Chapter 2

Embers of the Past

Raine's POV

The air in the forest was colder tonight. Even wrapped in the thick shadows of trees, I could feel a storm building—not in the sky, but in my blood.

I tightened the straps on my leather vambraces as we moved. My team flanked me, ghosts in the moonlight.

We were close to Bloodfang territory now. Every step sent old memories rising like smoke: the cold look in Kael's eyes the day he rejected me, the sting of betrayal as the pack turned their backs on their Luna. No child. No scandal. Just rejection.

They never even gave me a reason.

The packhouse loomed like a memory carved in stone, sharp at the edges and cold as the day I was cast out. Only this time, I wasn't alone, and I wasn't broken.

Jaxon stood stiffly by the entrance, face unreadable as we approached. The guards parted before us, uncertain, their eyes flicking between the warriors at my back and the fire in my stride. No one dared speak. Not yet.

"Alpha Kael is inside," Jaxon said curtly. His gaze flicked to Laziel, who met it with a tilt of his head and a quiet smirk. Jaxon looked away first.

We stepped through the doors, my heartbeat steady. Every step echoed like a drumbeat announcing my return.

Kael sat at the head of the room, his frame rigid, jaw tight. He was still the same—a storm bottled into skin, a man who could lead warriors into hell but failed to see what he'd thrown away.

His eyes locked with mine. For a breath, the room held its breath.

"Raine," he said, standing slowly.

I didn't bow. I didn't flinch. "You look surprised."

His gaze swept over the warriors behind me—Laziel, Mira, Torran, and Nyssa, each poised and deadly in their own right. I could see the calculation in Kael's eyes. He hadn't expected me to return with strength.

"You announced your return, but I didn't believe you'd walk back into this hall." His voice was calm, but I heard the strain.

"You underestimated me once. That mistake cost you a Luna. Don't repeat it."

His nostrils flared. "Why are you here?"

"Because I want what's mine. Because you chose pride over truth, and lies over love. Because you cast me out to prove a point, and now you'll see the price."

Kael stepped down from the platform. Jaxon moved, but Kael raised a hand.

"And if I say nothing has changed?"

I smiled, slow and sharp. "Then everything changes."

Before he could speak, a horn blew from the west gates.

Everyone in the room stiffened. Laziel was already moving, disappearing into the shadows.

Jaxon stepped forward, tense. "That's not our horn."

Nyssa's voice was calm and dangerous. "It's a warning. Someone's breached the perimeter."

Kael's eyes snapped to me. "What did you do?"

I shrugged. "I came home. But it seems I wasn't the only one watching."

Torran moved silently to the door. Mira readied a vial.

Then Laziel reappeared, eyes narrowed. "It's them. The Ironfangs."

The room shifted.

"Impossible," Jaxon muttered. "They haven't crossed into Bloodfang territory in years."

"Until now," I said, stepping forward. "Because they smell weakness. A divided pack. An alpha who turns on his own."

Kael's glare was ice. "You led them here."

"No, Kael. You did. The moment you made an enemy of your greatest ally."

The double doors burst open—Bloodfang scouts, breathless and panicked.

"They're here! Ironfang warriors at the west ridge. At least twenty!"

Kael growled. "Get the warriors. Jaxon, form up defensive lines."

He turned to me. I met his eyes.

"Fight beside me," he said lowly. "If you care about this pack, you'll help us hold it."

"You don't get to demand anything from me," I replied. "But I'll fight—not for you. For them."

As I turned, Nyssa walked beside me, whispering, "He didn't expect the wolves to come this soon. But you did, didn't you?"

I nodded once. "Let them come. I'll show Kael what a true Luna does."

And I'll make him regret everything.

The Ironfang warriors descended like a storm—black-armored, silent, their eyes glowing like embers in the dark.

Kael's pack scrambled into formation, but I didn't move. 

I watched. 

Because something was wrong.

The Ironfangs weren't attacking. 

They were waiting.

Then—a horn blast, deeper than before.

The trees shuddered. 

