Chapter 167 DANE

The Nameless’s presence was suffocating, even though it wasn’t physically in the room. It rarely needed to be. There was no use of its physical presence. Its voice was within me, a heavy, chilling whisper in my mind, wrapping around my thoughts and sinking its claws into my head until they felt like my own.

“You’re wasting time,” its chilling whisper echoed in my head once again, a gnawing reminder that I had lost myself, I had lost my mind.

I ground my teeth as I paced the cold stone floor of the ruined castle, the hellhole I am now confined in. The dark wolves prowled around me, their silent forms flickering with dark energy. They reacted to my every move… as if they hear my thoughts. They were restless as if they knew a war were waging inside of me.

They were mine, or so I thought. But when the Nameless spoke, I could feel their attention shift, their loyalty bending toward it like leaves reaching for the sun. Or that this time it seemed to be the moon?

“I need more time,” I said out loud, my voice sharp, cutting through the dark silent air.

The darkness writhed but didn’t retreat. “Time for what? To fail again?” it asked.

My fists clenched.

The memory of Aurora’s touch, her scent, her voice calling me by name, it was all still there, buried under the darkness but refusing to disappear. It wasn’t supposed to linger. It wasn’t supposed to matter.

But it did.

“She’s more powerful than you expected,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “She has allies, defenses I haven’t seen before. If you want her pack, if you want the relic, we need to approach this differently.”

“Differently? Or are you growing soft?” he asked.

The words hit like a punch, and for a moment, I didn’t respond. My wolf growled low in my mind, restless and angry. Not at me, but at the Nameless.

“You hesitate because of her. I can feel it. You think there’s something worth saving, don’t you? Some part of you still clings to her.”

“I do as you command,” I growled through gritted teeth. “Always.”

The Nameless laughed, a sound like the creaking of ice before it broke. “Loyalty is meaningless if it’s divided. Prove yourself. Sacrifice the wolves. Show me you’re mine.”

I froze. “Sacrifice them?”

The dark wolves paused their restless movements, as though they, too, were listening.

“Their existence is tied to my power, not yours. They’re expendable. I want you to destroy them and their connection to me. Show me you’re willing to sever what binds you to anything but me.”

My wolf snapped and snarled, its fury echoing through my chest. The dark wolves around me growled low, their golden eyes glowing with something I couldn’t name.

Defiance? Loyalty?

“No,” I said before I could stop myself.

The Nameless’s presence sharpened, like a blade pressing against my mind. “What did you say?"

“I can’t,” I repeated, forcing the words out. “They’re a part of me, a part of what you’ve made me.”

“Then prove they’re yours and not mine. Command them to attack her.”

The image of Aurora flashed in my mind, her eyes, her voice, the way she had melted against me in that kiss, only to slip away like water through my fingers.

“I will claim her… I mean her pack and the relic,” I struggled, my voice shaky. “But I will not waste resources when they’re more useful alive than destroyed.”

The Nameless was silent for a moment, but the pressure in my mind didn’t ease. “Perhaps you’re right. Or perhaps you’re a coward. Either way, do not fail me again.”

Its presence retreated, but the weight of its words lingered. The dark wolves shifted uneasily, their forms flickering as though waiting for my command.

“You’re mine,” I said to them, my voice low but resolute. “Not his. Do you understand?”

The largest of them stepped forward, its golden eyes meeting mine. It didn’t speak, none of them did, but the way it bowed its head felt like an answer.

Mine.

For the first time in a long while, something inside me felt… steady.

But it didn’t last.

Aurora’s face haunted me. The way she had looked at me, touched me, kissed me, it was all wrong. I should have been disgusted, should have hated her for her defiance, her stubborn hope.

Instead, I found myself remembering what it was like to be the man she saw in me. The man I used to be. The memory was faint, like a darkness on the edge of my mind, but it was there. A shimmer, something bright and warm, something that didn’t belong in the darkness I had become.

I turned away from the wolves and strode toward the castle’s broken balcony. The wind was sharp and cold, cutting through the night like a knife. Below, the snow-covered mountains stretched endlessly, a vast and empty expanse that mirrored the hollowness inside me.

I pressed my hands against the stone railing, my claws digging into the weathered surface. If the Nameless wanted proof of my loyalty, it would get it. I would take Aurora’s pack, her relic, and anything else it demanded.

But deep down, just where the darkness couldn’t reach, I knew the truth. I wasn’t just fighting for the Nameless anymore.

I was fighting for myself. And maybe, just maybe… for her.

The dark wolves gathered behind me, their presence a silent reminder of the choice I hadn’t made.

Not yet.

I closed my eyes, and I let myself remember for a moment. Then I turned back, my expression hard and unyielding.

“Prepare yourselves,” I said, my voice cold and commanding. “The next attack begins at dawn.”