The Stranger’s Warning

The scent hit her first.

Burnt cedar and ash — wild and unfamiliar.

Seraphina spun toward the window just as a shadow darted out of view.

She didn't hesitate.

She grabbed the dagger hidden beneath her pillow and flung the window open.

Nothing.

But the forest beyond was too quiet.

Too still.

Like it was holding its breath.

She leapt out the window barefoot, landing in the damp grass with the grace of a born predator.

Moonlight bathed the clearing in silver.

Her wolf stirred inside her chest.

There.

Movement.

A figure cloaked in black darted through the trees, fast and silent.

She ran.

Not after him.

Ahead of him.

She knew these woods better than anyone.

She curved left, leapt over a fallen log, and slid between two trees like a shadow with purpose.

She caught him just as he turned.

Her dagger was at his throat in seconds.

"Who are you?" she growled.

The figure didn't flinch.

Didn't blink.

But he lifted both hands in surrender.

"I'm not here to fight," he said, his voice low and urgent.

"Then you shouldn't have crept through my window like a coward."

"I didn't come for you."

She pressed the blade closer.

"Wrong answer."

He sighed, then slowly pulled back his hood.

Her heart skipped.

He wasn't just a stranger.

He was a rogue.

But his eyes—

Amber.

Glowing.

Familiar.

"You're from the ShadowMoon Pack," she whispered, stunned.

"They were all slaughtered."

"Not all."

Her hand trembled slightly.

No one had seen a ShadowMoon wolf in years.

Not since they'd been wiped out by Kael's father during the Purge.

"What do you want from me?" she asked coldly.

"I came to warn you."

"About?"

"Kael."

She stiffened.

"What about him?"

"He's not who you think he is."

She almost laughed.

"Oh, I know what he is."

"No," the rogue said sharply.

"You really don't."

"Talk."

He looked around the trees, eyes narrowed like someone was watching.

Then he stepped closer.

Too close.

And whispered four words that shattered her breath.

"He killed your sister."

Her world tilted.

Her grip on the dagger faltered.

For a second, everything went still — even the wind forgot to move.

"That's a lie," she breathed, voice hollow.

His eyes didn't waver.

"I saw it."

"No."

"I watched him do it."

"You're wrong!"

But her voice cracked.

Because something in his eyes — that raw, haunted truth — scraped at her soul like claws on bone.

Her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees, fists sinking into the damp earth.

It wasn't possible.

It couldn't be.

Kael had enemies — yes.

Kael was ruthless — obviously.

But Kael… murdering her sister?

Her wolf recoiled.

Confused.

Shaken.

Bleeding.

"He set the fire," the rogue said, quieter now, kneeling before her.

"He gave the order."

"Why?" she whispered, unable to look up.

"To lure you."

Those three words gutted her.

Every breath felt like swallowing broken glass.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you deserve to know."

Her hands trembled as she dug them deeper into the soil, like she could anchor herself before her mind slipped into madness.

"You could be lying."

"I could."

"So why should I believe you?"

He reached into his coat slowly, carefully, and pulled out something wrapped in cloth.

Another memory dressed in death.

She stared at it — not touching — because she already knew what it was.

Her sister's hairpin.

Twisted silver with a blue moonstone.

One-of-a-kind.

Bloodstained.

"I found it in Kael's war chest," he said gently.

She picked it up like it might explode in her hand.

It felt cold.

Like the day her world ended.

Like the grave she never got to visit.

A silent tear slid down her cheek, but she didn't wipe it.

She let it fall.

"Why now?" she asked.

"Because Kael's about to finish what his father started."

Her spine straightened.

"What do you mean?"

"He's building something in the mountains — a weapon."

Her eyes narrowed.

"What kind of weapon?"

"One that could wipe out every rogue and non-loyal pack in the territory."

Rage unfurled inside her chest like wildfire.

It burned fast.

Hot.

Unforgiving.

"And he thinks I'll help him?"

"You're his mate."

"Then I'll destroy him from within."

The rogue hesitated.

"There's more."

"Spill it."

"He's not the villain."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Her voice dropped into a deadly whisper.

"Start making sense."

"The one behind it all — the real monster — isn't Kael."

"Then who?"

The rogue's lips parted.

But an arrow pierced through his back before the name left his mouth.

He gasped, blood pooling at his lips.

Seraphina caught him before he fell completely.

"Stay with me!"

His eyes flickered, dimming like dying stars.

Then he said one final word.

One name.

One impossible name.

And then he stopped breathing.

Seraphina looked up, dagger ready, just as a second arrow flew straight toward her heart.