Chapter 2

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Because Russ was right.

Whispers spread through the crowd like rising tidewater.

"She's a wild wolf that could never be tamed..."

"She actually attacked her own sister."

"What did she leak to the enemy?"

Questions slammed into me one after another.

I shook my head. "I didn't leak anything. After I came back, I didn't contact anyone. I stayed in my stone cabin most of the time."

Russ immediately seized on my words. "No one paid attention to you, so you grew resentful of the pack's neglect and decided to take revenge?"

"That's not true!"

"Then what is?" My father finally spoke again.

He stepped forward. His voice sounded rough, and I saw red veins lining his eyes.

"Tell the truth. Who did you meet? What did you give them?"

"No one!" I stared straight at him. "Mom died for the pack. I would never—"

"She died because of you!"

His face hardened.

"If you had listened back then, you wouldn't have ended up lost outside the pack. I wouldn't have needed to adopt another pup to replace you. So in the end, you grew resentful. Is that it?"

Replace me.

So that was how he saw it.

"You really think I'd betray you?" My voice trembled despite myself.

My father's Alpha pressure pressed down harder. "Lyla, this is your last chance. Tell the truth."

"I am telling the truth!"

He stayed silent for a long time.

"I don't believe you."

Something inside my chest shattered at those quiet words.

"Alpha." Russ stepped forward. "This concerns the survival of the pack. I formally request we begin the Moonfire Trial."

The moment those words were spoken, the pack erupted.

Everyone knew what that meant.

The Moonfire Trial was a forbidden ritual.

The accused wolf's spirit would be burned, its memories ripped out and forced into the open.

Once the fire started, it wouldn't stop until death.

"That's a death sentence," a young wolf blurted out. "Even if she betrayed us, shouldn't we question her first—"

"What if she's stalling for time?" someone else shouted.

The pup's mother quickly covered his mouth, urging him to stay quiet.

"Start the trial!"

"Begin the trial!"

The crowd's anger surged higher and higher.

My father looked at their faces, then back at me.

"Dad." My voice shook. "I'll die."

"If you're innocent, the trial will prove it."

His voice sounded strained, as if he was forcing the words out.

"But if you really joined the enemy... Your mother wouldn't want to see you like this."

"I didn't!" I finally broke. "Why won't you believe me?!

"Is it because I'm not as beautiful or strong as Lucia? Because you think my return ruined your perfect family?"

He didn't answer.

He turned to the warriors instead. "Bring the chains. The trial begins at dawn."

Two warriors dragged forward silver chains.

"No..."

The moment the shackles snapped around my wrists, the silver burned into my skin. Pain exploded through me, tearing a scream from my throat.

They dragged me away from the cliff, through the crowd.

Pack members spat and threw stones at me.

The dungeon gate slammed shut behind me, and darkness swallowed everything.

What would they see tomorrow?

Would they see the moment 15 years ago when the enemy tore me from my mother's arms?

Would they see the nights I nearly froze to death in the snow?

Would they see the three years I spent wandering just to find my way home?

I pulled my knees tight to my chest and buried my face in my arms.

When the sun rose tomorrow, when the flames were lit, everything would end.

I hoped my father would see clearly.

He had to.