**Chapter Two** *Ashes and Shadows*pisode
1291 Words
The forest burned.
Flames licked the sky, painting it in hues of orange and black. Smoke rolled like fog, thick and choking, and the scent of scorched earth was suffocating. Aria stood frozen at the window, staring into the chaos beyond the Bloodfang Pack’s borders.
But none of that terrified her more than the voice she’d heard.
“You don’t belong to him, Luna.”
Her blood ran cold. The voice was unmistakable—rough, low, threaded with pain and rage.
**Ronan.**
The name echoed in her mind like a scream.
He was supposed to be dead. Gone. Buried in the past with everything else she tried to forget.
But he was alive. And he was here.
A fist pounded at her door.
“Aria!” Kael’s voice, sharp and commanding. “Get away from the windows!”
She backed up just as the glass shattered inward, an arrow slicing through the air and embedding itself in the wall behind her. Her breath caught in her throat.
Kael burst in, his eyes scanning the room, his wolf snarling beneath the surface.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, but her heart was thudding too loud to speak.
“Stay behind me,” he growled, moving toward the window. Another arrow flew—Kael snatched it midair with lightning reflexes.
“They’re aiming for *me*,” she whispered.
Kael turned to her, expression unreadable. “They know who you are now.”
Her stomach twisted. “How?”
“They’ve been watching. Waiting.”
“For *me*?”
“For the mate of the Bloodfang Alpha.”
Aria felt like the ground beneath her had shifted. “Then this is my fault.”
“No,” he said, steel in his voice. “This is war. And they just declared it.”
Minutes later, Aria was racing through the halls of the fortress beside Kael, flanked by guards. Shouts echoed down the corridors as the pack mobilized. Wolves ran toward the gates, weapons drawn, ready to defend their territory.
But Aria couldn’t shake the image of Ronan’s face, barely seen through the flames.
*He was dead.* She’d been told so. She’d *seen* the aftermath.
But now she questioned everything.
Kael led her to a sealed chamber beneath the stronghold. The door was reinforced steel and opened only with a touch of his hand.
“You’ll stay here,” he ordered. “Until I return.”
“I can fight,” she said, though her voice trembled.
“You’re not ready.”
“I’m not helpless.”
Kael’s eyes flared with something unreadable. “I know. But they’re not just coming for a fight. They’re coming for *you*.”
He turned to leave, then paused. “Aria… if anything happens, if they get through—”
“I’ll protect myself,” she interrupted. “I’m not yours to save.”
A flicker of something passed through his eyes—hurt, maybe—but it vanished just as quickly.
Then he was gone, and the heavy door sealed behind him.
Alone, the silence pressed in on her. The room was cold, dimly lit, and lined with old weapons—relics from past wars. She paced restlessly, trying to steady her breathing, to calm the storm inside her.
But Ronan’s voice echoed louder than the battle above.
He was more than a ghost from her past. He was the secret she’d buried deep, the part of her history she swore no one would ever know.
Because once, long ago, she’d trusted him. Loved him.
And he had betrayed her in the worst way.
Her fingers brushed her wrist where Kael had touched her. The bond still hummed beneath her skin like a faint current. It scared her how much comfort it brought… and how much danger it might bring.
Then, without warning, the torches lining the chamber walls flickered—once, twice—and went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Aria spun around, heart hammering. She wasn’t alone anymore.
“You always did like hiding,” came the voice, calm and low.
She turned toward the sound. Her breath caught.
Ronan stepped into the faint moonlight spilling from a grated vent above. He hadn’t changed. His hair was longer, darker. His face worn, marked by shadows and battle scars. But his eyes—those haunted gray eyes—were the same.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Aria whispered.
His smile was bitter. “Neither were you. And yet, here we are.”
She backed up, hand fumbling for a blade from the wall. “How did you get in?”
“Same way I always do. Through the cracks no one watches.” He took a step forward. “You’ve bonded with *him*.”
“You don’t get to speak on that.”
“You don’t even know what he is, Aria.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And you do?”
“I know what he’s hiding. What he’s *planning*.”
Aria gripped the blade tightly. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Ronan raised a brow. “He hasn’t told you what happened to the last Luna, has he?”
A chill crept down her spine. “She died in battle.”
“Did she?” His tone was almost gentle. “Or did he let her die… to protect a secret bigger than either of you?”
Aria’s pulse roared in her ears.
“I came to warn you,” Ronan said. “Because whatever you think this bond is—it’s a chain. And he’ll use it to control you, like he used her.”
“Why would you care?”
He looked at her, softer now. “Because once, I promised I’d never let anyone hurt you again.”
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t drop the blade. “You lost the right to protect me a long time ago.”
“I didn’t come to fight,” he said quietly. “But others will. And they won’t show you mercy.”
He stepped back into the shadows. “Don’t trust him, Aria. Don’t trust *any* of them. When the truth comes out… you’ll have to choose.”
Then he was gone.
The lights flickered back on. The door unsealed.
Kael stormed in, his shirt stained with blood that wasn’t his, his eyes burning.
“Are you hurt?”
“No,” Aria said, her voice low. “But someone was here.”
His body went rigid. “Who?”
She hesitated.
“Who was it, Aria?”
Her fingers trembled around the blade. “Ronan.”
Kael’s face turned to stone. “He’s dead.”
“He’s not.”
A long silence. Then Kael swore under his breath.
“You knew,” she accused. “Didn’t you?”
“I suspected.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I wanted to protect you.”
Her laugh was bitter. “You don’t get to decide what I need protection from.”
Kael stepped forward, jaw clenched. “There’s more to this than you know. Things I can’t explain—yet.”
“Well, you’d better start,” she snapped, voice shaking. “Because if I’m going to fight this war by your side, I want to know what kind of Alpha I’m fighting with.”
Kael met her eyes, and for once, he looked… afraid.
Then, from somewhere above, a wolf howled—long, deep, and mournful.
Followed by another.
And another.
Until the whole night seemed to scream.
Aria turned toward the sound, dread curling in her stomach.
“What is it?” she whispered.
Kael’s voice was barely audible.
“They’ve breached the walls.”
- Writer
