Chapter 5: The Rise Begins
1090 Words
Chapter 5: The Rise Begins
Ava Pov…
Five years.
It felt like a lifetime and a heartbeat all at once.
I stood in the middle of the crowd, the cool breeze brushing past my face as my name echoed from lips I once believed would never say it with pride.
"To the Rogue Healer!" someone called.
Cheers erupted all around me, filling the twilight air. My chest rose and fell with each breath, a quiet fire burning inside me—not of rage, not anymore—but of purpose. I turned slightly, eyes scanning the circle of wolves surrounding me, and caught sight of Kael—Alpha Kael—nodding from the head of the pack.
Five years ago, he found me broken, bleeding, and left for dead.
Five years ago, I was just an omega without a wolf. I was just a nobody, a disgrace to many.
Now… I was something else entirely. Something everyone wants, something everyone dreams off.
…
"Ava!" Mia's voice snapped me from my thoughts. She bounded over, her curls bouncing wildly around her shoulders. "There you are. I’ve been looking all over the territory for you.”
I gave her a small smile. “Sorry. I just needed a moment. You know… to breathe.”
“You’re allowed,” she said, slipping her arm around mine. “You just got officially named Healer of the rogue clan. You’ve earned more than a moment.”
Healer. The word still sounded strange, even after all this time.
“You really think I’ve earned it?” I asked softly, staring out into the forest beyond the ridge. My voice trembled, though I didn’t want it to. “That I deserve to be Healer after everything I—”
“You deserve it,” Mia interrupted, her tone sharp but gentle. “You built something out of nothing. You took your pain and turned it into healing. If that doesn’t make you worthy, then I don’t know what does.”
I let out a breath, the tension in my shoulders easing just slightly. Mia always knew what to say. She’d been with me since the first day I arrived in Kael’s rogue territory, scared, silent, and barely breathing.
A rogue warrior approached us, his expression serious. “Healer Ava. Alpha Kael needs your attention. It’s urgent.”
I exchanged a quick glance with Mia before following him back toward the main house.
…
Kael was already waiting in his office when we arrived. He leaned forward on the table, brows furrowed in thought. Despite his broad frame and unshakable demeanor, something about the air in the room told me this wasn’t just another border issue or injured patrol.
“What’s going on?” I asked, stepping in.
He raised his eyes to meet mine. “You might want to sit.”
I didn’t.
He sighed, then said it anyway. “A messenger arrived from the Nightshade Pack. He brought news to us and said Alpha Kyran is dying.”
I froze. Every sound around me dulled into a haze, as if the weight of his name alone could knock the breath from my lungs.
“What?”
“They’re requesting a healer. Specifically, the Rogue Healer.” Kael’s voice was steady, but I saw the flicker of concern behind his calm. “They don’t know it’s you yet.”
Of course, they didn’t.
I stared at the floor, my thoughts colliding like crashing waves. Kyran. The man I’d once called mate. The man who let me be dragged, chained, and discarded like trash. I thought I’d buried that part of me. I thought I’d burned it all away. Never thought I would speak or think of it anymore.
But now…
“They want me to save him?” My voice was low. Controlled. But inside, I was spiraling. “After what they did? After The pain he had put me through?”
My voice was a bit hurt but steady, I tried holding it in but it came out anyway.
“You don’t have to go,” Kael said. “You’ve built your home here. No one would blame you if you refused.”
I stared at him when he said that, I wanted to say no. Wanted to say I wasn't helping him, he should die for all I care.
Truly, I did.
But something deep inside me—older than pain, louder than fear—refused to let it end this way.
“No,” I said, lifting my chin. “I’ll go.”
Mia’s eyes widened. “Ava—”
“Not for him,” I added sharply. “And not for them. I’m going so they remember the name they tried to erase. I want them to look at me and know exactly who I’ve become.”
Kael studied me for a long moment. “Then I’ll have warriors escort you.”
I shook my head. “No. This is something I need to do alone.”
Silence lingered between us before he finally nodded. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t let their hatred dim your fire. You’ve come too far to burn out now.”
…
Later that night, I stood at the edge of the rogue territory, Mia helping me pack a few essential herbs and tools.
“You sure you don’t want company?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
I glanced at her, at the flicker of worry in her eyes. “I’ll be fine Mia besides I won't stay long.”
“You better be. Or I’ll come drag your stubborn ass back myself.” she said jokingly.
I chuckled, pulling her into a tight hug. “You’re my family, Mia. Thank you—for everything.”
She stepped back, eyes glistening. “Make them regret every choice they ever made.”
I gave her one last nod and started walking toward the path that would lead me to Nightshade.
The wind was colder outside our territory. The trees looked taller, darker, the shadows stretching longer—but not in a poetic way. Just in a way that reminded me that the Nightshade pack never wanted me to thrive. They wanted me to disappear.
But I didn’t.
And now, I was coming back—not as the omega they tossed out, but as the Rogue Healer. The Healer of her own kind.
I kept walking, each step closing the distance between the past and the storm I was about to bring.
- Writer
