K A I D ALilith steps into the clearing like she owns it, her green eyes gleaming with something close to amusement. The moonlight catches on her platinum curls, her beauty sharp and lethal, like a blade meant to cut. She tilts her head slightly as she surveys the sceneâOctavius, still poised to rip Victor apart; me, standing frozen, pulse pounding in my ears; the others, already tense, already realizing what I just did.We walked right into this.And now, the noose is tightening.Lilith exhales, shaking her head as if this is all very disappointing. "So dramatic," she muses, her voice smooth like silk. "You always let your emotions get the better of you, Octavius."Octavius doesnât respond. His chest rises and falls with deep, steady breaths, his fists still clenched, blood dripping from his knucklesâVictorâs blood. But he doesnât turn away from him. Instead Victor shoves Octavius off him and rushes over to Lilith's side.Victor, still grinning through the pain, straightens slightly,
K A I D A The battlefield is a storm of movementâgrowls, snarls, the sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking. Wolves clash in the ruins, bodies slamming into stone, claws raking through fur and flesh. The scent of blood thickens in the air, mixing with sweat and dust. The night is alive with the chaos of war. I donât think. I move. A massive wolf lunges for me, jaws snapping toward my throat. I duck at the last second, twisting beneath him before slamming my claws into his ribs. A wet, sickening crack fills the air as I rip through muscle and bone. He howls in agony, but I donât stop. I grab his muzzle and twist. His neck snaps in an instant, and his body crumples. One down. Another comes from behindâfast, but not fast enough. I pivot, raising my arm just in time to catch his claws across my forearm instead of my throat. Pain flares hot and sharp, but I donât slow. I snarl, baring my fangs before lunging forward and sinking my teeth into his shoulder. The taste of blood fl
K A I D A He stands at the edge of the ruins, watching the carnage unfold with an air of amusement, as if the battle means nothing to him. His cold blue eyes lock onto her, the same piercing shade as Octaviusâ, but devoid of warmth. He steps forward with slow, deliberate ease, brushing the dust from his dark coat as if he has all the time in the world. Kaida stiffens, claws digging into the earth, heart pounding. Sheâs been waiting for this moment. For years, sheâs dreamed of ripping him apart, of ending him the way he ended her people. Lucien exhales a quiet chuckle. âYouâve grown since the last time I saw youâĶâ His voice is smooth, almost casual, as if theyâre old acquaintances meeting after years apart. Kaida bares her fangs, stepping forward with lethal intent. âIâm going to kill you.â His smirk widens. âYou can try, little oneâĶ This should be fun.â She lunges. Lucien is fastâtoo fast. Before her claws can even graze him, he twists to the side, dodging effortlessly.
The air hums with raw energy.Kaida stands in the ruins, glowing silver, her power pulsing like wildfire through the battlefield. Every wolf, every fighter, every enemy watches her with wide, stunned eyes.Including Lucien.For the first time, he looks intrigued.Not afraid. Not angry. JustâĶ interested.His icy blue eyes gleam as he studies her, as if calculating something. He tilts his head slightly, the faintest smirk playing at his lips. âWellâĶ isnât this unexpected?âKaida clenches her fists, her breath steady, her body still vibrating with pure, unchecked power. âCome find out just how unexpected it is.âLucien lets out a quiet chuckle. âTempting.âThen, without warningââLilith.âThe name is barely spoken, a command wrapped in amusement.Kaida barely has time to react before a blur of green comes at her from the side, fast and lethal.Lilith.The force of the impact sends them both crashing into the rubble, the ground splitting beneath them. Snarls and claws rip through the air
K A I D A I donât stop running. My breath is sharp, my pulse erratic, my mind locked onto a single thought: Sheâs here. The scent is pulling me forward, leading me deeper into the ruins, past the crumbling stone and the echoes of battle still raging behind me. I know Octavius and the others are fighting, I know we havenât won yetâbut none of that matters right now. Because I can feel it. My sister. Somewhere in this hell, Korra is alive. A snarl rips through the air. Two wolves leap at me from the shadows, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust. I react on instinct. The first one lunges for my throat, but Iâm faster. I drop low, twisting under him before grabbing his hind leg mid-air and swinging him into the ruins. His body crashes through the stone, debris collapsing over him. The second wolf is already coming for me. Teeth bared. Claws slashing. I meet him head-on, our bodies colliding in a brutal clash of muscle and rage. Heâs strong. But Iâm stronger. He slashes at my
K A I D A Kaida walks slowly, her arm wrapped firmly around Korraâs waist, supporting her sisterâs weakened frame. So she seems physically strong, Kaida can pick up the faint scent of Wolfsbane off her, it was all over the cell as well and Kaida is certain Lucien had flooded the air with it to keep her abilities suppressed."Are you okay...?" Kaida asks worriedly, being sure to keep her sister steady and maintain her balance."I'm okay... I just need fresh air..." She answers, her voice hoarse as she lets out slow breaths.Korra is strong... stronger than her. Kaida has always known that, but right now, her body trembles with every step, her muscles struggling to carry her after years in captivity. Her once-powerful stance is reduced to unsteady footing, her breathing laboured.Still, she is here. She is alive.Thatâs all that matters.Kaida tightens her grip, feeling Korra lean into her slightly as they make their way toward the others. Her sister is unbroken, but she is not unscath
