CHAPTER 3

How could Lucy be responsible?

How could she be the one who orchestrated the rogue attack on the Grey Moon pack?

My pack. My family.

She destroyed everything I ever cared about.

The memory came without warning.

I saw my little brother, clutching a wooden sword, too small to fight but brave enough to try. My mother’s scream had pierced the air, a sound I could never forget. And my father, my father had turned to fight a wave of rogues, not knowing it would be his last stand.

Smoke. Blood. Screams echoing through the trees.

I’d been thrown into battle too fast, too young, and I couldn’t save them.

That was the night everything ended.

And now Lucy walks free, as if that night didn’t burn a hole through my life.

My father, my mother, my brother all died because of her.

And now, she has taken my mate.

She must pay.

With blood.

There was no question in my mind. She had to be stopped.

I couldn’t sit still and watch her walk away free while my family lay broken.

I needed to find out the whole truth.

So, I sought out an old warrior, one of the few who knew Lucy before everything fell apart.

A man respected by everyone, with no reason to lie.

He met me in secret, eyes heavy with things unsaid.

Slowly, he began to talk.

“The attack… It was planned. Not a mistake,” he whispered.

“Lucy was behind it.”

He warned me to keep his name secret.

But he trusted me enough to tell me what he knew.

I had to tell Ezekiel.

He deserved to know who Lucy really was.

I found him alone in his room.

“Ezekiel, we need to talk,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

He barely looked at me. “About what?”

“About Lucy.”

His eyes flashed with irritation. “Not this again.”

“Why won’t you listen? She’s the reason my family is dead. She planned the attack that killed them.”

He laughed, harsh and cold. “You’re jealous. Always jealous.”

“No,” I said, voice low but fierce. “I have proof.”

He shook his head. “You’re crazy. Lucy wouldn’t hurt anyone, especially not you.”

“Don’t lie to yourself,” I snapped. “If you accuse her again, I won’t hold back.”

Suddenly, footsteps in the hallway.

Lucy had heard everything.

She didn’t say a word. She just turned and ran.

I left before Ezekiel could say anything else.

I knew he would tell her. And she would deny it all.

She was a master of lies.

But I didn’t care anymore.

Later that night, hidden behind the council room, I saw Ezekiel talking to her.

Lucy.

Her voice was low, almost soothing. “You believe her? After everything we’ve been through?”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Ezekiel muttered. “She’s convinced you planned the attack.”

Lucy placed her hand on his. “You know I would never hurt anyone.”

He looked down, torn.

I watched from the shadows. Rage simmered in my chest, but I forced myself to stay still.

“I’ve lost too much already,” Ezekiel whispered. “If she’s right…”

“I would die before betraying you,” Lucy said, eyes shining with false pain.

Liar I said to myself…

I went back to my room to plan my next move.

That night, I was attacked.

That night, sleep didn’t come easily. But when it did, it came with shadows.

I found myself back in the forest, the ruins of Grey Moon burning around me. Smoke curled into the sky, but it wasn’t fire I feared it was the whispers.

They called my name.

Rachael… Rachael…

A wolf stood before me, silver and glowing, with eyes just like Kael’s. But when I stepped forward, it bled from the mouth and collapsed.

Behind it, a woman in black robes stared at me with hollow eyes. Her voice slithered like poison.

“She wears innocence like a mask… But blood remembers.”

I jerked awake, heart pounding. Sweat soaked my shirt.

It was just a dream but it felt like a warning.

Dark shadows moved silently through the trees.

I could feel the coldness, something darker than just rogue wolves.

The thorn coven.

An ancient enemy, whispered about in old stories.

Was someone in my pack working with them?

The thought chilled me.

I wasn’t going to wait. I had to act.

Before dawn, I left the pack and traveled to the ruins of the Grey Moon pack.

It was worse than I remembered.

The silence was thick, almost like the land itself was mourning.

But the graves of my parents looked like they cared for fresh soil, neat flowers.

Someone had been there.

I called out, my voice barely more than a whisper.

No answer.

Then I saw a small figure move nearby.

A child. Alone.

I knelt beside him and offered a smile.

Suddenly, a rough voice called out my name.

“Heden?” I recognised the voice.

My father’s beta stepped out from the shadows tired and worn but alive.

“Heden, is that you?” I said, relief flooding me.

He nodded. “Yes. I’ve been keeping the graves clean. Most of the pack scattered. Only a few of us remain.”

I told him everything I’d learned about the attack and Lucy’s betrayal.

“We need to take action,” I said. “We have to find out the truth and stop this before it’s too late.”

We prepared to move out for a routine mission we normally had while I was in my father's pack.

We found a rogue injured on the way

 Heden and I quickly bound his hands.

Racheal POV

He cursed and warned us in broken words until one phrase cut through the chaos.

“The Silver Wolf fights for us now.”

I froze.

The Silver Wolf was my brother Kael’s name.

My brother i didn't know what transpired that night with him, I didn't see his dead body nor was he alive. And that's a name only their family and the elders used.

I didn’t want to believe it. It could be another wolf. A coincidence not Kael

But then, tucked inside the messenger’s pouch, I f

ound a small chain, old and battered. The symbol carved into its pendant was one her father had made for each of his children. A sign of loyalty. Of home.

What did this mean?