Chapter 4 – Ties That Chafe
1067 Words
Chapter 4 – Ties That Chafe
The moonlight hadn’t faded by the time Luna returned to camp, her limbs aching from the run and her thoughts knotted tight. She shifted back just before the tree line, letting the cool earth cling to her bare feet. Her clothes, hidden beneath a hollow log, were slightly damp with dew, but she pulled them on without pause.
The scent of Silverfang territory rushed to meet her—pine resin, smoke, iron. And something else.
Ryker.
He was waiting by the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, jaw clenched, and eyes fixed in the direction she’d come from. When she stepped out, his gaze snapped to her.
“You disappeared again,” he said, voice low but sharp. “Tell me it wasn’t him you ran off to.”
Luna didn’t respond right away. She moved past him, brushing a pine needle from her shoulder.
“You were at the summit,” she said. “You saw him. He’s just an envoy.”
“I didn’t say his name,” Ryker replied.
She paused mid-step.
“Where were you during the meeting?” she asked, deflecting.
He exhaled through his nose. “I arrived late. My patrol returned just before it started—Alpha Thorne had me securing the eastern border. There were tracks.”
“Redmanes?”
Ryker nodded once. “And worse—older symbols. Hidden under moss and stone. You’d have noticed if you weren’t so focused on the Blackthorn.”
Luna turned to face him, her jaw tightening. “This isn’t about Kael.”
“Isn’t it?” Ryker stepped closer, his tone lowering. “I know what you’re thinking. I know how you pull away when the council starts talking about our bond, like it’s some kind of prison.”
She didn’t deny it.
“Do you think he’s the way out?” Ryker asked, voice hardening. “Because he’s not. He’s a trap, Luna. You just don’t see it yet.”
She stared at him, her voice flat. “I see more than you think.”
Ryker’s face twisted for a brief second—not anger. Hurt. He pulled back.
“This isn’t what your parents would’ve wanted,” he said, more quietly.
Her breath caught.
A low wind rustled the branches overhead, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke. Finally, Luna walked past him and toward the heart of the camp.
“I’ll report to Alpha Thorne,” she said. “About what Kael told me.”
“Kael,” Ryker echoed bitterly.
Luna didn’t turn back.
---
The Silverfang den was built into the hillside, its stone archways wrapped in ivy and bone charms. Inside, the air was cooler, denser with incense. She found Alpha Thorne in the central chamber, seated near the fire pit, his shoulders cloaked in a mantle of dark wolf fur.
He didn’t look up when she entered. “You were seen leaving the summit alone.”
“I needed air.”
“So I heard.” He tilted his head, finally meeting her gaze. “You spoke to the Blackthorn envoy.”
“Yes.”
Thorne studied her face. “And?”
“He knew the markings. Said he’s seen them before—in a restricted part of their archives. He claims they’re ancient Silverfang symbols, paired with Redmane glyphs.”
The Alpha’s expression didn’t shift, but something in the room chilled.
“Did he say why the Redmanes would use your bloodline’s sigil?”
“No. But I think they’re drawing me out.” Her voice lowered. “I think they’re trying to finish what they started.”
Thorne’s eyes narrowed. “You believe they’re after you.”
Luna nodded once. “And I don’t think Kael is lying.”
Thorne stood slowly, walking to a nearby shelf. He withdrew a worn scroll, its edges singed. “There are things your parents never told you,” he said. “Things even I was forbidden from saying until the right time.”
She watched him, heart pounding. “Why now?”
“Because the Redmanes have broken every vow, every boundary. And if they’ve begun using that symbol again…” He glanced toward her arm, where the ancestral sigil was tattooed into her skin. “Then your bloodline is more than sacred—it’s wanted.”
Luna swallowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Before he could answer, a voice echoed from the entrance.
“She deserves the truth.”
Luna turned. Lady Sera stood in the doorway, wrapped in a deep green shawl, her white hair loose over her shoulders. Her presence was calm, but her eyes were sharp.
“Tell her, Thorne,” she said softly. “She’s not a child anymore.”
The Alpha glanced between them, then returned the scroll to its place.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “Not tonight.”
Luna’s fists curled. “Then at least tell me what to do about Kael.”
“Watch him,” Thorne said. “Learn from him. But don’t trust him.”
Sera stepped forward, placing a hand on Luna’s arm. “Not all alliances are forged by councils,” she murmured. “Some begin in shadows.”
---
That night, Luna couldn’t sleep.
She sat by the cliffside overlooking the valley, the stars glittering like frost above her. Below, Silverfang torches flickered along the border. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled—not one of theirs. The sound was guttural. Close.
A Redmane?
Or something worse?
She thought of Kael’s face in the woods. His voice when he spoke of the symbols. The way he looked at her—not like prey. Not like a prize.
Like a key.
Behind her, she heard the approach of quiet steps.
Ryker again.
She didn’t turn, but she didn’t tell him to leave either.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
She didn’t reply.
“I just… I don’t know how to protect you when you keep pushing me out.”
Luna looked up at the stars. “Maybe I’m not the one who needs protecting".
A chill wind stirred her hair, carrying with it the faintest scent of ash and something feral—blood, old and bitter. It came from the north. From beyond the borders.
Luna stood slowly, eyes narrowing.
Whatever was coming... it had already crossed into their lands.
- Writer
