The woods had never felt this dead. Not when Liora was a scrappy pup sneaking into the elders' den, not during her first kill, not even the night she and Kael wandered the ruins and finally saw the ugly truth. This was a different beast. Silence so thick it felt like a fist around your throat.
Whole place felt like it was holding its breath, waiting for the next blow.
Kael was passed out in the cave, tucked into the hollow, color creeping back into his cheeks—thank the gods for Dante's antidote. But he still hadn't woken up. Time? Not exactly their friend right now.
Dante, meanwhile, was a statue at the mouth of the cave. Dude looked like he was carved from granite, arms crossed, so tense you could probably bounce a coin off his muscles.
"If you're gonna do it, do it now," he grunted, not bothering to look over.
Liora paced, all caged-animal nerves. "She'll see right through it. She's not stupid."
Dante barely shrugged. "Serena thinks she's untouchable. She'll come if she smells weakness. If she thinks Kael can't lift a finger."
"I'm not leaving him here," Liora snapped.
"You don't have to."
Finally, Dante turned. Eyes like daggers.
"You pull her out. I'll track her path and cut her off. Just keep her yapping 'til I get there."
Liora hesitated—couldn't help it.
"She trained with me, Dante. She doesn't do conversation."
"She will. You know what'll get under her skin."
Liora shut her eyes. Her wolf snarled somewhere deep inside—she could feel Kael's heartbeat, slow and shaky, like a drum with a split in it.
Serena? She'd slaughter Kael without blinking. Probably Liora too, if she got bored.
"Fine," Liora muttered. "Let's go monster hunting."
---
Dusk. Perfect time for a trap, right? The world already halfway to shadows.
Liora dragged Kael's old cloak—a mess of blood and torn fabric—out to the clearing Dante picked. Draped it over a shattered stump. Smeared her own blood on the rocks, left claw marks in the bark so deep her nails ached. The whole scene screamed, "Hey, look, something awful happened here!"
Then she waited.
Alone.
Every part of her wanted to bolt back to the cave, but she gritted her teeth and crouched low, watching the sun bleed out behind the trees.
Snap. A twig. Then another. Here it comes.
The scent hit her first: cold and sharp, like licking a steel blade in winter.
Serena slipped into the clearing, cloak darker than midnight and scribbled with silver runes. Her braid swung over her shoulder—a noose, a threat, take your pick.
"Liora," she purred. "I figured you'd be smarter than this."
"Eh. Didn't feel like running tonight," Liora shot back, stepping out.
Serena's eyebrow shot up. "Ballsy. Considering you're alone."
"Not scared of you."
Serena grinned, all teeth. "You should be."
Blink and you'd miss it—Serena was suddenly in her face, blade whistling through the spot her throat had just vacated. Liora rolled, came up with both daggers out.
"Quicker than before," Serena mused.
"You trained me," Liora growled, "I had a good teacher."
Serena just smirked. "I was the best."
She lunged again, this time nicking Liora's side. It stung, but Liora held her ground.
"Why are you doing this?" Liora spat, blocking a strike. "What'd Kael ever do to you?"
Serena's face twisted, ugly. "He made me believe in him. Then he fell."
"You think he betrayed you? The Council screwed him over!"
Serena's blade darted, slicing a hair from Liora's cheek.
"They made him Alpha. He chose love over war. He doomed us all."
"You loved him," Liora blurted, before she could stop herself.
Serena froze. Just for a heartbeat.
"You wanted to be his mate. But he picked someone else."
The air went glacier-cold. Frost crawled across the dirt at Serena's boots.
"I fought for him. Bled for him. And when it mattered, he picked peace—weakness. He chose death over loyalty."
"You just wanted war," Liora spat.
"I wanted to burn the world clean."
With a shriek, Serena attacked again. Claws, steel, fury—she fought like a blizzard. Liora barely held on.
Where the hell was Dante?
Then—zip!—something silver flashed. Serena staggered, arrow buried in her shoulder.
Dante crashed through the brush, bow ready.
"End of the line," he growled.
Serena hissed, yanked the bolt out like it was nothing.
"This isn't over."
