Kaelan's POV
Sleep hadn't touched me in two nights.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same thing Lyra standing in the fog, her eyes silver-bright, her throat bared to the darkness. It wasn't a dream. It was the bond sending flashes, fragments, warnings.
I'd learned not to ignore them.
The Ironclaw stronghold was quiet at this hour. Most of the pack slept, unaware of the storm that was already moving toward them. I stood alone on the balcony overlooking the forest, the wind pulling at my hair, the faint scent of rain clinging to the air.
She was too far, but her presence brushed against my senses like static thin, flickering, but alive. Fear threaded through it.
Not hers. Mine.
"Still awake?" Darius's voice came from behind me, rough with exhaustion. He leaned against the stone railing, eyes narrowed. "You felt it again, didn't you?"
I didn't answer. I didn't need to.
"She's in trouble," he said quietly.
"Yes."
He cursed under his breath. "Kaelan, you can't just"
"I'm not asking permission."
Darius's jaw tightened. "Leaving now, after everything? The council's still questioning Rowan's death. They're already restless about you spending too long in Riverbend."
"Let them talk," I growled. "I don't care what the council thinks."
He studied me for a long moment. "You care what she thinks, though."
That made me stop. The truth of it hit too close. I exhaled slowly, gripping the stone edge until my knuckles whitened.
"She's the reason I'm still breathing, Darius. I can't stand here while something hunts her."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Then at least let me come with you."
I shook my head. "No. Someone has to hold Ironclaw steady while I'm gone."
The look he gave me said he hated it, but he understood. Darius always did.
Before dawn broke, I saddled my black stallion and rode north, leaving the Ironclaw banners behind me. The cold wind stung my face, but it was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.
The bond pulsed with every mile. Faint, trembling, but real.
Somewhere ahead, Lyra was running through the forest her heartbeat wild, her wolf alert. I could feel it as if it were my own.
And something else moved with her.
Dark. Heavy. Wrong.
I pressed my heels into the horse's sides, pushing faster.
"Hold on, Lyra," I whispered into the wind. "I'm coming."
Lyra's POV
By the time the sun rose, the scent was gone.
Whatever had been near Riverbend had vanished like smoke scattered by the wind. But I could still feel it in the soil, in the trees, in my bones. The air had changed.
Ellie paced the clearing restlessly, her bow slung over one shoulder. "You're sure you smelled it here?"
I nodded, crouching to touch a patch of disturbed earth. The claw marks were faint but deliberate too controlled for a rogue. "They were watching the borders," I murmured. "Testing them."
"Rogues don't test," Ellie muttered. "They charge."
"Exactly."
Mara joined us, carrying a small pouch of herbs from the healer's hut. "The Luna's asking if you'll report to her after this," she said, her tone carefully casual. "She says she wants to discuss patrol shifts… but it didn't sound like that's all she meant."
I froze for half a heartbeat, then nodded. "Tell her I'll come after we finish here."
Mara hesitated. "Be careful, Lila.
Her use of the false name made my chest tighten. The pack knew me as Lila Vance quiet omega, loyal warrior, harmless. But every day that name felt more like a lie pressing against my skin.
Ellie straightened suddenly. "Something's moving."
I followed her gaze toward the treeline. Shadows shifted there, slow and deliberate. My wolf bristled, ears pinned back beneath my skin.
"Stay behind me," I said softly.
She snorted. "You wish."
Then the scent hit us burnt silver. Not possible. No wolf carried that smell. Not unless they'd been touched by something dark.
"Move!" I hissed.
We dove opposite ways as a blur shot from the shadows, landing where we'd stood. It wasn't a wolf at least, not fully. Its form flickered between man and beast, eyes glowing amber streaked with black. A corrupted wolf.
"How" Ellie started, but the thing lunged at her.
I was already moving. My dagger flashed, slicing across its flank. Black blood hissed on the blade. The creature shrieked and staggered back, baring its teeth.
It snarled something low and guttural words twisted by madness. "Hale…"
My breath caught. "What did you just say?"
But it didn't answer. It bolted into the woods, vanishing into the mist before I could chase.
Ellie gripped my arm. "Ly—Lila, what the hell was that?"
I stared into the fog, heart hammering. "Not a rogue," I whispered. "Something else. Something that knows my name."
For a moment, I could barely breathe. Then, faintly, the bond pulsed.
Kaelan.
He was coming. I could feel his wolf moving closer, faster, cutting through the distance like fire chasing smoke.
Ellie followed my gaze. "You felt that too, didn't you?
"Yeah," I breathed. "He's on his way."
"What do we do until then?"
I sheathed my dagger, forcing my voice to steady. "We find out who sent that thing and why it knew me."
But deep down, I already knew the answer.
This wasn't the start of a new hunt.
It was the return of an old one the one that began the night Silverfang burned.