Instinct Unleashed -chapter 9- By Kind Nightmares Today

"You came back," Elias said. His voice was softer than Kael expected. Almost gentle. That was worse than any growl.

"Lena thinks I can save you," Elias continued. "Tobias wants to put you down. The others are too afraid to speak their minds. And you? What do you want, Kael?"

The pack had scattered three nights ago after the incident at the silos. He could still hear the wet snap of Tobias's shoulder dislocating, still see the way Lena had looked at him—not with fear, but with the hollow recognition of someone watching a friend drown in slow motion. She had whispered, "You're still in there, Kael. Fight it." Instinct Unleashed -Chapter 9- By Kind Nightmares

Kael didn't turn. He already knew the scent—smoke, old leather, and the metallic tang of suppressed rage. Elias. The alpha who had raised him, who had taught him that instinct without discipline was just chaos with teeth.

"You're wrong," Elias said. "Instinct isn't freedom. It's the oldest leash there is." "You came back," Elias said

And in the silence that followed, the rain stopped. The moon held still. And something in the dark—something older than the pack, older than the forest, older than fear—opened its eyes and recognized a kindred hunger.

"I want to stop being kind," he said. "Kindness was the nightmare. This?" He raised a hand, and claws extended not with effort, but with the quiet certainty of a flower opening. "This is waking up." That was worse than any growl

Kael smiled. It was not a human expression. It was something the face did when the thing beneath the face decided to wear it like a mask.