Chapter 4.

I sat stiffly on the edge of the bed with my hands clenched in my lap. My mind was a storm of conflicting emotions. The mate bond between Kieran and Raven should have died with her. And yet, I could feel it, it was an undeniable pull tightening around me like an invisible thread.  

Kieran didn’t trust me. That much was obvious. Since my return, he had been cold and watchful, his sharp eyes never strayed far from where I was, because he didn't believe that I was Raven.  

But whenever we were close, there was a change in the atmosphere around us, filled with a feeling we both couldn't explain, It just didn't make any sense.  

If Raven had truly died, if I had somehow taken her place, then, why did I feel like I was connected to him?

I pressed my fingers against my temples, trying to push away the growing headache. Lately, something even stranger had begun to happen. I was getting flashes, Memories that weren’t mine.  

I had been sitting at dinner with Kieran and the pack council when the first one struck—a brief, disorienting vision of Raven standing on a snowy cliffside while the wind whipped through her dark hair, and her green eyes filled with quiet despair.   

Another had come when I touched the doorframe of my chambers—a sensation of fear coursed through me and I felt my hands trembling as they turned the lock, with desperate voices whispering—repeating the words: "he can’t know, he mustn't know." In my ears. 

I didn’t understand it. Was I losing myself to her spirit? Was she trying to force her way back into the body that should have been hers?  

Or was it something worse? Would I even know when it happened?  

The thought sent a shudder through me, but I forced myself to push it aside. I needed answers, and I wasn’t going to find them sitting here, drowning in my own thoughts.  

I rose from the bed and moved toward the heavy oak dresser. If Raven had secrets, if she had been planning something before her death, there had to be something left behind. A letter or even a hidden note that would give me hints— just about anything at all. 

I let my hands slide across the drawers, feeling for anything unusual. The third one stuck slightly when I tried to pull it open. My face contorted into a frown as I yanked harder, and with a groan of wood against metal, it finally gave way.  

At first, it looked empty. But as I ran my fingers along the bottom, I felt the slightest shift in the wood—A false panel.  

I pried at the edges until it popped loose, revealing a thin, leather-bound journal tucked inside. My breath hitched.  

It looked like  journal—Raven's journal!

I steadied my breathing as I reached for the journal. 

I sat back on my heels with my heart hammering in my chest as I flipped it open, flicking through the pages.

 The ink was smudged in places, and the handwriting was a graceful scrawl, but I managed to read through it. I skimmed through the pages, scanning each word that sent a fresh wave of unease through me.  

She had been afraid. Not just uneasy, not just uncertain, she was truly afraid. 

"I can’t stay here much longer."

"He’s starting to suspect."

"The bond is wrong. It’s not supposed to feel like this." I let out all at once. 

My fingers trembled as I turned another page.  

"I have to leave before it’s too late." I mouthed again. 

A cold chill settled in my bones as I took in the revelation. Raven had been planning to run away!

But why? And who had she been trying to run away from? Was it from Keiran or the pack? Or from something else entirely?  I couldn't te

Before I could read further to find out what it was,  a sound cut through the silence.  

It was just a soft creak, but my instincts screamed a warning. By the time I would put down the book, it was already too late.  

The moment I turned, a figure lunged from the shadows.  

I barely had time to react before a knife slashed through the air, aiming straight for my throat.  

I threw myself backward as the blade grazed my skin and caused a sharp pain to bloom along my collarbone. I hit the ground hard and the journal slipped from my hands as my attacker moved fast, too fast for me to react. 

I managed to turn around to see who the attacker was. Much to my surprise, it was werewolves, all blaring their fangs at me. 

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed as I scrambled back, but they were already on me. A hood concealed their face, but their eyes which were golden and glowing burned with pure intent.

It didn't seem like they were here to scare me at all, They were here to kill me!!

I twisted at the last second as the knife came down again, the blade burying into the wooden floor where my chest had been seconds before. My heart pounded as I kicked out, landing a solid hit against their ribs.  

They barely staggered at the impact of the hit. 

"Shit." I cursed under my breath. 

I reached for anything—anything I could use as a weapon, but before I could reach out to grab something, a deafening snarl shook the walls.  

Then suddenly the door burst open and Kieran was standing right before us. 

The moment my attackers saw him, they abandoned all the pretense of finishing the job and bolted through the door, scampering past him. 

But they weren’t fast enough.  

Kieran moved like a storm with his body shifting mid-air. I could hear the sound of bones cracking and  muscles tearing apart. And within seconds, a massive black wolf stood where he had been, his fur bristling, and his fangs bared.

His powerful body collided with the assassin’s, and they all crashed through the wooden railing, hitting the stone floor below.

A moment of stillness ensued and then—a scuffle, a grunt, and the sound of someone escaping through the window. 

Another round of silence fell upon the room. 

My breath came in short, shallow gasps as I stared at the wreckage around me. The shattered railing, the deep claw marks that had now been embedded in the floor.  

And Kieran, who was now human again, standing at the edge of the balcony with his chest heaving.  

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.  

Then he turned and locked his eyes onto me. His eyes were extremely dark—a darker shade than any I've ever seen before. 

He stalked forward, closing the distance between us in just two strides. His hands gripped my arms, pulling me upright, forcing me to face him.

“Who?” His voice was low, dangerous. “Who the hell just tried to kill you?”  

I swallowed hard. “I—I don’t know. They were fast. They had a knife with them and they almost took me out with it—”  

His hands tightened slightly. “You were attacked. In your own chambers. That means someone in my pack, someone close wants you dead.”  

The words sent a fresh wave of dread through me.  

Someone had already known, Someone must have known that I wasn’t really Raven, and they wanted to silence me before I uncovered the truth.  

Kieran’s gaze searched mine, his fingers still wrapped around my arms. His touch burned my skin but not with pain, instead, it burned with something raw, something I shouldn’t have been able to feel, But I did.  

He could feel my body trembling against his as he wrapped his large hands around me and pulled me into his warm embrace. 

"It's alright, you're safe now, I will not let them get to you." He said in a low tone and I felt his voice resonate in my stomach as he kissed me lightly on the forehead, which caused my stomach to ripple. How could I be in such an intimate position with my murderer?

I wanted to yank myself away from his hold but I couldn't. I had to remain still in order not to give myself away.