The Pack's Daughter (Aysel and Magnus) novel Chapter 130

**Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe**
**Chapter 130**

**Magnus’s POV**

Johanna’s tale was one that the entire Shadowbane lineage preferred to bury deep beneath layers of denial. It was a story they would rather pretend had never unfolded, a dark shadow in their history.

Yet, when Aysel looked at me with those luminous golden eyes of hers, it was as if she had cast a spell. Even Rafe, my inner wolf, grumbled in resignation, urging me to just spill the truth.

So, I relented.

“Johanna once infiltrated the Sanchez estate disguised as a private tutor,” I began, my arm encircling her waist protectively. “But her true motive was revenge—her father’s blood had been unjustly shed, and she sought retribution.”

The rest of the narrative?

It was pure melodrama from the wolf realm, a tangled web of passion and betrayal.

Rafe huffed in agreement, his annoyance palpable. Our pack was riddled with rut-addled fools, and he wasn’t wrong in that assessment.

In those days, Phelan, Kurt, and Lyall were all ensnared by the same captivating woman. Even Conor—our notorious and reckless fourth brother—couldn’t resist trying to sink his fangs into her whenever the opportunity arose.

Phelan, already bound to Ulva in a mating that was more political than romantic, became the focal point of Johanna’s ambitions. She craved proximity to power, a common trait among wolves like her.

Kurt, the mild-mannered illegitimate son, was reduced to a quiet, pathetic infatuation, his attempts at winning her heart nothing more than a whisper in the wind.

And then there was Lyall…

He was merely two years her junior, hardly a contender in her eyes back then.

Yet, chaos reigned throughout the estate.

Phelan nearly severed his ties with Ulva, his arranged mate, all because of Johanna’s intoxicating allure.

Then, Ulva discovered she was pregnant.

And shortly after, Phelan met his untimely demise.

When the investigations finally peeled back the layers of deception, it was revealed that Johanna had betrayed Phelan, leaking his movements to various illegitimate sons and rival packs. Business secrets had been bartered in the shadows, a treacherous game.

Phelan was gone, leaving a gaping void.

Bastien, our formidable patriarch, lost his favored heir.

And despite the multitude of hands that had shaped this tragic outcome—bastard sons, envious brothers, external foes—there was one consensus among the wolves:

Johanna was to blame.

The call for her blood echoed through the pack.

It was then that Lyall finally bared his fangs, revealing a side of himself that had long remained hidden.

He threatened his father, vowing to lay down his life for Johanna, demanding her release, promising to forsake everything—his name, his rights, the very protection of the Shadowbane banner. He declared he would retreat into seclusion with her.

Everyone thought he had lost his mind.

After all, it was his own brother who had been slain.

But that was the moment we all realized—the quiet, overlooked fifth son had harbored an obsession for Johanna all along.

She truly was a curse upon our bloodline.

The outcome was precisely what the rival packs had whispered:

Lyall had defected for a woman.

He vanished, leaving no trace behind.

Bastien, in his grief and anger, wrote him off as dead.

Aysel let out a low whistle, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“He was a walking love-struck disaster,” she remarked, shaking her head. “The remaining heirs of the Sanchez clan must have celebrated—one dead, one fled. The competition just evaporated.”

I nodded, the weight of history heavy upon my shoulders.

“Johanna chose Lyall in part because staying in the capital meant certain death for her. Leaving with him was her only chance at survival.”

Aysel wrinkled her nose in distaste. “The family bonds in Shadowbane are something else entirely… He disregarded his brother’s death just for her.”

Rafe growled softly in my mind, his irritation palpable. Not every wolf deserved the title of family.

“It wasn’t solely that,” I murmured, my voice low. “It’s no wonder Bastien harbors such animosity towards her.”

“That’s not the reason,” Aysel interjected, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Then what is it?”

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the truth settle heavily in my chest.

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