Chapter 20: Shadows Before Dawn

The next morning came gray and silent. The sun rose behind a thick layer of clouds, casting the forest in pale light. The camp was uneasy. Everyone knew the rogues were regrouping. They could feel it in the wind.

Lena stood on the ridge overlooking the valley. The air smelled of pine and iron. She held her father’s letter in her hand. She had read it a hundred times through the night. Every word burned deeper into her heart.

Behind her, Damian approached quietly. His footsteps barely touched the ground.

“You did not sleep,” he said.

She shook her head. “Could you?”

He gave a small smile. “Not after what we found.”

Lena looked at him. The morning light touched his face, showing the faint scar near his temple, the shadows under his eyes. For the first time, he looked more human than Alpha.

“I want to show Kieran the truth,” she said. “If he sees this letter, maybe he will stop.”

Damian nodded slowly. “He will not listen easily. But we can try.”

She turned toward him. “Try how?”

“We send a message,” Damian said. “A meeting. Neutral ground.”

Lena frowned. “He will not come alone.”

“I know,” Damian said. “And neither will we.”

They both stood in silence for a while. The wind moved through the trees like a whisper.

Finally, Damian said softly, “You are stronger than you know, Lena.”

She smiled faintly. “I learned from the best.”

He looked at her then, really looked, and something unspoken passed between them. But neither of them moved.

---

By noon, the camp was a storm of movement. Warriors packed weapons and supplies. Scouts moved in and out with updates from the borders. The rogues had been spotted near the eastern ridge.

Elliot found Lena near the armory. “You are really going through with this?”

“Yes,” she said. “Kieran deserves to hear the truth.”

“And if he does not believe it?”

“Then we end it,” she said quietly.

Elliot looked at her for a moment. “You sound like Damian.”

She smiled faintly. “Maybe that is not a bad thing.”

He shook his head. “Just be careful. Blood ties make fools of us all.”

Lena fastened the last strap of her armor. “I know.”

---

That night, they left the camp under the cover of darkness. Damian led the group. Lena, Jace, and a few trusted warriors followed close behind. The forest was silent except for the soft crunch of leaves under their boots.

When they reached the clearing near the river, they stopped. This was where the first battle had started months ago. Now it would be where everything ended.

Damian gave orders quietly. “Hold the perimeter. No one moves unless I say.”

The warriors nodded and spread out.

Lena stood beside him, the letter tucked safely inside her jacket. The moon was full above them, bathing the clearing in silver light.

“Do you think he will come?” she asked.

“He will,” Damian said. “He wants you.”

Lena’s heart tightened. “He used to want to protect me.”

“People change,” Damian said softly. “Pain makes them something else.”

Before she could reply, a voice echoed from the trees.

“Funny hearing that from you, Alpha.”

Lena turned sharply. Kieran stepped out of the shadows, flanked by half a dozen rogues. His eyes were cold and sharp, his mouth curved in a mocking smile.

“I knew you would come,” he said. “You always follow orders well, sister.”

Lena took a step forward. “Kieran, please. I am not here to fight.”

“Then why bring him?” Kieran asked, pointing at Damian. “The man who murdered our father?”

Damian did not flinch. “Your father died trying to stop a war.”

Kieran laughed bitterly. “You expect me to believe that?”

Lena reached into her jacket and held up the letter. “Then believe him. His words, not mine.”

Kieran’s eyes narrowed. “What is that?”

“The truth,” she said. “Read it.”

He hesitated. The rogues shifted behind him, uneasy.

Lena took a few careful steps closer and placed the letter on a rock between them. “Please,” she said softly. “Just read it.”

Kieran stared at her for a long time. Then he picked up the letter and opened it.

The silence that followed was heavy. His eyes moved across the page slowly. The mocking smile faded from his face.

When he looked up again, his voice was low. “He wrote this?”

“Yes,” Lena said. “He trusted the wrong people. But he never betrayed us.”

Kieran’s hand trembled slightly. “I wanted to believe he was a hero,” he whispered. “All this time, I thought you had joined the man who killed him.”

