Kaelan'sPOV
Dawn came slowly, dragging light over the Ironclaw banners hanging in the guest wing. I hadn't slept. My mind had replayed that moment in the hall over and over her eyes meeting mine, her pulse leaping beneath my touch, the way the bond had flared between us like fire catching dry leaves
When the knock came at my door, I was already awake.
"Enter," I said quietly.
Darius stepped inside, carrying a folder thick with parchment. The look on his face told me he'd found something and he wasn't sure I'd like it.
"You asked me to find out about the omega," he said, shutting the door behind him. "I did."
My pulse kicked once, hard. "And?"
"She's registered here under the name Lila Vance. Serves in the northern wing as an apothecary assistant assigned to healers after the last border raid. Records show she arrived about six months ago."
"That's recent," I muttered. "Where from?"
He hesitated. "That's where it gets strange. The document lists her origin as Riverfen Pack, but when I contacted their Alpha, he said no such omega ever came from there. In fact, he swore the name doesn't exist in their records at all."
I turned sharply. "You're certain?"
"As certain as I can be without starting a war."
My jaw tightened. "Go on."
"She's quiet. Keeps to herself. Doesn't attend gatherings or training sessions. But…" Darius flipped open another page. "The few who've spoken to her said she's… different. Stronger than she should be. Faster. They assumed she has latent wolf strength from some mixed bloodline."
My blood ran cold.
Mixed bloodline. Strength beyond her rank. A name that didn't exist.
Nothing about this was coincidence.
I crossed to the window, staring out at the training grounds below. Warriors moved in formation, steel flashing in the pale morning light. But all I could think of was her moving through the crowd unnoticed, hiding behind a name that wasn't hers.
She wasn't just any omega.
She was hiding.
From what or who I didn't yet know.
But my wolf already knew from who.
He stirred restlessly under my skin. She fears you.
I shut my eyes. "I know."
You should find out why.
My hand curled against the windowsill. "And if I already know the answer?"
Silence. Then a low growl of warning, echoing through my mind.
My wolf rarely disagreed with me. But this time, his voice held both challenge and unease.
If she hides her name, she hides her past. And if she hides her past… maybe it's because you burned it.
Darius cleared his throat. "There's more."
I turned, tension snapping back through my shoulders. "What else?"
"One of the servants said she was found unconscious on the northern border last winter nearly frozen to death. No scent markers. No identifying crest. When she woke, she refused to speak for days. Only said her name was Lila."
"She was found on the border?" My voice was low, dangerous.
"Yes, Alpha."
My fingers drummed once against the desk before stilling.
The border between Ironclaw and Silverfang territory.
The same stretch of land where my unit had slaughtered rebels six years ago.
The same night
she had died.
The memory hit me like a blade.
The forest.
The fire.
The screams of a girl begging someone to save her brother.
I gritted my teeth, shoving it back into the dark where it belonged.
It couldn't be her. That girl was gone. I'd seen the blood. The fire.
But the way lila had looked at me that mixture of fear and recognition it wasn't something I could ignore.
Fate didn't play fair, but it rarely made mistakes.
Darius spoke again, quieter this time. "You want me to dig deeper?"
"Yes," I said, my voice rough. "Discreetly. No one is to know."
He nodded. "And if she is someone else?"
I didn't answer at first. My wolf's claws raked at my insides, desperate and afraid all at once. Finally, I said, "Then the past isn't as buried as I thought."
When Darius left, the room felt heavier. The scent of paper and smoke filled the air, mingling with something far more dangerous obsession.
I sat down slowly, the weight of realization pressing against my ribs.
Lila Vance was a ghost with a pulse.
And I was the fool who had called her fate.