Moonlit Bonds

chapter three : shadows at home

The forest was quiet as Kai made his way back to the village, the tension from his encounter with Luca still lingering in his mind. 

The night was deepening, the cool air brushing against his skin as if trying to soothe the turmoil inside him.

 But there was no solace to be found in the darkness tonight—only the heavy weight of what awaited him at home.

Kai's family lived on the outskirts of the village, their small house tucked away from the others. It was a modest place, nothing like the grand homes of the higher-ranking wolves. 

But it wasn't the size or the isolation that made it feel so cold—it was the people inside.

As Kai approached, he could already hear the familiar sounds of arguing, the sharp tones that cut through the night like a blade. 

He paused at the door, taking a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. This was his routine—every night, he returned to a place that should have been a sanctuary but was anything but.

Pushing open the door, Kai was met with the sight of his father, a grizzled, stern-looking man with silver-streaked hair and deep-set eyes that had long lost their warmth.

 His once broad shoulders, now slightly hunched with age, still carried the weight of a man who had lived a hard life, yet there was no softness in his gaze, only the harsh lines of disappointment etched into his weathered face.

 His skin, tanned and rough from years spent under the sun, spoke of a lifetime of toil and strict discipline—a man who had always valued duty over affection.

His mother, a woman whose beauty had long since been eroded by bitterness, sat in a worn chair by the fire. Her hair, once a lustrous black, was now streaked with gray, pulled back in a tight bun that accentuated the sharp angles of her face. 

Her thin lips were perpetually pressed into a disapproving line, and her dark eyes, once vibrant, now held the chill of a long, unforgiving winter. 

Her hands, calloused from years of hard work, gripped the armrests of the chair as if she were holding onto the last remnants of control in a world that had never been kind to her.

The firelight flickered across her face, casting deep shadows that made her look even more severe. She was a woman hardened by life, by the disappointments and sacrifices that had worn away any softness she might have once possessed.

 To Kai, she was the embodiment of cold, unyielding judgment—a constant reminder that, in her eyes, he would never be enough.

"Kai," his father's voice was gruff, devoid of warmth. "You're late again."

Kai shrugged off his jacket, his face a mask of indifference. "I was out training. What's it to you?"

His father's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more. It was always like this—strained, tense, as if every word was a battle.

 Kai had learned long ago that nothing he did would ever be good enough for them, so he stopped trying.

His mother, however, wasn't as silent. "Training? With who, that Alpha of yours? You spend too much time around him. You'll end up just like your brothers—useless."

Kai's jaw tightened, but he kept his voice level. "Luca's the Alpha. It's my duty to train with him."

"Your duty," his mother sneered, her eyes narrowing as she looked him over. "Your duty is to this family, but you've always been too selfish to understand that."

Kai bit back the retort that burned on his tongue. There was no point in arguing with her—she had made up her mind about him long ago. 

To her, he was a failure, a disappointment. No matter what he did, she would never see him as anything else.