Echoes of the Dead

The silver blade didn’t hit me.

At the very last second, Zayne’s hand faltered. Not from mercy but because the Alpha’s aura slammed into the clearing, so heavy it felt like the air itself had turned solid. My breath caught as Zayne stumbled, the dagger slicing the space an inch from my throat.

Alpha Claude, in his massive wolf form, let out a sound I had never heard before ,a roar that was half beast, half anguished father. He lunged. One powerful swipe sent Zayne flying, his body crashing into the dirt.

Silence fell, broken only by harsh breathing.

Claude shifted back. He didn’t look at his sons. He came straight to me, his hands shaking as he checked my neck, my shoulders, his eyes frantic. When he saw I was unharmed, he pulled me into his chest.

I buried my face in his shirt. He smelled like rain-soaked earth and pine. For a moment, I forgot everything else ,the clearing, the blood, the two men who were supposed to be my fated mates standing nearby with hatred in their eyes.

“Go,” Claude said, his voice low and dangerous. “Leave before I forget you are my blood.”

Zayne wiped blood from his mouth and laughed bitterly. “You’ve chosen your side, Father. But remember this,a pack led by a man who protects a traitor’s daughter is already dead.”

Zack said nothing. His glare burned into me, full of betrayal. Then they turned and disappeared into the trees.

The walk back to the pack house felt endless. Claude never released my hand. Wolves lined the halls when we arrived, whispering until they saw us,until they saw the Alpha holding me. The judgment pressed down on my chest.

“Go to your room, Rayna,” Claude said gently upstairs. “Lock the door. I must meet the Elders. Things are moving faster than I expected.”

But I couldn’t sit and wait.

The moment he left, a pull stirred inside me. Lyra paced restlessly.

The basement, she urged. The deep dark. The secrets.

The Archives.

I slipped down the servant stairs and squeezed through a loose vent by the iron door. Dust filled the air. My hands shook as I found the records for the year I was eight.

The Execution of Silas and Elena.

My parents.

Tears blurred my vision as I read. Then my blood froze.

“Evidence: Found in possession of coded maps.”

A tear dropped onto the page. That’s when I saw it,a small handwritten note tucked into the binding, rushed and uneven.

The maps were found in Silas’s coat, but the ink was still wet. How could he have used them?

A question. A doubt.

The signature stole my breath.

C.

Claude had doubted them.

“I knew I’d find you here.”

I spun around. Garen stood behind me, his expression weary. “The Alpha is looking for you. But you found it, didn’t you?”

“He knew,” I whispered. “He knew they might be innocent… and he let them die.”

“The pack was on the brink of civil war,” Garen said softly. “The Elders demanded blood. Claude was young. He believed sacrificing two would save thousands. He’s lived with that choice ever since.”

“My parents weren’t ‘two people,’” I snapped. “They were my world.”

“I know,” Garen said. “But there’s more. The maps were planted by the head of the Elder Council. He wanted Claude to look like a hero. That same Elder is backing the twins’ rebellion now.”

My knees weakened. Everything had been a lie.

“I have to tell Claude.”

“He already knows,” Garen said. “But Rayna… the scent in this room is changing.”

I froze. The dusty air shifted, replaced by something powerful. Lyra howled.

It wasn’t the twins’ cinnamon scent.

It was deeper.

“Rayna!”

Claude stood in the doorway, his gaze falling to the book, then my face.

“You know,” he whispered.

“I know you killed them,” I said. “And I know why.”

He stepped closer. “I cannot undo it. I can only offer you my life in return.”

A golden thread flared between us, connecting my heart to his. The bond snapped into place, strong, undeniable, terrifying.

Before I could speak, a horn blasted through the pack house.

“They’re here,” Claude growled.

We ran to the Great Hall balcony. Below, an army of wolves gathered at the gates. Zayne and Zack stood at the front, smiling coldly.

Behind them was the Alpha of the Ironclaw pack, the same one who had tried to kill me.

“Father!” Zayne shouted. “The trial is over! Hand over the girl and step down, or we burn this pack to the ground with our allies!”

Claude’s grip cracked the stone railing. I scanned the enemy lines—and then my heart stopped.

The Ironclaw Alpha wasn’t looking at Claude.

He was looking at me.

Around his neck hung a silver locket I hadn’t seen in ten years.

My mother’s.

“Claude,” I whispered, trembling as I pointed at the enemy leader. “He doesn’t just have an army. He has the truth about my parents… and he’s smiling because he knows I just found out you were the one who swung the sword.”