The forest was silent that night. Not even the wind dared to move through the trees. Only the sound of my boots crunching against the damp soil echoed beneath the moonlight.
It had been years since I last stepped into Nightshade territory, but every shadow still whispered my name — the ghost of an heir they thought long dead.
I pulled my hood lower, hiding my face as I crossed the boundary line. The scent hit me instantly — pine, moss, and the unmistakable musk of wolves. My wolves. My enemies. My past.
The pack used to call me brother. Now, I was a stranger to them — or worse, a threat.
A twig snapped behind me. Instinct took over. I spun, claws half-shifted, eyes burning red.
"Easy there, stranger," a voice said from the mist.
A figure stepped out — tall, lean, with a familiar arrogance in his smirk. Ronan Drayke.
The new Alpha. The thief who sat on my father's throne.
"Didn't think you'd ever crawl out of whatever hole you vanished into," he drawled. His golden eyes glimmered with dominance, the kind that demanded submission.
"Guess I'm full of surprises," I said, my tone low, steady.
He circled me like a predator sizing up prey. "You shouldn't be here. This is my land now."
My jaw tightened. "Funny. I don't remember surrendering it."
Ronan's smirk faltered, just for a moment, before he stepped closer. The air between us grew thick, heavy with tension and old blood.
"You're outnumbered, Kael," he said quietly. "Walk away. I'll pretend I never saw you."
"I'm not here for your mercy." My claws retracted slowly as I stared into his eyes. "I'm here for what was taken from me."
His laughter cut through the night. "You mean your pride? Or your family?"
The name burned on my tongue before I could stop it. "You killed my father."
Ronan's expression darkened. "Your father was weak. He let his emotions rule him. That's why I took the pack from him — to save it."
I lunged before the words fully left his mouth. The clash was instant — claws against claws, blood against blood. Our movements were a blur, each strike echoing with years of resentment.
He was strong. Stronger than before. But I'd learned to fight in exile, among monsters that made him look tame.
I drove my knee into his ribs, forcing him back against a tree. He snarled, eyes flashing gold. "You think you can win this alone?"
I leaned close, my breath hot against his ear. "I don't need to win. I just need you to remember who the true Alpha is."
Then I vanished into the mist, leaving him coughing, blood staining his teeth.
The silence returned, heavier than before. My pulse thudded in my ears, the scent of iron thick in the air.
Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled — long, mournful, and familiar.
I froze. That sound… I knew it.
"Lyra?" I whispered.
The howl came again, closer this time.
My heart twisted. She was alive.
The mate I'd lost… the one I thought dead.
And if she was here, it meant the war between the packs was far from over.