Chapter 4: The Council of Secrets

The path to the Shadowfang Council was long and winding, carved into the mountain that watched over the territory like an ancient guardian. Lyna walked ahead, her steps firm, but her heart a battlefield. Kael walked a few paces behind her in silence, while Zephyr kept to her right, never speaking unless spoken to, yet alert to every shift in energy around them.

Every time the wind blew through the trees, it whispered old memories—memories of her time in the pack, of Kael's smile before everything shattered, of the home that once gave her safety before it gave her scars.

Now, that home stood before her like a fortress, daring her to come inside and face what remained of her past.

The gates of the council chamber creaked open with a groan that echoed off the stone walls. Inside, the room was filled with tension. The council members—all Alphas or Betas of nearby packs—stood when Lyna entered, surprised, cautious, and curious.

"She's back…" someone murmured.

"The rejected…"

"No, she's more than that now."

Kael raised a hand, silencing them. "Lyna Silverclaw has returned, not as an exile, but as someone seeking answers."

One of the older council members, Alpha Berion of the Winterglade Pack, leaned forward. His eyes were sharp, intelligent, and not easily impressed. "And why should we give them to her, when she left the pack and refused the Moon Goddess's will?"

"The Moon Goddess doesn't abandon her children," Lyna replied, her voice clear and unwavering. "And I didn't leave—I was pushed out. Your Alpha made a choice. I survived it."

Murmurs rippled across the room.

Kael clenched his jaw. "Enough. She deserves to know the truth."

Berion sighed. "Then speak, Alpha Kael. Let your truth be heard."

Kael stepped forward. He looked at Lyna for a long moment before beginning.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like that," he said. "When I met Lyna, I knew instantly that she was my mate. But I also knew something else—something that changed everything."

He paused.

"The Oracle came to me three days before the bond awakened. She told me if I accepted the bond, Lyna would die before her eighteenth birthday."

Gasps filled the room. Even Lyna staggered slightly.

"I didn't reject you because I hated you," Kael continued, his voice raw. "I did it because I thought I was saving you. I watched you suffer, and every day I wanted to take it back, but the Oracle's vision haunted me. So I forced myself to let you go."

Lyna stared at him, disbelief and fury clashing in her eyes. "You could've told me. You could've trusted me!"

"I couldn't risk it," he whispered. "I would've rather lost you than killed you."

Zephyr took a step forward, his expression unreadable. "And what if the Oracle was wrong?"

Kael looked at him. "She never is."

Zephyr's eyes narrowed. "She wasn't the only one with visions. Dragons have their own ways of reading fate. And I've seen Lyna in the heart of a great war—strong, alive, and carrying the mark of the Moon. Not dead."

Berion turned to Lyna. "And now you walk with a dragon shifter at your side. What is your purpose here, girl?"

Lyna lifted her chin. "To reclaim what was taken from me. My place in the world. My voice. My choices."

"And what of revenge?" Berion asked. "Will you burn the pack to the ground?"

She didn't answer right away. Her eyes met Kael's.

"I came here seeking justice. I wanted to hurt those who hurt me. But what I've found is something worse—secrets, half-truths, and a prophecy that stole years of my life."

She turned to the council.

"I don't want your pity. I want to build something new. Not for me. For every soul that's ever been thrown away for the sake of power and politics."

Berion sat back slowly. "Then you are not the girl we once cast out."

"No," Lyna said. "I'm not."

Silence stretched again, this time filled with reluctant respect.

"Then stay," Berion finally said. "We will grant you a place in the pack, as a guest for now. But know this—fate rarely lets old wounds heal quietly."

Kael nodded. "I will ensure her protection."

Zephyr stepped forward. "So will I."

The declaration made the room ripple with tension.

Kael glanced at Zephyr, something dark flickering in his eyes. "You think this bond between you two is real?"

"I don't just think it. I feel it. And she does too," Zephyr said softly.

Lyna didn't answer. Not yet. Her heart was too tangled, her soul too raw. Two bonds. One past. One possible future.

Could she even choose?

---

Later That Night...

Lyna sat alone beneath the moon, on a quiet hill behind the council building. Arcturus, her dragon companion, landed gently beside her, his wings folding like silk.

"You did well," he said, his voice deep and warm in her mind.

"I feel like I'm standing between two cliffs," she murmured. "One step, and I fall into the past. Another, and I fall into the unknown."

Arcturus rumbled softly. "Perhaps your destiny lies in flying between them."

She smiled faintly.

Zephyr joined her minutes later, sitting silently beside her. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. The bond between them pulsed faintly, like a drumbeat waiting to be answered.

Behind her, Kael watched from a distance, shadowed by the trees. Torn. Regretful. Still bound to her in a way neither time nor prophecy could erase.

And above them all, the moon watched, ancient and silent, as the daughter of vengeance began to walk the path of rebirth.