CHAPTER 5: THE GRAVE I WALK BACK TO
1137 Words
The closer I got to LethalMoon territory, the louder the ghosts inside me screamed.
Nyra walked quietly beside me, our bags strapped across our shoulders as the narrow path cut through the mountain trees. The air was crisp and clean, too pure for the filth of what I remembered. A cold wind pushed against us, and with every step, conflicting emotions churned in my chest... rage, anticipation, dread... and something that made me sick to admit.
Nervousness.
I hated that part. I hated that Cassian still had that effect on me, even without seeing him, even after everything he did.
The cliff appeared before us, brutal and silent. My feet stopped walking before my mind caught up. There it was, unchanged. Jagged, merciless rock like a wolf’s broken fang. My breath froze as I stared down at the drop where my body had fallen two years ago, where my life had spilled into the hungry abyss.
For a moment, I wasn’t standing there anymore... I was falling again. The betrayal burned through me as vividly as the blade that had torn through my chest. Cassian’s voice echoed in my skull, not in words, but in silence... the kind that follows after someone chooses to watch you die rather than save you.
“Raven?” Nyra’s voice pulled me back. “Why did you stop?”
I blinked, swallowing the storm back down. “Nothing,” I said, forcing my legs to move. “Let’s go. I was just thinking.”
She gave me a look that said she didn’t buy the lie, but she didn’t push, and that is why I chose her.
Minutes later, LethalMoon rose before us, familiar yet different. New defensive walls taller than the old ones, redesigned gates, fresh faces, and reinforcements. They had upgraded everything… but the foundation of betrayal was still beneath it all. I could feel it.
I squared my shoulders and approached the gates.
Two guards stepped forward. One was unfamiliar, tall, and brazen and was already sizing me up like a potential threat.
“I’m Raven,” I said steadily. “This is Nyra. We are looking for somewhere to stay. Can we speak to your Alpha?”
He stared at us for too long. “So, you’re rogues.”
“Yes,” I answered.
He called another guard over. “Peter. Take them to Alpha Cassian.”
Cassian. Hearing his name out loud again was like being punched from the inside.
We followed Peter as he led us deeper into the pack land. Every turn was a knife of memory: training grounds… pack hall… the warrior yard… everything familiar, yet slightly wrong, like reality had been rearranged just enough to mock me.
The closer we got to his office, the harder my heart pounded. I charged mentally... Calm down and get a grip. You came here for blood and answers... not to fall apart.
Peter stopped by a door. “Wait here,” he said before stepping inside.
My hands were trembling.
Nyra touched my arm. “You are shaking. Are you okay?”
No. “Yes,” I lied. “Just nervous.”
“It’ll be fine,” she said, giving me a small smile.
The door opened again. Peter nodded. “You can go in.”
Nyra and I stepped inside, and I froze.
The room was different, renovated, colder, and more refined. Leather, steel, and order, but he was the same.
Cassian sat behind the desk, typing. Broader shoulders, a sharper jaw, more power, and more danger. Like time had carved him into something harder than stone.
He looked up, and my world stopped.
His gaze hit me like a branded mark. Familiar, dangerous, and eternal, and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. My wolf stirred violently inside me, clawing... mate. I silenced her with cold fury.
I had told myself, over and over, that I was ready to face him. I had practiced the anger, the indifference, and the lie of being healed, but seeing him proved how false that lie was. All the training in the world hadn’t made the sight of him easier; it had only shown me how much I still bled.
His silver eyes with traces of blue didn’t blink, didn’t soften. If anything, they narrowed faintly... searching.
"Who are you?"
I mentally told myself to say something, move, blink. Anything but I stood there, caught in memories I swore I had buried, memories that paralyzed me.
Nyra cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Good day, Alpha. She is...”
Cassian lifted a single hand, and she went silent instantly.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” he said, voice low and cold.
I forced my tongue to move. “I... I am Raven Riley,” I managed, hating how small my voice sounded. “And this is Nyra, my best friend. We were hoping to stay here.”
“Why?” he asked, sounding cold and completely uninterested.
“We’re from BloodMoon Pack,” I said, steadying my voice. “Omegas have been going missing there... trafficked. We didn’t feel safe anymore, so we were hoping you would allow us sanctuary here.”
He leaned back slowly in his chair. “And what value will you bring to this pack? We don’t keep liabilities.”
I lifted my chin just slightly. “We are wolf healers. We can work in your infirmary or anywhere else you need us.”
He stared at me again. Too long, like he was peeling back layers, like he could almost see the truth under my skin.
My pulse pounded in my throat... Let me in, Cassian. Let me in so I can destroy you from the inside.
Finally, he said, “Fine. You can stay; you will work in the infirmary, but if you bring any trouble into my territory, I will throw you both out faster than you can spell your names.”
“Understood,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Wait outside,” he told Nyra.
She squeezed my hand once and left, but the last thing I needed was to be left alone with him, so I turned to follow, but his voice cut through the air behind me.
“Wait.”
I froze, and slowly, I faced him.
His eyes were locked on mine, cold and unreadable. “Have we met before?”
My lips curled, not into a smile, but something close enough to pass as one. “No,” I said softly. “I don’t believe so. Not in this lifetime.”
His brows pulled together in confusion.
Good.
I turned and walked out before I remembered what it felt like to love him, because I hadn’t come back for love... I came back to burn this place to the ground.
- Writer
