The Forgotten Pulse of the Bond-Chapter 25: The Tower Break

The High Tower had no windows. Only slits for air. No true doors. Only wards.

They called it the quiet place, a relic from the First War when rogue Alphas needed to be caged without shame. But it was never meant for Camille.

And yet, here she was.

Bound in silence. Surrounded by ancient stones that whispered more than they held. Her wrists were bare, but she felt the weight of every invisible chain.

She hadn’t asked Elara for anything not food, not light, not company.

Because she already knew what they had decided.

The moment the vote passed, something inside her snapped like a branch.

Not pain.

Clarity.

Magnolia’s footsteps echoed long before her fist hit the outer gate.

"Elara!" she shouted. "Open the seal. Now!"

Elara appeared from the shadows, her robe unfastened, her eyes tired. "You saw the vote?"

Magnolia pushed past her. "I heard it. I felt it. And if you think I’m going to let her rot in that tower like some forgotten curse "

"She’s not rotting," Elara said. "She’s listening."

That stopped Magnolia.

She turned. "What?"

Elara gestured toward the rune-marked stairs.

"She’s not passive in this. She knows. She felt it."

Magnolia took a step back.

And then she ran.

Inside the tower, Camille knelt in the center of the warded floor.

The air shimmered around her like heat off stone, though no fire burned.

Her hands rested on her knees.

Her eyes were closed.

But she wasn’t asleep.

She was dreaming with her eyes open.

A river.

A gate.

A field of teeth.

She saw them all.

And at the center

Magnolia.

Falling.

Alone.

When Magnolia reached the first ward line, it pulsed with crimson.

She pressed her hand to it.

The magic recoiled like breath from a blade.

She called through the seal.

"Camille! It’s me."

No answer.

She turned to Elara.

"You said she’s listening."

"She is."

"Then let me in."

"You can’t."

"Why?"

"Because she opened something."

Magnolia froze.

Elara’s voice dropped.

"She’s not locked in anymore. She’s locking something out."

Camille opened her eyes.

They were no longer silver.

They were obsidian deep, endless, reflecting nothing.

The mark on her chest pulsed once.

She rose slowly.

And stepped toward the far wall.

The stone trembled beneath her feet.

She raised a hand.

The ward cracked.

Not shattered cracked.

The sigils flared in panic.

She spoke a single word.

"No."

And the entire northern face of the tower blew open.

Guards outside were thrown back like leaves.

The sky above the Keep darkened, clouds swirling as if stirred by breath.

Magnolia ran toward the breach.

Camille stood in the middle of the collapse, hair whipping around her like a storm.

Magnolia stopped.

"Camille "

"I know what they voted."

"You don’t have to do this."

"I’m not waiting for chains."

"You’re not chained."

Camille looked at her.

"Then why does it feel like I’m drowning?"

Magnolia stepped forward.

"You’re not alone."

"But I am," Camille whispered. "Because I remember. I remember what it felt like to be shut away. Buried. Forgotten."

She turned to the open sky.

And leapt.

Magnolia screamed.

Beckett appeared behind her, too late.

Rhett arrived seconds after.

But Camille was already gone.

Not vanished.

Not teleported.

She flew lifted by wind and magic older than the Keep itself.

Elara dropped to one knee.

"She’s not running."

"Then what?" Rhett asked.

"She’s going to finish what the council started a thousand years ago."

The Council convened in full before nightfall.

It wasn’t scheduled.

It wasn’t optional.

Camille’s escape had shaken every stone in Blackmist Keep, and none more so than the ones beneath the feet of those who had voted for her removal.

They met in the central hall this time no private chambers, no closed doors. A signal. They wanted the Pack to see order being restored.

They hadn’t accounted for Magnolia.

She arrived in silence.

No announcement. No guards. No cloak to hide the blood still drying on her sleeves.

The mark on her palm had begun to fade.

But her voice had not.

"Where is she?" Ivy asked, rising from the center chair.

"You already know," Magnolia answered.

"Is she alive?"

"She’s not yours to ask after."

The room fell quiet.

Tension built like smoke.

Ivy stepped forward. "You endangered this Pack by hiding her condition. You stalled the vote. You trespassed the tower wards and assisted in a fugitive’s escape."

Magnolia didn’t blink. "I did."

"You admit it?"

"I do."

Ivy’s eyes flashed. "Then what defense could you possibly offer?"

Magnolia stepped forward.

And raised her voice.

"She’s my sister."

The room stirred.

Elder Tanin stood slowly. "That does not exempt you from consequence."

"No," Magnolia said. "But it explains my choice."

"You would choose blood over Pack?" Ivy asked.

Magnolia turned on her.

"I would choose truth over fear."

Ivy laughed coldly. "What truth?"

"That you are cowards," Magnolia said, voice rising, "who would bury a woman alive rather than admit you’re afraid of something you don’t understand."

Rhett flinched behind his council seat.

Beckett’s arms were crossed. Silent. Watching.

Magnolia continued.

"You voted to exile Camille because you thought she was dangerous. Because she remembered what the rest of you buried. You didn’t want peace. You wanted control."

"She’s a threat," Tanin said.

"She’s a mirror," Magnolia replied. "And you’re all terrified of your own reflection."

Elara stepped forward. "What would you have us do, then? Sit and wait while more wolves collapse with memories that aren’t theirs?"

"No," Magnolia said. "But if the past is bleeding into the present, it’s not because Camille broke it open. It’s because you sealed it wrong to begin with."

Silence.

Then Ivy said, "Where is she going?"

Magnolia’s eyes darkened.

"She’s going to finish what you were too afraid to."

"And what if she fails?" Ivy asked.

Magnolia stepped to the center of the floor.

"Then I’ll finish it for her."

Gasps rippled through the room.

Elder Varen leaned forward. "You would go against this Council?"

"If it means saving what’s left of this Pack yes."

"You would split the bond network?"

"I would rebuild it."

Ivy’s voice turned ice cold. "Then consider this your last day as Luna."

Rhett stood before anyone else could react.

"You don’t get to make that decision alone."

"I’m the Council’s voice."

"But not the Pack’s."

Beckett stepped forward.

"I stand with her."

Elara nodded. "So do I." free𝑤ebnovel.com

Ivy’s mouth parted.

"You’re choosing war."

"No," Magnolia said, stepping back toward the exit. "I’m choosing freedom."

That night, the Keep split.

Half the guards followed Magnolia into the forest.

Half stayed behind.

And in the sky above them all, the moon turned red.