CHAPTER 7: THE RETURN
1384 Words
The howling doesn’t stop.
It gets closer. Louder. Angrier.
I’m still on my knees in the dirt, smoke in my lungs, Rylan’s arms around me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he lets go.
Kell’s on his feet, knife still in hand, eyes on the ridge line.
“They’re here,” he says.
Lena.
Of course she’s here.
The fire in the temple died ten minutes ago, but the smoke is gone. The pack is safe. That’s what matters.
Rylan stands, pulling me up with him.
“Stay behind me,” he says.
I shake my head.
“No. I’m done hiding behind you, Rylan.”
His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t argue.
The first Silver Fang wolves crest the ridge.
Dozens of them. Blue and silver pelts. Battle ready.
And at the front, Lena.
She’s shifted back, clothes torn, blood on her hands. Her eyes are red. Not from rogue blood. From rage.
“Rylan!” she shouts. Her voice cracks.
He steps forward.
“Lena, it’s over. The threat is gone.”
“It’s not over,” she says. “You lied to me. You chose her.”
I step beside him.
“I didn’t choose anything,” I say. “He didn’t choose me either. Not five years ago.”
Lena’s eyes snap to me.
“You,” she says. “You’re the reason this happened.”
“No,” Rylan says. “Elias is the reason. He’s dead now. The rogue blood is gone.”
Lena laughs. It’s broken.
“Dead? Good. But you’re still here. And she’s still here. And my pack is walking away from an alliance because of it.”
“I’m sorry,” Rylan says. And he sounds like he means it.
“Sorry doesn’t fix this,” Lena says.
Kell shifts his weight.
“Maybe nothing can,” he says quietly.
Lena looks at him.
“You’re the guard,” she says. “The one who let her into the packhouse.”
Kell nods.
“Yeah. And I’d do it again.”
Lena’s lip curls.
“Traitor.”
“Maybe,” Kell says. “But I’m a traitor who saved your pack from becoming rogues.”
That shuts her up for a second.
Rylan takes my hand.
“Lena, we can still talk about this. The alliance doesn’t have to end.”
Lena looks at our hands.
“It ended the second you touched her,” she says.
I let go of Rylan’s hand.
He looks at me, hurt flashing across his face.
“Lyra—”
“It’s okay,” I say quietly. “She’s right. We can’t force this.”
Rylan’s jaw clenches.
“I’m not giving up on you.”
“Good,” I say. “Don’t. But don’t start a war for me either.”
Lena’s eyes narrow.
“War?”
She raises her hand.
Silver Fang wolves step forward.
Rylan growls, low and dangerous.
“Stand down, Lena.”
“Make me,” she says.
For a second, I think it’s going to happen. Wolves against wolves. Blood on the ridge. Again.
Then Kell steps forward.
“Wait.”
Everyone stops.
Kell looks at Lena.
“You want Rylan,” he says. “But he doesn’t want you like that. Not anymore.”
Lena’s face goes red.
“Shut up.”
“I’m just saying,” Kell says. “You’re Alpha material. You don’t need a mate who doesn’t want you.”
Lena stares at him.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough,” Kell says. “I know you’re better than this.”
Lena’s shoulders shake.
“Don’t you dare pity me.”
“I’m not,” Kell says. “I’m telling you the truth. And the truth is, if you attack now, you lose. Even if you win.”
Lena looks at Rylan.
“Is that what you think too?”
Rylan shakes his head.
“I think you deserve better than to be second choice,” he says. “And I think I deserve the chance to fix what I broke.”
Lena looks at me.
“And her?”
I meet her eyes.
“I don’t want your pack,” I say. “I don’t want your title. I just want my life back. And I want him to know the truth.”
Lena’s jaw works.
“You don’t get to decide that,” she says.
“No,” I say. “But I get to decide this.”
I step forward.
Rylan grabs my arm.
“Lyra, don’t—”
I pull away.
“Let me do this.”
I stop ten feet from Lena.
“If you want a fight, fight me,” I say. “Not him. Not the pack. Me.”
Lena blinks.
“What?”
“You want to settle this?” I say. “Settle it with me. One on one. No rogues. No tricks. Just us.”
Lena laughs.
“You think you can beat me?”
“No,” I say. “But I think I can make you listen.”
Rylan steps forward.
“Lyra, no. She’s stronger than you.”
“I know,” I say. “But I’ve got something she doesn’t.”
“What?” Lena asks.
“Nothing left to lose,” I say.
Lena’s eyes flash.
“Fine,” she says. “You want it? You got it.”
She shifts.
Massive silver wolf. Faster than most.
I shift too.
Pain rips through me, but I ignore it.
Silver fur. Ice eyes. Smaller than Lena, but faster.
We circle each other.
The ridge goes silent.
Lena strikes first.
Fast. Brutal.
I dodge left, barely. Her claws rake my shoulder.
Pain. Hot and sharp.
I snarl and bite at her leg.
She yelps and pulls back.
We’re both bleeding now.
Rylan’s pacing behind me, growling under his breath.
“Stop this!” he yells.
Neither of us listens.
Lena lunges again.
I duck under her and hit her flank.
She goes down hard.
For a second, I have her pinned.
Her eyes meet mine.
And I see it.
Fear.
Hurt.
Betrayal.
Just like I felt five years ago.
I let her go.
I step back.
Lena gets to her feet, breathing hard.
“Why?” she asks.
“Because killing you won’t fix anything,” I say. “And I’m tired of killing.”
Lena looks at Rylan.
“Do you trust her?”
Rylan nods.
“With my life.”
Lena shakes her head.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Probably,” Rylan says.
Lena looks at me one last time.
“If you hurt him again,” she says, “I will kill you.”
“I know,” I say.
Lena shifts back.
“We’re leaving,” she says to her pack. “The alliance is off. For now.”
Her wolves hesitate.
“Now,” Lena says.
They follow her.
One by one, they disappear over the ridge.
Silence falls again.
Kell lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“That was stupid,” he says to me.
“I know,” I say.
Rylan pulls me into his arms.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he says.
I lean into him. Just for a second.
“I had to.”
Rylan kisses the top of my head.
“i***t,” he murmurs.
I smile, despite everything.
“Yeah.”
Kell clears his throat.
“So… what now?”
Rylan looks at me.
“Now we go home,” he says. “And we start over.”
I nod.
Home.
It doesn’t feel like home yet.
But maybe it can.
We start walking back toward the packhouse.
Slow. Tired. Bleeding.
Halfway down the ridge, Kell stops.
“Guys,” he says.
We turn.
At the bottom of the ridge, near the old gate, there’s movement.
Figures in the trees.
Watching.
Not Silver Fang.
Not Moonridge.
Rogues.
And this time, they’re not feral.
They’re organized.
Standing in formation.
Waiting.
One step forward.
A woman.
Tall. Scarred. Eyes like ice.
She looks at me.
“Lyra,” she says.
I freeze.
I know that voice.
It can’t be.
She’s dead.
“Hello, sister,” the woman says.
My blood runs cold.
Mara.
- Writer
