Chained To The Past
903 Words
Chapter 11: Chained to the Past
The final match of the Alpha Trials had ended in chaos the night before. Rina Hollowbrook stood victorious, battered but unbroken. She had fought her way through the fiercest warriors in the region, earning not just respect but curiosity. Whispers moved like wildfire. Who was she, really? Where did she come from? How did a lone fighter with no known lineage bring down some of the council’s own favored champions?
Kael couldn't sleep.
He’d watched her fight, every strike, every parry. Her movements were precise, practiced too practiced to be the result of random survival. And then there was her scent. Faint, but it lingered in the back of his mind like an old song he couldn’t stop humming. His wolf was restless, pacing beneath his skin since the first time he saw her.
Now he was watching her again.
Rina stood at the edge of the training grounds, arms crossed behind her back, a few fresh bruises darkening her skin. Her expression was unreadable. She looked like she belonged here, like she’d always been here. But Kael knew better. There was a c***k in her calm — the kind that only someone who had lived through loss carried.
He stepped closer. "You fought like someone who’s been through hell."
Rina didn’t turn. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t. That your version of a compliment, Alpha?"
He didn’t flinch. "It’s curiosity."
She glanced at him finally, eyes sharp. "Curiosity is dangerous."
"So is pretending you’re something you’re not."
The conversation was cut short by the arrival of a trembling female warrior, flanked by two elders. Mariel — one of the Alpha Trials’ prior contestants — pointed a bloodied hand at Rina. “She’s not who she says she is. She used magic. I saw it.”
Gasps rippled through the watching crowd. Accusations of witchcraft weren’t taken lightly. Especially not now, with tensions between rogue and pack bloodlines at their peak.
Kael straightened. “Do you have proof?”
“She healed too fast. She moved like no normal wolf could.” Mariel’s voice cracked. “She’s hiding something.”
The council murmured, the accusation spreading through them like smoke.
Rina didn’t move. She didn’t even blink. But her heart was pounding. One wrong move here, and all she’d worked for — all she’d bled for — would collapse.
Kael took a step forward. “I watched every one of her matches. There was no evidence of sorcery. Only skill.”
Mariel gaped. “You’re defending her? You don’t even know who she is!”
His voice dropped to something low and commanding. “I know enough to recognize a warrior when I see one. This pack is not built on baseless fear. Either bring evidence or walk away.”
Mariel faltered. Then, defeated, she turned and fled, leaving the elders scrambling for some dignified excuse to dismiss the claim.
Rina’s pulse finally slowed. But her mind reeled. Why had Kael defended her? What was he playing at?
Later that night, Ronan found her sharpening her blades beneath the moonlight. “You’re getting sloppy,” he said, nodding toward her bruised shoulder. “You didn’t see that punch coming.”
She looked up, guarded. “I was distracted.”
“By him?” Ronan’s eyes narrowed.
“No.” She lied too quickly.
He knelt beside her, watching her grind the edge of the dagger until sparks flared. “You need to remember why you’re here. The moment you let emotion interfere, you lose.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” she said.
“Then why did he defend you?”
She said nothing. Because she didn’t know. Because Kael’s words had sliced through her defenses, not with what he said, but with how he said it — like he still carried the weight of a silence that had cost them everything.
Ronan stood. “I’ve seen that look before. Don’t let it fool you. A wolf can’t change his nature. He left you once. He’ll do it again.”
Rina stared at the blade in her hand.
She had come here for one reason — to kill the men responsible for her parents’ death. To destroy Kael. To make the pack pay. And now he was defending her?
She didn’t want to question it. But part of her was starting to.
In the Alpha Hall, Kael sat alone, a half-empty glass of bourbon beside him. His Beta entered quietly.
“You stood up for her. That’s going to cost you,” the Beta warned.
Kael didn’t look up. “She didn’t lie. And I won’t let the council decide justice based on fear.”
“Or guilt?” the Beta asked.
Kael looked at him sharply.
“You think I don’t know?” the Beta said. “You’ve been chasing ghosts for years. She reminds you of her, doesn’t she?”
Kael said nothing.
“She’s either a threat or something else. You better figure out which one before it tears you apart.”
Kael nodded, barely. Because his wolf already knew. And if he didn’t get answers soon, it wouldn’t stop until it claimed her.
Back in her room, Rina stared at her reflection. She was so close now. But that one act of mercy from Kael had cracked the armor she’d built. She couldn’t afford that.
She’d survived fire, exile, betrayal.
She wouldn’t lose now.
- Writer