“I thought the same about you,” she said softly.

Kieran looked between them, torn. The anger in his eyes flickered. For a moment, Lena saw her brother again, the one who used to protect her from storms and nightmares.

Then one of the rogues stepped forward. “She lies,” the man growled. “The Alpha made her say it.”

Kieran’s eyes hardened again. “Enough.”

The rogue sneered. “You are going soft.”

Before anyone could move, the rogue lunged toward Lena.

Damian reacted instantly, pulling her behind him as his claws tore through the air. The rogue fell before he even hit the ground.

The clearing erupted in chaos. The rogues attacked, snarling and wild.

Lena drew her blade, fighting back against two at once. The air filled with the sound of steel and howls.

Kieran shouted orders, but the rogues were beyond control. The truth had fractured them. Some fought to kill. Others hesitated, unsure which side they were on.

Damian fought near Lena, his movements sharp and precise. Even wounded, he was unstoppable.

“Stay close!” he shouted.

“I am fine!” she called back, parrying a strike.

A rogue lunged at her from behind, but Jace caught him before the blade could fall. “You owe me one!” he shouted.

“Add it to the list!” she replied, spinning to strike another attacker.

Within minutes, the clearing was a storm of blood and fire. Then, as suddenly as it began, the fighting slowed. Only a few rogues remained standing, breathing hard and looking lost.

Kieran stood among them, the letter still clutched in his hand. His eyes were wild with confusion and pain.

Damian stepped forward, his voice steady. “It is over, Kieran. Do not let them use you again.”

Kieran’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “You think this ends with me?”

“It can,” Damian said. “If you choose it.”

Lena took a step toward her brother. “Please, Kieran. Come back with us. End this war.”

He looked at her, torn. For a moment, she thought he might agree. Then a sharp whistle cut through the night.

A new wave of rogues burst through the trees, led by a tall man with cruel eyes and a scar across his face.

“Enough talking,” the man growled. “Finish it.”

Damian’s expression darkened. “The real leader.”

The man smiled. “I was wondering when the great Alpha would show himself.”

Kieran froze, realizing the truth. “You lied to me,” he said to the man. “You said my father—”

“Your father was a fool,” the man said coldly. “And so are you.”

Rage flashed in Kieran’s eyes. “Not anymore.”

He turned on the man with a roar, his claws glowing in the moonlight. The fight that followed was brutal.

Damian joined him without hesitation. Side by side, the two men fought the rogue leader, their movements fierce and desperate.

Lena watched, heart pounding, as old enemies fought together for the first time.

When it was over, the clearing was silent again. The rogue leader lay dead, the rest fleeing into the forest.

Kieran fell to his knees, breathing hard. Blood streaked his arm.

Lena rushed to him. “You are hurt.”

He shook his head weakly. “Not as bad as him,” he said, nodding toward Damian.

Damian was kneeling nearby, a deep wound across his chest. He smiled faintly. “I have had worse.”

Lena knelt beside him, pressing her hands to the wound. “You promised you would not die on me.”

“I said I would try,” he whispered.

Kieran moved closer, his voice low. “I was wrong about you.”

Damian looked up at him. “We both were.”

Kieran nodded slowly. “If you live, protect her.”

Lena frowned. “Do not say that.”

He smiled weakly. “Looks like the moon finally chose sides.”

Before she could answer, he slumped forward. The fight and his wounds had drained him completely.

Lena caught him, tears running down her face. “No, stay with me.”

Damian reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. “He will live. We both will.”

She looked at him, her face streaked with blood and moonlight. “You are sure?”

“Yes,” he said softly. “The war ends tonight.”

The first light of dawn touched the sky. The air smelled of rain and earth.

Lena looked down at her brother, then at Damian. For the first time, she felt peace. The truth had broken them, but it had also set them free.

She reached for Damian’s hand and held it tightly. “Then we begin again,” she whispered.

He squeezed her hand back. “Together.”

And as the sun rose over the clearing, the last shadows of war faded, leaving only the promise of what was to come.