5. THE GAME

RAVEN

My former pack—the Red Moon Pack, was preparing for war.

The air was thick with tension, warriors standing in tight clusters, their voices low but urgent. I listened from the shadows, trying to observe the place as much as I could before making a move.

My old pack had no idea who I was now, and that was exactly how I wanted it.

I crept forward, my hood drawn low, concealing the sharpness of my features. Every movement was calculated and precise, I was no longer the weak, rejected mate who had been cast out, bleeding and broken. I was no longer the girl who had begged this miserable pack for her life while her mate stood and watched.

No. That Raven was dead. This one had been reborn in blood, with vengeance stitched into her very bones.

The gathering was centered around Kieran, their Alpha.

He stood at the head of the crowd, his towering frame rigid with authority, golden eyes scanning the warriors before him. The flickering torches cast shadows along his sharp jaw, making him look even more untouchable. He had really changed since the last time I’d seen him.

Harder. Colder.

But something beneath the surface… something haunted. He used to look more at peace when I was around him, too bad he would not be knowing the feeling ever again.

For a second, I hated that I noticed all these things about him. Then I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to look away. It didn’t matter. Nothing about him mattered anymore.

I hadn’t come back for nostalgia. I had come back to watch his world burn.

This gathering was my first opportunity. To announce to them that I belonged here, to fit in before I could start to strike.

But just as I moved to finally blend properly in the crowd, his head snapped up.

His golden gaze locked onto mine.

The air shifted, thickening like a storm about to break. The noise around me faded, the crowd blurring into nothing.

Kieran took a step forward, his head tilting slightly, eyes narrowing as if he felt me. Not saw me, but felt me.

My cloak was still draped over me but I felt naked from his gaze. So I looked away, focusing on something else.

EARLIER THAT NIGHT

"You sure you really want to go there tomorrow? Why so soon all of a sudden?" Alpha Lucien questioned, raising a brow.

I shrugged, throwing him a blow but he dodged it, trying to catch my fist but he missed as well. The night was almost gone, and we were still out here fighting and training like our lives depended on it.

Well, my life did.

"I told you I met him a few weeks ago. I fought with him. He's strong, but I'm almost a match for him. If I am already that strong, then there is no need to keep wasting time. I need to get this revenge out of the way as soon as possible, you know?" I said and he nodded, then in a flash, his hand darted out and grabbed my waist, spinning he so my back was to him and his knife pressed against my throat.

My scream was muffled in my throat and Lucien just held me there for a while without saying anything before whispering against my ear, "Do you really think you are ready, Vee? I would hate to hear you were killed in his camp. I would tear him from limb to fucking limb."

I swallowed. The thing was… Lucien was confusing. Sometimes I was sure he liked me, and other times, I was sure he simply saw me as a kid sis of some sort.

"Okay, okay, you made your point. For tomorrow, I'll just go with the first plan. Shake things up a bit. If they offer me shelter like was planned, I would have to leave you." I turned to him, and he nodded.

"I know. Just remember the plan at all times. The mate bond with him is gone. You might still have some feelings for—"

"I have no feelings for him."

He nodded, looking like he was not still convinced, but went on anyways,

"Good. The plan is to take him down. No distractions whatsoever. Kieran must pay in blood for the wrongs he committed towards us both. Whenever you need help, I mean whatsoever thing you think you cannot handle, do not hesitate to call me."

I laughed, just to cover up how nervous he was getting me.

"I will. You baby me too much."

His lips curled. “I mean it, Raven. You’re walking a fine line. If Kieran senses who you are, you’ll lose your advantage.”

I looked away. “He wouldn’t know me.”

Lucien took a step closer. “What if he feels you? What if the mate bond isn’t completely gone?”

I stilled. “It is.”

Lucien sighed, dragging a hand through his dark hair. “You don’t have to do this alone, you know. You shouldn’t do this alone. I could send my-—”

“I am alone.” He frowned, but I said nothing else.

Lucien hesitated, then exhaled. “Get close to them. Get inside. Find proof. Make them doubt each other. Break them from the inside, piece by piece.”

His gaze turned sharp. “And whatever you do—don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”

My fingers curled into fists. He did not need to tell me twice.

PRESENT

Kieran started marching towards me before I knew it, his expression set in a deep frown. I stood my ground… waiting.

Until the lady from the other day double-crossed him and planted a kiss to his lips. He stopped abruptly and gripped her waist. She slid up beside him, her delicate fingers trailing over his arm, her smirk smug and knowing. She leaned in close, whispering something into his ear before swaying her hips out of there.

His eyes followed her for a while and then he was storming towards me again. Without warning, he snatched the cloak off my face, laying me bare for him. Our eyes clashed and it took just one second for him to recognize me.

His eyes flashed with warning as he stalked closer to me. “Do you not understand boundaries?”

I met his gaze, unflinching. “I had to come back.”

He scoffed, looking me up and down as if assessing whether I had finally lost my mind. “For what? A death wish?”

I tilted my head slightly, “No. I got word that my mother is here.”

A stunned silence fell over the crowd gathering around us. I felt the ripple of confusion, of disbelief.

Kieran’s expression twisted. “Your mother? What the hell would your mother be doing in my territory?” His voice dripped with annoyance.

“You can ask her… she's behind you."

And then, from the shadows, a figure stepped forward.

The gasps that followed were deafening. Warriors stiffened. Elders looked horrified. Even Kieran’s face paled for a brief moment before he masked it with cold indifference.

Because standing before them was the head warrior—female, who had lost her child eight years ago in an attack by the rogues. She had tears rolling down her cheeks as she regarded me. And then she knelt before Kieran.

"You lost your child years ago. How can she be yours?" Kieran asked, his doubtful eyes transfixed on mine.

I smirked lightly.

The game just begun.