Kaelan's POV
The scent lingered long after she left.
Wild honey. Rain on pine. A whisper of something old something I had long buried beneath ash and duty.
I stood in that corridor for a long time, staring at the space she'd occupied, my pulse still uneven.
Lila.
That name didn't fit her.
The moment I said it aloud, it felt wrong, like a word that wasn't hers, borrowed just to keep secrets.
And those eyes
Silver-gray, sharp and haunted. I had seen eyes like that before. In another life. In another pack.
Silverfang.
A memory clawed up from the dark. Theo Hale's laughter, his little sister running barefoot through the training fields, hair tangled, cheeks smudged with dirt. She'd been nine. I'd been fifteen. She had called me "Kael" once, tugged on my arm and demanded I teach her how to hold a dagger.
"If I can protect Theo, maybe Father will let me lead one day too!" she'd said, bright-eyed, fearless.
And then fire.
Blood.
Screams that still haunted my sleep.
Lyra Hale died that night or so I believed.
I closed my eyes, drawing in another breath of that impossible scent. The ache in my chest deepened. My wolf silent for years growled low and restless.
Mate.
The word echoed through me like thunder.
I pressed a hand to my temple, fighting for logic. "No. It can't be."
"Alpha?"
My Beta's voice pulled me back. He stood at the end of the corridor, tall and broad, his sharp eyes scanning me with concern.
"You've been standing there for almost ten minutes."
"Have I?"
He nodded. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
I almost laughed. "Maybe I have."
Darius brow furrowed. "Was it someone from the council?"
"No," I said quietly. "An omega."
His surprise flickered briefly. "An omega?"
"Yes." I turned toward the window, watching the moonlight pool across the floor. "But she's… different."
Darius crossed his arms. "Different how?"
I hesitated. I could tell him the truth that my wolf was losing its mind over a scent, that my heart had just betrayed me to a stranger but even I wasn't sure I believed it.
"She smells like…" I stopped. "Like something familiar."
"Familiar?"
I nodded. "Like home."
Darius said nothing, but I felt his stare. He'd known me long enough to read between my silences.
"This about the Summit?" he asked carefully.
"In a way."
"Kaelan." His tone softened, shifting from soldier to brother. "If this is about the Silverfang girl…"
I stiffened. "Don't."
He exhaled. "It's been ten years. You've punished yourself enough for what happened that night. You couldn't have saved them."
"I could have," I said sharply. "If I hadn't hesitated, if I'd"
"She's gone."
The words hit harder than they should have.
I turned toward him, my expression colder than I felt. "And yet tonight I saw a girl with her eyes."
He blinked. "You think"
"I don't know what I think," I cut in. "But I know what I felt."
My wolf stirred again, restless beneath my skin.
Darius frowned, unease flickering across his face. "Are you saying she's your mate?"
The silence between us thickened.
"I don't know," I said finally. "But the bond… it was there. Stronger than anything I've ever felt.
Darius whistled low. "An omega?"
I shot him a look, and he raised his hands in surrender. "Not judging, Alpha. Just… surprised."
"Don't be," I muttered. "The Moon doesn't care about rank."
Still, his skepticism lingered. "You sure this isn't some kind of mistake? A trick? Maybe the scent just reminded you of someone…"
"I'm sure," I said quietly, the certainty settling deep in my bones. "I've met many wolves, Darius. None of them ever made my wolf react like this. None of them felt like this."
He studied me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Then we find out who she is."
My gaze sharpened. "Exactly."
"I'll start with the servant list from Crescent Moon," Darius offered. "If she's one of theirs, there'll be a record."
"No," I said. "Not yet."
"Why not?"
I hesitated, then sighed. "Because if the council finds out I'm investigating an omega during the Summit, they'll twist it into weakness. The last thing we need is another rumor spreading through the packs."
He smirked faintly. "And you don't want word getting out that the great Alpha Draven might be obsessed with a servant girl."
My glare shut him up quickly.
"Keep an eye on her," I ordered. "Discreetly. No one touches her. No one questions her. If she tries to leave before the Summit ends, you tell me immediately."
Darius gave a short nod. "Understood."
As he turned to go, I looked once more toward the corridor where she'd stood.
The place still hummed with her presence, with the ghost of what I had lost and what I might never deserve.
Lila. If that was even her real name.
Whoever she was, she had my wolf by the throat… and I couldn't decide whether that made her my salvation or my ruin