From the shadows, a figure emerged—taller than the rest, clad in armor forged from the bones of dead alphas.

Warlord Draven.

Kael snarled. "Impossible."

The warlord's voice boomed across the battlefield: 

"We've come for what was promised, Bloodfang."

Kael's head snapped toward me. "What did you do?"

I smiled. "Nothing."

Then Draven raised his fist—and the earth split open.

Vines, black and glistening with poison, erupted from the ground, coiling around Bloodfang warriors. Not attacking. Just holding them in place.

Draven's gaze locked onto me. 

"The deal stands, Shadow Queen. Deliver him, or we take the pack."

Silence. 

Every eye turned to me. 

Kael's voice was a blade at my throat: "What deal?"

I didn't answer. 

Kael stared at me like I'd just become the enemy. His lips parted, but the words caught behind them. Around us, the battlefield held still—not because the fight had ended, but because something more dangerous than swords hung in the air.

A bargain. A secret. A betrayal.

I turned to face Draven fully. The warlord was a legend soaked in blood and vengeance. His presence here was no coincidence.

"You planned this?" Kael's voice was low, rough with disbelief.

I didn't look at him. I couldn't afford to—not yet. "Stand down, Warlord. Our terms haven't changed."

Draven tilted his head. "You didn't deliver him."

"I haven't decided yet."

That made him pause. The Ironfang warriors tightened their grip, vines pulsing with dark energy. I stepped forward, hands loose at my sides.

Laziel appeared beside me, his voice quiet. "Say the word, and we cut them down."

I shook my head. "Not yet."

Kael moved then, striding toward me with fire in his eyes. Jaxon followed close, torn between loyalty and confusion.

"What deal did you make, Raine?" Kael asked, and this time he was not the alpha—he was the man who had once held my heart.

"The kind you force someone into when you exile them," I said, and my voice didn't shake. "After you cast me out, the Ironfangs found me. I was alone, hunted. I struck a bargain to survive."

Nyssa stepped forward. "She made a pact to stay alive. You made her a ghost, Kael. Don't act surprised she found power in the shadows."

Mira added, "You threw her to the wolves. She didn't just survive—she rose."

Kael looked like he'd been punched. For the first time, I saw him falter.

Torran grunted, nodding toward the battlefield. "They're not going to wait forever."

Draven raised his fist again. "Choose, Raine. Blood or bond."

I took a slow breath. "I made you a promise, Warlord. But it was never Kael I intended to deliver."

The earth stilled. The vines trembled.

Kael turned sharply. "What?"

I looked beyond him, to the scouts who had reported the attack. One of them—eyes glowing faintly silver—stepped back, too slowly. Too calculated.

Laziel saw it too. He was moving before anyone else, blade drawn. The scout tried to run.

Too late.

Laziel's dagger flew through the air, catching the spy in the leg. He fell with a curse, shifting forms as he hit the dirt. Not a wolf. Something else. Something wrong.

"Chimera," Mira hissed. "Ironfang magic."

The spy writhed, flesh twisting between forms. Kael stepped back in horror.

I turned to Draven. "There. I held up my end. A traitor planted in your enemy's heart. Take him, and go."

Draven's eyes narrowed. He looked to Kael, then to the spy.

"Clever," he said. "Very well. For now."

The vines receded. The Ironfangs stepped back, dragging the spy with them. Draven's voice rang out once more:

"The war is coming, Bloodfang. And she has already chosen a side."

Then they vanished.

Silence reigned.

Kael turned to me, fury barely contained. "What side did you choose, Raine?"

I stepped closer. "The side that doesn't abandon its own."

He blinked, chest heaving. "You played everyone."

I shrugged. "I survived everyone."

Laziel chuckled. Mira grinned. Torran cracked his knuckles.

Nyssa's voice was low, amused. "Well, this is goin

g to be fun."

Kael stared at me, a dozen questions burning behind his eyes. But I didn't give him answers. Not yet.

Because I could feel it. The real storm hadn't even started.

And when it did, I'd be ready.