The Alpha’s Shadow

The forest was quiet. Too quiet.

Every step I took echoed like a drumbeat in my chest, reminding me I shouldn’t be here. I should have been buried in the dirt with the rest of my pack. I should have been just another nameless body in the ashes Cain left behind.

But I wasn’t.

The scar on my ribs throbbed with each breath, the mark of death and resurrection. And beneath it, deeper, a pull I couldn’t escape. A tether pulling me toward the man I hated most.

Cain.

His name alone was poison on my tongue.

I clenched my teeth, forcing my body forward through the trees. My wolf whimpered inside me, still weak, but restless. She wanted to run, to hide, to escape the bond that tugged us closer to him.

But I wanted revenge more than I wanted freedom.

The Bloodveil Pack. His pack. The very heart of his empire. That was where I needed to go.

I had no plan, no allies, no weapons. Just rage. Just hate. Just the scar of his blade and the bond I refused to acknowledge.

But rage is enough to keep you alive.

I stumbled onto a stream, the moonlight rippling across its surface. My reflection stared back at me, pale and hollow-eyed. My once bright hair was tangled and matted with blood. My clothes were torn, my skin streaked with dirt.

I looked like a ghost.

Maybe that was good.

If Cain believed me dead, then I would use that to my advantage. I would wear this new life like a mask and slip into his world.

My hand dipped into the cold water, washing away the dried blood. I braided my hair with trembling fingers, tying it back with a strip of cloth torn from my shirt. I bound my chest with another scrap, hiding the scar, hiding who I was.

Lyra, the omega of the Moonfang Pack, was gone.

In her place stood someone else. Someone who would not hesitate to lie, to deceive, to kill.

Someone who would destroy Alpha Cain.

The journey took days.

I stayed to the shadows, avoiding patrols, surviving on berries and stolen scraps of food. Every howl in the distance made my heart race. Every scent on the wind kept me on edge. Bloodveil wolves were everywhere. Their territory stretched farther than I’d ever known, thick with guards and loyal subjects.

It made me sick.

How many packs had he crushed to build this empire? How many lives had he stolen?

And yet, despite everything, part of me couldn’t stop thinking about that smile. The one I’d seen as I bled out. Cold. Beautiful. Merciless.

I hated myself for remembering it.

The bond whispered at the back of my mind, tugging me forward whenever I faltered. It wanted me closer to him. It wanted me to run into his arms like a fool.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, forcing the thoughts away.

“I’m not yours,” I whispered to the darkness. “I’ll never be yours.”

But my wolf stayed silent.

On the fourth night, I reached the edge of Bloodveil territory.

The forest gave way to rolling hills, dotted with torches and patrols. Wolves in black and silver armor moved in pairs, their sharp eyes scanning the shadows. Beyond them, in the distance, rose the walls of Cain’s stronghold.

My breath caught in my throat.

It was massive. Stone walls climbed into the night sky, carved with ancient runes that glowed faintly under the moonlight. Towers loomed above, their windows shining with firelight. The scent of blood, iron, and dominance clung to the air.

This was his world. His kingdom.

And I was about to walk straight into it.

My wolf growled softly, uneasy. This is madness, she whispered in my mind. He will kill us again.

“Not if I kill him first,” I whispered back.

I crouched low, watching the patrols. I needed a way inside. Charging through the gates was suicide. Climbing the walls in plain sight would be just as foolish.

But then I noticed something.

A small group of rogues, thin, desperate wolves with hollow eyes, were being dragged toward the gates in chains. Prisoners.

The guards laughed at them, jeering, shoving them forward with spears. I recognized the look in their eyes. Fear. Hunger. Hopelessness.

And opportunity.

If I could slip among them, I could get inside the walls.

I pulled the torn hood of my cloak over my head, smeared dirt across my face, and stepped out of the shadows. My heart thundered as I stumbled toward the group, keeping my head low.

“Wait, another one?” one of the guards muttered as I joined the line of prisoners.

“She looks half-dead already,” another sneered. “The Alpha won’t care if we throw her in with the rest.”

They shoved me forward, chains clinking as they locked my wrists. The iron burned against my skin, making my wolf snarl, but I bit down on the pain.

Good. Let them think I was weak. Let them believe I was nothing.

Because the last time Cain saw me, I was weak. I was on my knees, bleeding out at his feet.

But this time, things would be different.

This time, I would be the one smiling when he fell.

The gates creaked open, and the prisoners were dragged inside.

The moment I stepped through, the air changed. It was heavy, suffocating, thick with power. The bond inside me pulsed violently, my chest tightening as if someone’s hand gripped my heart.

He was here.

Cain.

Somewhere inside these walls.

My knees buckled under the weight of it, and I nearly collapsed. The guards laughed, shoving me forward.

I bit down on the scream clawing its way up my throat. My wolf whimpered, torn between terror and longing.

But I forced myself to stand tall, even in chains.

Because this was the first step.

I was inside his world now.

And sooner or later, I would find him.

And when I did, I would make sure Alpha Cain died with my smile burned into his memory.