Chapter 98 – After the Argument
After the small argument, the atmosphere in the private karaoke room never returned to what it had been before. Even though everyone tried to act as if nothing had happened, the tension was still there… hanging in the air like a stretched rope ready to snap.
They ordered more food. They ordered sodas. Even Bruno, who never sang, ended up humming a song just to ease the mood.
They laughed. They joked. They ate wings, fries, and drank iced tea.
But behind every smile… something was broken.
Walter watched them all from his seat. From the outside he looked calm, but inside he was a storm.
Pain. Anger. Confusion. Jealousy. And something darker he didn't know how to name.
Every time he looked at Titus, he felt a sting in his chest. When had Titus started making all the decisions without consulting him? When had he fallen behind?
Cristal watched them too from her side of the table. Her gaze was cold, analytical, calculating. Every gesture, every change of expression, every word… she recorded everything in silence.
Bruno, sitting next to Walter, had his arms crossed. He seemed relaxed, but he wasn't. He was thinking. He was doubting. He also saw the crack forming inside the pack.
And Sarah… Sarah looked at Titus with a mix of admiration, fear, and guilt. She knew her transformation had been the spark that ignited the whole argument. She knew Walter was hurting. She knew Titus had acted without consulting anyone.
But she also knew that if he hadn't transformed her, she would have died. That truth choked her from the inside.
The only one who seemed truly calm was Titus… or at least that's what he wanted everyone to believe.
Even though food kept arriving and the songs changed on the large screen, no one was really there. Everyone was trapped in their thoughts. Everyone was chewing on more than food. They were chewing on doubts.
Until, without anyone saying it aloud, the same idea crossed all five of their minds:
Something was breaking between them. And the worst part was that they could already feel it.
More than one thought—though none admitted it—that this wasn't caused by the twins' secret, nor by Sarah's transformation…
but by Melanie.
Melanie, with her mysterious smile. Melanie, with her manipulation games. Melanie, who always managed to wedge herself between people. Melanie, who was now talking to Titus. Melanie, who had always been a shadow in their lives, like a thorn that never came out completely.
For Walter, she was the cause of his pain. For Bruno, a threat. For Cristal, a mistake waiting to explode. For Sarah, a silent rival. For Titus… No one knew what Melanie was to Titus, and that was the problem.
One thing was clear:
Melanie was opening cracks between the Unwanted.
And that night, even though they kept singing, laughing, and eating… each one of them understood something:
The pack was complete for the first time… but it had never been so close to falling apart.
---
When the meeting ended, no one said anything else. They stood up in silence, gathered their things, and left the karaoke one by one. From the outside, it seemed as if everything had gone well: food, laughter, songs. But inside, each of them left with a bitter taste stuck in their throat.
Because that night had not brought them together. That night had broken them a little more.
Cristal walked silently along the sidewalk, with measured steps and a hard expression. To anyone else, she would have seemed calm. But inside, she was burning.
She knew the plan was going off course.
Titus was making decisions on his own. Titus was forming his own pack. Titus was transforming humans without permission.
Control was slipping through her fingers.
And worst of all: Melanie… that reckless human… was influencing the Alpha.
Cristal clenched her teeth. This should not have been happening. This was not part of the plan.
Bruno walked toward his house, but his mind was still in the karaoke. He could not stop thinking about Walter.
About his wounded gaze. About his contained rage. About the way he had trembled when Titus silenced him as Alpha.
Bruno understood that pain. He felt it.
Because what Walter was truly experiencing was not jealousy or anger. It was betrayal.
Walter felt that the first person who had believed in him—Titus—was now leaving him behind.
Bruno sighed. He wanted to be with him. He wanted to comfort him. But he did not know if Walter would allow it.
That night, when Titus arrived home, he could not fall asleep right away.
He lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, with a storm twisting in his chest.
He had felt the strength of leadership. He had felt the authority of the Alpha. But he had also seen something in his friends' eyes…
Fear. Doubt. Pain.
And in that moment, Titus asked himself something he had never considered before:
Was he acting like a leader… or was he becoming a dictator?
He thought about Melanie. He thought about Sarah. He thought about Walter.
And for the first time, he felt the possibility that he was wrong. That he was losing the people he cared about most… for someone he barely knew.
Guilt tightened around his chest like a claw.
---
In her own room, Sarah hugged her pillow while thinking about Titus.
She had no doubts. No conflicts. No questions.
She had decided something deep inside herself: she would stand by Titus, always. No matter what decisions he made. No matter whom he transformed. No matter whom he confronted.
That absolute loyalty, though noble, was also dangerous.
Because it would blind her to the Alpha's mistakes.
Walter reached his room and closed the door with more force than necessary.
His heart felt tight. His throat burned with rage. Betrayal sank into him like a knife.
The person who had been there from the beginning… the person who had saved his life… the person he considered a brother…
Was now pushing him aside. Ignoring him. Commanding him.
Walter could not disobey.
The bond between Alpha and Beta held him emotionally. That supernatural connection would not let him walk away, even though part of him wanted to scream and destroy everything.
That inner conflict was tearing him apart alive.
He finally lay down… but he could not sleep.
---
In her room, Cristal activated the holographic device, an advanced technology of the Clan of the Two Moons. A tall, elderly, imposing figure appeared before her.
The Patriarch. Her grandfather.
"Report," he ordered.
Cristal bowed slightly and began to speak.
"Titus has created two wolves," she explained in a professional tone, "and he is forming his own clan, his own pack."
The Patriarch's face hardened instantly.
"What did you say?" he roared. "Two wolves? And a clan? That was not part of the plan!"
Cristal held her posture, though inside she was trembling.
"Yes, Grandfather. He is making fast, unpredictable decisions."
The Patriarch slammed his fist against a surface outside the image.
"You were supposed to make him fall in love with you! He was supposed to become your mate! He is the chosen Alpha! You are his Luna! You must bear his child! That child will be the heir of the clan and our blood! And you are letting him slip away!"
Cristal clenched her fists. "I know, sir."
"Then listen carefully," he said in a cold voice. "Any obstacle… you eliminate it. That simple."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Cristal lowered her head. "Yes, sir," she replied. "So it will be."
The call ended. The figure disappeared.
But the trembling in Cristal's hands took a long time to fade.
---
Walter was lying in bed, trying to sleep… when it happened.
First came a whisper. Soft. Almost imperceptible.
"I am your friend…"
Walter opened his eyes.
"…I will help you…"
He sat up abruptly. "What…?" he whispered.
But the voice continued, smooth, silky, slipping into his mind like black water.
"Don't be afraid… I am your friend… I will help you…"
Walter swallowed, his heart racing. "Who are you?" he asked, terrified.
There was no clear answer. Only the same whisper, repeated again and again, each time closer.
"I am your friend… I am your friend… I am your friend…"
Walter covered his ears.
The voice was inside, not outside.
"Stop!" he shouted.
But the voice did not stop.
And in the darkness of his room, Walter felt something he had never felt since he transformed:
A presence. Something watching him. Something that wanted him. Something that had been waiting for him.
The night was only beginning.
---
Hook: What came next would be impossible to stop…