K A I D AKorraâs growl is cold and deadly, silencing the entire forest and everything in it. Everyone is on edgeâĶ Jace, Valerie, the othersâĶ but no one moves. No one dares to.Because we all feel it.The rage rolling off of her, thick and dangerous, her silver eyes glowing with barely restrained fury.She looks ready to kill him. Fear floods its way into my body. I knew my sister had always been dangerous. What more after all these years in captivity, what more that she is now a Lycan. Who knows the horrors she has been subjected to? Who knows what sheâs seen? I no longer know what she is capable of doing, and so no matter what happens, I need to try and keep her calm.âKorra,â I say, carefully, taking a few steps towards her to try and enter her line of vision. âPlease calm downâĶâShe doesnât look at me.She only stares at Octavius, her breathing slow for now but the longer she stares at him, the more it elevates. Her hands are clenched at her sides, shaking slightly as her body vi
K A I D AThe drive back to Xarano territory is long and heavy with silence.Though Octavius was opposed to the idea, I managed to convince him to let me head back to the Xarano Pack with my sister. They needed to see that she is alive; they needed to know that both Xarano sisters have returned and are standing strong.I sit beside at the backseat of the car, Jace being the one to drive us while Valerie sits in the front seat. I haven't been able to let go of my sister's hand. Perhaps out of fear that if I somehow do, I will lose her again. But I'll be damned if that ever happens again. Her posture is tense, her gaze locked onto the rolling landscape ahead of us. She hasnât spoken much since we left the ruins, and I donât blame her.Sheâs processing. All of it. Being free. Being alive-- truly alive --and out of captivity, and seeing us all again, and finally coming.I glance at her, my chest tightening. Does she even remember this place as home? I stare down at her tattoos, admiring t
K A I D AThe silence stretches between us, heavy but not uncomfortable, one where both of us are simply processing everything weâve shared with each other. Korra hasn't sat down. She's still standing, probably still hearing the words I saidâabout Admosian, about Lucien, about bloodlines and wars we didn't ask to inherit. I shift my weight from one foot to the other, exhaling deeply as an unsettled frown rests on my face.The adrenaline is starting to wear off, and now I feel tiredânot just in my body but deep down, in that place people call soul, though I don't think mine has ever had a chance to breathe."I have to head back now, Iâm sure Octavius is worried about meâĶ" I say quietly. Korra turns her head to look at me. No surprise in her face, just a flash of something softer as she exhales. Something close to disappointment, but not quite."Already?" she asks and perhaps she isnât used to the fact that I wonât be living with her anymore. The two of us grew up close, with a fierce b
K A I D AâWhat?â I ask, voice low but sharp, like the word cuts on its way out. My heartbeat stutters, then kicks into overdrive. I blink hard. Once. Twice. Like thatâll clear the static building in my head. Like maybe I misheard her. Like maybe she didnât just say what I think she said.Korra stays calm. She doesnât flinch, doesnât back down. Her face is serious, grounded. No hesitation in her voice. âI know it sounds crazyâĶ but believe me, itâs true.âIâm watching her carefully now. Reading the tension in her shoulders, the stillness in her stance. Sheâs not spitballing. Sheâs not guessing. Sheâs thought about thisâprobably over and over again, turning it around in her head until it made enough sense to say out loud.âWeâve been researching,â she continues. âTrying to figure out which of the bloodlines I came from. We came from.âThat part catches in my chest.We.âWe dug through what we could findâold records, pack stories, bloodline traits. Physical markers. Based on our features,
K A I D AKorra and I are sitting on the edge of the bed in the room they set up for her. She smells clean nowâlike herself. No more scent of blood, rusted iron, sweat. No more stink of captivity clinging to her skin like a curse. Her hairâs still damp, slicked back and tucked behind her ears. Her face is clearer too. Hollowed out, yeah, but clear. Her eyes... theyâre finally awake.Iâm still not used to this. Seeing her here. Alive.I glance over at her and my heart lurches in my chest, heavy and full and weirdly tight. Sheâs here. Sheâs really here.She nudges her elbow into mine, that little sister-sister thing we used to do when we were younger, before the world split open and swallowed us whole.âTell me what happened to you now,â she says softly.I inhale, slow and deep, but it does nothing to ease the knot in my stomach. I feel like Iâve been waiting years for someone to ask me that. I also feel like I donât want to say any of it out loud.But she deserves to know.âWell... Itâ
