Chapter 5 – “The Name He Buried”

SIENNA

I felt the eyes on me the moment I stepped into the main hall.

Half the pack was already there, gathered around the long tables, voices low and sharp. The air smelled like blood and smoke from the last breach. Kieran stood near the front, arms crossed, talking with his Beta. The second his gaze found me, something in his expression tightened.

Selene didn’t waste time.

She pushed away from the wall and walked straight toward me, heels clicking against the concrete like she owned the place. Her smile was sweet enough to poison.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “The little human who needs an Alpha’s protection just to breathe.”

A few wolves laughed under their breath. I kept my face calm.

Selene stopped in front of me, tilting her head. “Tell me, Sienna. What exactly do you bring to this pack? You can’t shift. You can’t fight like us. You’re just another mouth to feed while the rest of us bleed.”

I didn’t answer right away. I looked past her shoulder and met Kieran’s eyes. He was watching closely now. Waiting.

Selene stepped closer. “Maybe it’s time we stop pretending you’re useful. Kieran only claimed you out of pity. Everyone knows it.”

The hall went quiet.

I could feel the old rage rising, the same heat that used to live under my skin when I still had a wolf. I let a small, cold smile touch my lips.

“Pity?” I said softly. “Is that what you call it when a man keeps someone close because he can’t stand the thought of anyone else touching them?”

Selene’s eyes flashed. “Watch your mouth.”

I took one step forward. “Or what? You’ll have me thrown out? Go ahead. Ask your Alpha if he’s ready to let me walk.”

Kieran’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “Enough.”

Selene turned to him, still smiling. “I’m only saying what everyone is thinking. She’s a liability.”

I looked straight at Kieran and spoke before he could answer.

“Funny. I remember a time when the Northern Pack didn’t mind using people they called liabilities… right up until they decided those people were more useful dead.”

The words landed harder than I expected. A few wolves shifted uncomfortably. Kieran’s eyes narrowed.

Selene laughed, but it sounded forced. “What are you even talking about?”

I didn’t look at her anymore. I kept my gaze locked on Kieran.

“Ask your Alpha,” I said. “He has a very good memory when it comes to people he left behind.”

Silence stretched. Kieran’s jaw flexed once. Then he moved.

“Out,” he ordered the room. “All of you. Now.”

No one argued. Chairs scraped. Footsteps faded. Selene lingered the longest, shooting me a venomous look before she finally left. The heavy doors closed behind her with a dull thud.

We were alone.

Kieran didn’t speak at first. He just stared at me, the muscle in his cheek ticking. The distance between us felt too small and too wide at the same time.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, voice low.

I walked past him toward the window, needing space. Outside, the sky was the color of ash. Smoke still rose from the eastern wall.

“You heard me,” I said.

He followed. “You don’t get to throw cryptic accusations in front of my pack and walk away.”

I turned. “Then stop pretending you don’t understand them.”

Kieran stopped a few feet from me. His eyes were darker than usual, almost glowing under the dim light.

“You’re hiding something,” he said. “I’ve known it since the first night. The way you move. The way you look at people like you’ve already decided how they die. That’s not normal for a human who just survived the end of the world.”

I let out a quiet breath. The truth sat heavy on my tongue. I had planned to wait longer. I had planned to break him slowly. But the anger in my chest was too sharp tonight.

“You once left someone to die,” I said. “A woman who fought for this pack harder than anyone. You used her power, then decided she was in the way.”

Kieran’s expression didn’t change, but something behind his eyes went still.

I took a step closer. “Her name was Ravenna Voss. General Ravenna Voss. Do you remember her, Alpha?”

The air between us turned cold.

Kieran’s voice came out rough. “How do you know that name?”

I held his gaze without blinking. “You should remember her face. You looked her in the eyes when you gave the order.”

For a second, he didn’t move. Then he closed the remaining distance in two long strides. His hand caught my jaw, not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough that I couldn’t look away.

“Who told you that?” he demanded.

I didn’t pull back. “No one told me. I was there.”

His fingers tightened slightly. “That’s impossible.”

“Is it?” I whispered. “You left her on the ground while the first wave of zombies tore through the southern line. You watched. You didn’t look away. You just turned and walked back to the people who helped you plan it.”

Kieran’s breathing had gone uneven. His thumb brushed the edge of my mouth like he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

“You’re lying,” he said, but the words lacked strength.

I smiled without warmth. “Then why do you look like someone just put a knife between your ribs?”

He released my face and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. For the first time since I met him in this life, he looked shaken.

“Ravenna is dead,” he said. “She’s been dead for three years.”

“I know,” I answered. “I was the one who felt every second of it.”

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Kieran stared at me like he was trying to peel my skin back and find the truth underneath.

“You’re saying you’re her.”

“I’m saying the woman you killed came back,” I replied. “And this time she doesn’t need a wolf to finish what you started.”

He took another step toward me. I held my ground.

“If you’re really her,” he said, voice dropping lower, “then you should know I don’t leave unfinished business.”

I tilted my head. “Neither do I.”

For a long moment neither of us spoke. The tension between us felt like a live wire—anger, recognition, and something darker that neither of us wanted to name.

Finally Kieran’s voice came out quiet and rough.

“If you’re Ravenna… then everything between us just changed.”

I walked past him toward the door. My hand rested on the handle before I looked back over my shoulder.

“No, Alpha,” I said. “Everything between us was already broken. You just finally started to see the cracks.”

I opened the door and stepped out, leaving him alone in the empty hall.

Behind me, I heard the sound of something heavy hitting the wall.

I didn’t look back.