Claimed by the Alpha

Old wounds

Three days in Ashwood and Lira had a system. Wake up. Follow the coffee. Check if Kane slept. Spoiler: he hadn’t. Ask a question. Get half an answer. Repeat.

It was a bad system. It was all she had.

"You're doing the thing again," Kane said without looking up from the mess of papers on the kitchen table.

"What thing."

"Staring at me like you're building a case file."

"Maybe I am." She poured coffee, slid into her usual seat. "You're a suspicious person, Kane. Not my fault you make it easy."

"I'm not suspicious. I'm careful."

"Same thing when you're this bad at it."

That pulled the half-smile out of him. The one that looked like it hurt to use. He shoved the papers aside.

"Training starts today," he said. "If you're staying, you need to know how to defend yourself. Wolf or not."

"I have a wolf now. Doesn't that come with free murder skills?"

"It comes with instincts. Instincts get people killed without control." He grabbed his mug. "Wes will run basics. I'll check in later."

"You're not doing it?"

Something moved across his face and vanished. "I have somewhere to be."

"Pack business?"

"Something like that."

She watched him go. Same answer for three days. And weirdly, she was more curious than mad now. Whatever he was doing at night, it was eating him alive. You don’t get those dark circles from nothing.

The training grounds were behind the house. A big dirt clearing ringed by trees that were probably here before either pack existed. Wes was already there, stretching.

"Ready to get thrown around?" he grinned.

"Do I get a choice?"

"Not really. But I like pretending you do."

He put her through an hour of it. Footwork. Falling. Reading shoulders before a punch. She was better than she thought. That surprised her more than him.

"You've got instincts," Wes said, catching her wrist and twisting it. "Raw. Untrained. But real."

"Is that a compliment?"

"It's honest. I don't do fake ones."

They broke for water on a fallen log. Lira rolled the cup in her hands, circling the question since breakfast.

"What's the deal with the uncle's rebellion?"

Wes froze.

"You said it," she pushed. "Day one. Started to say something and stopped."

"I shouldn’t have."

"But you did." She held his eyes. "What happened to him?"

Wes let out a slow breath, glancing back at the house like the walls had ears. "Not my story to tell, Lira."

"Everyone says that. Feels like a group project nobody wants."

That got a reluctant laugh. "It’s complicated. And it’s Kane’s. If you want the real version, ask him."

"I did. I got ‘pack business’."

"Then he’s not ready to give you that piece yet." Wes’s voice went soft. "He doesn’t trust easy. Never has. Especially not after—" He cut himself off, jaw tight.

"After what?"

"Nothing." He stood, brushing dirt off. "Come on. Let’s run it again before Kane gets back and asks why you’re good at questions and bad at blocking hits."

Kane didn’t come back till after dark. And he wasn’t alone.

Lira was in the library. She’d claimed it because nobody else used it. Then she heard voices in the hall. Kane’s, low and controlled. And another. Older. Angrier.

She drifted to the doorway without thinking. The same pull that dragged her to the front door that first night.

"—can't keep doing this," the man was saying. Greying temples. Older than Kane. "Every time you go out alone, you’re gambling with more than your life."

"I know what I’m gambling," Kane said.

"Do you? Looks like a man trying to fix something you can’t fix by sneaking out at midnight."

"You don’t get to lecture me about fixing things, Callum. Not after what happened with my uncle."

Callum went quiet. Something heavy crossed his face. "That’s exactly why I’m lecturing you. I watched what happened last time someone in this family thought they knew better."

"I’m not him."

"I know. That’s what worries me." Callum’s eyes flicked to the doorway. To Lira. He hadn’t realized she was there. "Does she know?"

"No," Kane said, too fast.

"Kane."

"She just got here. Give her a week before you dump all of this on her."

Callum looked at Lira a long time. Then nodded once. "A week," he said. "Not longer."

He left. Kane stayed in the hall, jaw tight. Not looking at her, even though he knew she’d heard.

"Subtle," Lira said.

"He’s not known for it."

"Who is he?"

"My dad’s oldest friend. Advisor now." Kane dragged a hand down his face. Looked more tired than she’d ever seen him. "He worries."

"About you sneaking out."

"Among other things."

"Kane." She stepped closer. He finally met her eyes. "What happened to your uncle?"

The door slammed shut behind his eyes. Fast. "Long story. Not tonight."

"You keep saying that. Nobody tells me when tonight is."

"I know." His voice dropped. "I’m not keeping you in the dark to be cruel. I just don’t know how to tell you without it changing everything."

"Everything’s already changed. I got dragged here for a promise I never made. I can handle it."

He looked at her like he wanted to say it. Like something in him was begging to. Then he shut it down.

"Soon," he said. "I promise."

"You keep making promises you don’t explain."

"I know." It cost him. "I’m working on it."

She was almost asleep when her phone buzzed.

Not Rhys. Unknown number.

Unknown: You should ask Kane what really happened to his uncle. Ask him who gave the order.

Lira sat up. Heart hammering. Read it twice.

Lira: who is this

Unknown: Someone who thinks you deserve the truth before you fall for a lie. Ask him about the night his uncle died. Ask him if he was there.

Nothing after that. No matter what she typed.

Lira sat in the dark, phone clutched in her hand. Replaying every non-answer. The footsteps. Callum. Wes cutting off.

_Ask him if he was there._

Outside, the treeline was black and still. Holding secrets from before she was born.

For the first time since she got here, Lira wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

But she was going to ask anyway.