Korra sits on the edge of the bed, freshly showered, hair damp, skin free of the dirt and grime from that hellhole.She looks better.Not just physically, but in the way she carries herself now. Her shoulders are no longer hunched, her body no longer weighed down by chainsâliteral or otherwise.But thereâs still something in her eyes.A ghost.Something Lucien left behind.I lean against the doorframe, crossing my arms over my chest. âFeeling better?âShe lets out a slow breath, rolling her shoulders as if testing her body for weakness. âYeahâĶ a little like myself now.âThatâs good.I donât say it, though. I just nod.Silence stretches between us for a moment, but itâs not uncomfortable. Itâs the kind of silence that comes with understanding, with years of missing time trying to fill itself in all at once.Korra studies me, her eyes scanning my face like sheâs trying to memorize it. Like she still canât believe Iâm standing here.âI canât believe youâre alive,â she murmurs, shaking he
K A I D AThe drive back to Xarano territory is long and heavy with silence.Though Octavius was opposed to the idea, I managed to convince him to let me head back to the Xarano Pack with my sister. They needed to see that she is alive; they needed to know that both Xarano sisters have returned and are standing strong.I sit beside at the backseat of the car, Jace being the one to drive us while Valerie sits in the front seat. I haven't been able to let go of my sister's hand. Perhaps out of fear that if I somehow do, I will lose her again. But I'll be damned if that ever happens again. Her posture is tense, her gaze locked onto the rolling landscape ahead of us. She hasnât spoken much since we left the ruins, and I donât blame her.Sheâs processing. All of it. Being free. Being alive-- truly alive --and out of captivity, and seeing us all again, and finally coming.I glance at her, my chest tightening. Does she even remember this place as home? I stare down at her tattoos, admiring t
K A I D AKorraâs growl is cold and deadly, silencing the entire forest and everything in it. Everyone is on edgeâĶ Jace, Valerie, the othersâĶ but no one moves. No one dares to.Because we all feel it.The rage rolling off of her, thick and dangerous, her silver eyes glowing with barely restrained fury.She looks ready to kill him. Fear floods its way into my body. I knew my sister had always been dangerous. What more after all these years in captivity, what more that she is now a Lycan. Who knows the horrors she has been subjected to? Who knows what sheâs seen? I no longer know what she is capable of doing, and so no matter what happens, I need to try and keep her calm.âKorra,â I say, carefully, taking a few steps towards her to try and enter her line of vision. âPlease calm downâĶâShe doesnât look at me.She only stares at Octavius, her breathing slow for now but the longer she stares at him, the more it elevates. Her hands are clenched at her sides, shaking slightly as her body vi
K A I D A Kaida walks slowly, her arm wrapped firmly around Korraâs waist, supporting her sisterâs weakened frame. So she seems physically strong, Kaida can pick up the faint scent of Wolfsbane off her, it was all over the cell as well and Kaida is certain Lucien had flooded the air with it to keep her abilities suppressed."Are you okay...?" Kaida asks worriedly, being sure to keep her sister steady and maintain her balance."I'm okay... I just need fresh air..." She answers, her voice hoarse as she lets out slow breaths.Korra is strong... stronger than her. Kaida has always known that, but right now, her body trembles with every step, her muscles struggling to carry her after years in captivity. Her once-powerful stance is reduced to unsteady footing, her breathing laboured.Still, she is here. She is alive.Thatâs all that matters.Kaida tightens her grip, feeling Korra lean into her slightly as they make their way toward the others. Her sister is unbroken, but she is not unscath
K A I D A I donât stop running. My breath is sharp, my pulse erratic, my mind locked onto a single thought: Sheâs here. The scent is pulling me forward, leading me deeper into the ruins, past the crumbling stone and the echoes of battle still raging behind me. I know Octavius and the others are fighting, I know we havenât won yetâbut none of that matters right now. Because I can feel it. My sister. Somewhere in this hell, Korra is alive. A snarl rips through the air. Two wolves leap at me from the shadows, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust. I react on instinct. The first one lunges for my throat, but Iâm faster. I drop low, twisting under him before grabbing his hind leg mid-air and swinging him into the ruins. His body crashes through the stone, debris collapsing over him. The second wolf is already coming for me. Teeth bared. Claws slashing. I meet him head-on, our bodies colliding in a brutal clash of muscle and rage. Heâs strong. But Iâm stronger. He slashes at my
The air hums with raw energy.Kaida stands in the ruins, glowing silver, her power pulsing like wildfire through the battlefield. Every wolf, every fighter, every enemy watches her with wide, stunned eyes.Including Lucien.For the first time, he looks intrigued.Not afraid. Not angry. JustâĶ interested.His icy blue eyes gleam as he studies her, as if calculating something. He tilts his head slightly, the faintest smirk playing at his lips. âWellâĶ isnât this unexpected?âKaida clenches her fists, her breath steady, her body still vibrating with pure, unchecked power. âCome find out just how unexpected it is.âLucien lets out a quiet chuckle. âTempting.âThen, without warningââLilith.âThe name is barely spoken, a command wrapped in amusement.Kaida barely has time to react before a blur of green comes at her from the side, fast and lethal.Lilith.The force of the impact sends them both crashing into the rubble, the ground splitting beneath them. Snarls and claws rip through the air