She tossed something—a flash pellet? Light exploded, blinding. By the time the smoke cleared, Serena was gone.
Liora coughed, doubled over.
"She's gone," she gasped.
Dante grimaced. "Yeah, but now she knows we're a pack."
Liora looked up, eyes blazing. "We finish this."
Dante just nodded. No more words needed.
---
Midnight. Kael finally blinked awake.
Liora sat by his side, shoulder bandaged, hair stuck to her face from the rain.
"You're back," he rasped.
She gave him that crooked smile. "You never left, dummy."
Kael sat up, wincing. "Serena?"
"Got away. But not without a scratch."
He studied her, frowning. "You're hurt."
She shrugged. "I'll survive."
Kael tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear, all gentle. "You always lie to protect me."
She smirked. "I'm protecting us, genius."
For a second, the war outside didn't matter.
Didn't last, though.
"We can't keep running," Kael murmured. "They'll keep coming."
Liora's eyes flashed. "Then we hunt them."
Kael's eyebrow shot up. "You mean attack the Council?"
Dante stepped in, voice hard as stone. "No. We expose them."
He rolled out the scroll, right there on the dusty floor—yeah, the one he'd snagged from Serena's satchel back in the chaos.
Elder Council's seal, big and pompous.
Kael hunched over it, eyes scanning every line.
"Execution orders. Not just me—they want every Old Blood gone. Any Alpha line not licking their boots is toast."
"They're erasing the ones who know what really happened," Liora muttered, jaw clenched.
Dante's lips twisted. "And calling it justice. Cute."
Kael's eyes flared, gold like wildfire. "Then we show the packs what's real."
Liora shot him a look. "They own the Archives, the messengers, even the inner sanctum. How do we get around that?"
Dante jabbed at the bottom of the scroll.
"That symbol—see it? That's the Binding Vault. Hidden under Blackridge, down in the old Moon Temple. Every big decision, every dirty secret—it's all stashed down there. Untouched."
Kael sucked in a breath. "If we get inside—"
"We find the real verdict," Liora cut in, "and clear your name."
Dante nodded, grim. "It's basically a suicide mission. Silver wards, ancient monsters, the works. We get one shot."
Liora looked at Kael.
He stared right back.
"We're outta time," he said. "Let's steal the truth."
---
Next morning, nobody said a word.
Blackridge loomed up ahead—old stone, half-rotted towers, pine trees pressing in. Moon Temple hunkered at the center, its silver dome just ghosting through the fog, half-sunk and battered by time.
Dante led the way through ruins, ducking glyphs and ghost signs. Just before the sky went black, they found a priest tunnel—barely enough room to squirm through.
Kael crawled in first, then Liora, Dante right behind. They popped out in a freezing stone chamber under the main temple floor.
"Guardians don't bother coming this far down," Dante whispered. "But the vault's warded tight."
Liora wiped dust off the wall.
There—a moonstone panel, sealed tight.
"Needs a blood key," she murmured.
Kael already had his knife out.
She shook her head. "No. Me."
Quick slice. Blood smeared on stone.
The panel shivered, glowed, then groaned open.
Inside: scrolls everywhere, chained up in pure light.
Kael grabbed the one with his crest.
Chains sizzled but let him take it.
He unrolled it. Read.
"They never even voted. Elders just steamrolled everyone. Forged the charges."
Liora scanned it, mouth tight.
"They were scared you'd get too strong. So they made you a traitor."
Kael's hands shook.
"They killed my brothers. My sister. For this?"
Footsteps, heavy, up above.
Dante hissed. "We're busted."
Kael shoved the scrolls into his bag.
Liora faced him. "Go. Take the tunnel. I'll stall them."
"No," Kael snapped.
She grabbed him, kissed him, fierce and fast. "I'll catch up."
He didn't want to go, but finally nodded.
She jerked her head at Dante. "Get him out."
Dante hesitated, then dragged Kael back into the tunnel.
Liora squared up, eyes on the stairwell.
Silver fire flickered on the steps.
Serena walked out, sword catching the light.
Liora's daggers flashed.
"Let's finish this."
Serena grinned.
"Yeah. For one of us."