Greyhaven stirred with whispers, though no one dared speak too loudly.
The palace had become a cage.
Aren moved quietly through the city streets, invisible among the shadows.
Every noble, merchant, and guard now answered to him in thought, if not in word.
Lysa approached with a message from the northern campaign.
"Even distant lords are pledging quietly. Fear spreads faster than any army."
Aren nodded.
"Good. But fear alone is not loyalty. Chains are forged by control, obedience, and inevitability."
Inside the palace, Rowan tried desperately to rally allies.
His whispered promises and threats were met with silence.
Even those who once served him faithfully now hesitated.
The first act of obedience came quietly.
A minor lord sent soldiers to Greyhaven under Aren's secret instructions, believing he was following Rowan's command.
By the time the truth was revealed, it was too late.
Aren convened his captains in the cathedral.
"Obedience is more powerful than any sword," he said.
"Every lord who bends quietly binds the kingdom closer. Every rebellion crushed before it begins strengthens our grip."
Caelis smiled faintly.
"The court fears us. The provinces obey us. The kingdom begins to bend."
Aren's gaze swept over the city below.
"Yes," he said. "And soon… the crown itself will be bound in the Wolf's chains of loyalty."
Night fell over Greyhaven.
Silent. Controlled. Obedient.
The kingdom was no longer just a collection of lands and castles—it was the Wolf's web.