Chapter 43: Ties That Burn

The next morning arrived on the tail of tension. Dew clung to the grass like whispers of what had passed the night before, and the air carried the mingled scents of steel, blood, and smoke. The battle hadn’t yet come, but its echo was already in the wind.

Serena stood by the riverbank, sleeves rolled up, hands submerged in the icy water. She scrubbed the dried blood from her arms, but no matter how hard she rubbed, the ache beneath her skin wouldn't wash away. The reflection in the rippling surface revealed eyes that had seen too much and a mouth pressed into a thin line of exhaustion and purpose.

Behind her, leaves crunched softly.

Elias approached with that careful gait of his, one hand resting loosely on the hilt of his dagger. “The scouts returned,” he said. “The Council’s elite guard is advancing faster than we expected. Two days, maybe less.”

Serena straightened. “Then we strike first.”

His brow furrowed. “Serena, they’re not sending just any patrol this time. It’s the Iron Circle. Executioners. You know what that means.”

She nodded grimly. “It means they’re desperate. And if they’re desperate, it means we’re close to something they don’t want us to find.”

Before Elias could answer, Kayden came sprinting through the trees, his breathing labored.

“There’s someone at the south ridge,” he said. “Alone. Says he knows you.”

Serena tensed. “Did he give a name?”

“No. But he called you by your full name. Serena Elowen Vale.”

Serena’s breath hitched. No one called her by that name—not anymore. Not since she left the Ashenwood, not since the betrayal that carved her path away from her bloodline and into rebellion.

She turned on her heel and moved, fast. Elias followed close behind, his gaze wary and his fingers never leaving his blade.

They reached the ridge in silence.

A cloaked figure stood just beyond the tree line, motionless, waiting.

As they stepped closer, he lifted his head—and the world tilted.

“Luka,” Serena whispered.

The name landed like a stone dropped into still water.

He looked older. His jaw was more angular, his once-boyish smirk now ghosted with something harder. A long scar cut through his left brow, disappearing into his hairline. But those eyes—stormy gray, sharp as ever—were unmistakable.

“It’s been a long time, ‘Rena,” Luka said softly, voice rough like sandpaper.

Elias stepped protectively closer. “Who is he?”

Serena didn’t answer immediately. She couldn’t. Her throat was tight with shock and memory. “Someone I once trusted with everything.”

“And then she disappeared,” Luka added. “Without a goodbye.”

“You didn’t come after me,” Serena said bitterly.

“I couldn’t,” Luka replied. “I was bound to the Council. And I had secrets that would’ve gotten you killed if I spoke them aloud.”

“Yet here you are now,” Elias said coolly. “Why?”

“Because I couldn’t keep watching them destroy everything. They killed my sister for questioning orders. I stayed silent then. But I won’t anymore.”

With a steady motion, Luka rolled back his sleeve to reveal a branded sigil on his forearm—the mark of the Inner Circle.

Kayden hissed through his teeth. “You were one of them?”

“I was. But I’m not anymore. And if you’ll let me, I can give you what you need to survive what’s coming.”

Serena stared at the brand. She remembered it. She’d seen it on men who tortured her packmates. On the man who ordered her brother’s death.

“You think you can just walk in here and earn our trust with a few cryptic words?” Elias snapped. “We’re not fools.”

“No,” Serena said finally, voice low but cutting. “But we’re desperate.”

Luka met her gaze. “They’re not just coming for your rebellion. They’re coming for the bloodlines. Yours. Elias’s. The Alpha descendants. They want to wipe out the royal blood of every pack and install Council-bred leaders in their place.”

Serena blinked. “That’s not war. That’s a purge.”

Luka nodded grimly. “And you’re on the top of their list.”

A deep, dangerous silence followed.

Elias exhaled slowly. “We need to tell the others.”

“I’ll only speak to you,” Luka said, gaze still locked on Serena. “I don’t trust anyone else yet.”

Serena narrowed her eyes. “Then you’ll stay close. But know this—I’ll slit your throat myself if you lie to me again.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Luka replied with a crooked smile. “Still sharp. Still the girl who once said she’d burn the world if it ever tried to tame her.”

Elias bristled, but Serena had already turned, cloak whipping behind her as she stalked back toward camp.

Because if what Luka said was true, then everything they’d built, everything they were fighting for—it was about to face a darkness far deeper than they'd imagined.

And there was no room for hesitation anymore.