51: A body in a void.
**Thane pov**
I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt truly alive. The emptiness had been creeping in for days, smothering my every thought and impulse that had once made life bearable.
Kieran was gone - buried in the cold ground he couldn’t return from anymore. He left a hollow ache in our hearts that no amount of fire or fury could fill.
I kept picturing him, the way his laugh used to echo through the halls, the way he’d thrown himself into arguments and fights with reckless abandon, yet always somehow protected the rest of us. And now, he was nothing but memories - a body in a void.
Torin and Samantha didn’t speak much these days. I understood them because words felt heavy and meaningless. I saw them sitting by the fire, staring into nothing as if it could burn away the grief.
Sometimes, I wondered if I looked the same - numb, hollow, pretending that breathing didn’t hurt at all.
However, for me personally, that grief started to change into hatred. Pure, concentrated, volcanic hatred, hotter than any fire the forge could produce. And it was aimed at one person - Bane.
I remembered how he had turned our lives upside down like a storm, half man, half monster, full of power we couldn’t fathom. He had controlled, broken, healed, and shattered all at once.
And Kieran had gone under his shadow, bled because of him, fought and died while Bane walked free.
That thought alone made my anger simmer over, my teeth clench, and bile rise up my throat.
I knew the others felt it too, but someone had to make it count and turn the simmering hatred into a weapon. I had to make sure that when Bane came back, and I had no doubt he would, the pack would see him exactly as he deserved: a dangerous, untrustworthy force of chaos that could never be allowed to lead.
I rose from my seat and started pacing the room slowly, thinking about the exact ways to execute my plan to the greatest extent.
Torin’s voice barely broke the silence, but he still refused to look at me. “You’re moving around a lot, Thane. Thinking or scheming?”
“Both,” I muttered and turned to look at him. “And you’d better do the same, because what’s coming is not something any of us can afford to ignore.”
Samantha didn’t even look up, but I could feel her attention on me. She understood instinctively that this wasn’t about mourning anymore. Every plan that would follow next would be only survival and revenge.
After a while, I made a decision and left the cabin to walk back towards the main house and the ones surrounding it. The muscles in my legs cramped with every step I took, but I didn’t let some pain hold me back from what had to be done.
As I got closer to the house, the pack members moved around me, some glancing with casual curiosity, others too distracted to notice my presence at all.
“Thane, it’s been so long since I last saw you,” one of the younger males suddenly called, stepping up beside me. “You’ve been quiet, what’s on your mind?”
I turned slowly and looked him up and down before I spoke. “You know Bane,” I said, keeping my voice quiet but measured. “The Bane who changed everything in the pack and took off like the coward he is? The same damned Bane some of you morons still call Alpha material?”
The boy blinked, clearly confused by my words. “Alpha material? He saved the pack so many times, we couldn’t even count. Thane, do you have a fever or something?”
I shook my head sharply, letting my voice carry a bitter edge. “Saved you? Okay, maybe that’s true, but don’t forget what his presence cost us. Don’t forget Kieran.”
I could see the confusion in his eyes and the exact moment I saw a flicker of doubt, I was ready to jump high up and high-five the moon if it was possible. All I needed was fear and doubt, those were things I could work with easily.
Stepping closer, I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Do you really think someone like him, someone who can’t even control what’s inside him, should be allowed to lead? The monster he carries is not tamed. And yet, some idiots out there whisper that he’s still the Alpha. Can you imagine that?”
The boy looked around and hesitated before he grumbled, “I.. I don’t know.”
“Exactly,” I snapped and grabbed his shoulder lightly. “You don’t know because none of us know the moment he’ll snap and that thing inside him will decide our lives are collateral. And trust me, the moment is coming, Kieran already paid the price.”
After the boy excused himself and ran off, I kept walking around the main building area. I used my words like I would use poison in water until it fully contaminated any source of drinkable water.
I started with simple basics - seeding distrust, fear and hatred in anyone who was willing to listen.
A few men stopped to question me, some only glanced in my direction briefly, but I didn’t dwell on small details for now. I knew that my anger was enough to do the talking with men like these.
I painted Bane as the threat no one could see coming, the Alpha in shadow who would destroy everything if given the chance.
Torin caught up with me near the training grounds. “You’re really going all out, aren’t you? Thane, you’re not just spreading doubt - you’re practically scripting it.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Doubt isn’t enough, neither is fear. People need to understand that Bane can’t be trusted. Every time he smiles is a lie waiting to happen.”
Torin hesitated as he glanced around. “Do you really think the others will believe you?”
“I don’t care if they believe me or not,” I muttered. “They only need to question everything I say. By the time Bane comes back, and he will, that doubt will be ready. Anger and hatred will hit him where it hurts the most. The pack will see him for what he is, or if I’m lucky enough - what I say he is.”
Samantha’s voice came behind us before I noticed her approaching us. “You’re taking this far, Thane. Are you sure this is the way?”
I turned and looked into her eyes. “I’m sure. Every second we wait, Bane grows stronger and avoids the consequences. I won’t allow that to happen again.”
Torin and Samatha exchanged worried glances, but didn’t argue against me and instead, walked after me as I kept spreading lies, warnings and exaggerations about Bane’s “dangerous tendencies.”
A misplaced growl here, a casual remark there was enough to stir suspicion and ignite paranoia. The pack members began to look at one another differently, exchanging worried glances whenever Bane’s name surfaced.
By the time I reached the main door of the house, I was satisfied with the chaos I’d left behind. Men whispered to one another about Bane’s unpredictability, his “hidden monster,” and the possibility that the monster might declare himself Alpha if the opportunity arose.
Even the older, more loyal wolves paused before mentioning him in conversation, their voices laced with caution.
Torin stepped beside me and watched how the pack started stirring like uncomfortable bees, trapped in a space far too small to thrive. “You’ve gone too far, you know,” he murmured.
“Far enough,” I corrected. “Not a soul in this territory will ever forget what he’s done and what could happen if he comes back. Doubt, fear, hatred - that’s all I need to ensure the pack survives him and he could become.”
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