kellan's side and scrambled past him, breaking through the line.It was ten feet from me. Five.I could smell its rot. See the old, scarred-over mark on its neck where a mate bond had been severed. This thing was a warni

CHAPTER 16: THE CONFESSION

Dawn came slow and grey.We had walked all night. My legs were numb. My head ached from using my power. But we didn't stop. The memory of Selene's smile and the dead Rougarou pushed us forward.The trees began to thin. The ground became rockier. We were climbing now, the air getting colder with every step.Kellan was slowing down. His wound was wrapped in cloth, but blood kept seeping through. His face was pale."We need to stop," Leo said, looking at Kellan. "He can't keep going like this.""I can keep going," Kellan growled, but his voice was weak.Rhydian looked at the sky, then at the rocky slope ahead. "There's a cave up there. We rest until nightfall."The cave was small and cold, but it was shelter. Kellan sat down heavily against the wall. Leo and another pack member began tending his wound properly. The rest of us sat in silence, too tired to speak.I sat near the entrance, watching the grey sky. Rhydian stood beside me, looking out."How much further?" I asked."Another two

CHAPTER 17: THE GATHERING STORM

I woke to cold and the smell of snow.The cave entrance showed a grey sky and fat, white flakes drifting down. Winter had found us in the mountains.Kellan was sitting up, his color better. He nodded at me when I stirred. "You look like death.""Thanks," I mumbled, sitting up. My body ached. My head felt stuffed with cotton."He means thank you," Leo said, handing me a water skin. "You saved him. We all saw it."I drank, letting the cold water wake me up. Rhydian was at the cave entrance, speaking quietly with two of the pack. His back was tense."What's wrong?" I asked, moving to join him.He turned. His face was serious. "The storm is bad. We can't travel in this. We're stuck here until it passes.""How long?""A day. Maybe two." He looked past me at Kellan. "It gives him time to heal. But it gives the Council time to prepare. They know we're coming. They'll be ready."The trapped feeling settled over me again. Stuck in a cold cave, waiting, while our enemies got stronger."We shoul

CHAPTER 18: THE STONE SEAT

The walk across the snow plain felt like it took years.Each step was heavy. The five figures ahead grew larger, clearer. By the time we stopped twenty feet from them, I could see their faces.Five elders. Four men and one woman. They sat on stone chairs that looked like they had grown from the mountain itself. They wore simple dark robes. No weapons. No armor. They didn't need any.The woman was in the center. She was ancient not old like a grandmother, but old like a mountain. Her white hair fell past her shoulders. Her eyes were the color of ice, and they looked right through me.That must be Sorcha. The seer.To her right sat a man with a hard face and cold eyes. Rafe. The leader. He stared at me like a man looking at a poison he needed to identify.The other three elders were less distinct older men who watched with flat, patient eyes.Rhydian stopped and bowed his head slightly. Not a full bow. A sign of respect, not submission. I did the same, my heart pounding."Alpha Blacktho

CHAPTER 19: THE HEALING

I stood before Theron, my heart hammering.He didn't move. Didn't blink. Just stared at nothing with those hollow eyes. Thirty years of emptiness. Thirty years of being a shell.The Council watched. Rafe's cold eyes bored into me. Sorcha's ancient gaze was softer, but just as intense. Behind me, I could feel Rhydian's presence, solid and steady.You can do this, I told myself. You healed Kellan. You soothed the Rougarou. This is just... bigger.I reached out with my silence. Not to cut. Not to push. Just to feel.Theron's bonds were a mess. Shredded threads of connection floating in the dark. The main bond the one to his mate was completely gone. Severed so long ago the ends had withered. But there were others. Small threads to pack members long gone. Faint echoes of who he used to be.I didn't try to fix everything at once. I found the strongest remaining thread a thin, pale connection to something. Maybe a memory. Maybe a ghost of who he was.I wrapped my silence around it gently. N

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