Arielle POV
The council room smelled of old wood, tension, and something else — something that didn't belong. I sat, hands folded neatly in my lap, but every muscle in my body was taut. The pack council was in full swing, and while they weren't saying my name, they didn't have to.
"…we must consider all variables," one of the elders, Elder Rowan, said with a pointed glance in my direction. "Ever since the Luna returned, the borders have grown restless."
Returned.
That word hung in the air like ash. I wasn't some exiled ghost. I was taken.
Still, I didn't flinch. I met Elder Rowan's stare with a quiet steadiness, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
"We need to be realistic," another chimed in. "Kael's authority is being challenged. The treaty with the Eastern Ridge wolves is broken. The last time that happened, there was blood."
Kael stood at the front of the room, his arms folded across his chest, jaw clenched. He hadn't spoken yet, hadn't looked at me once. But I could feel him. Like I always could.
"Do you think I planned the Eastern Ridge attack from inside a cell?" I asked, my voice calm, cutting through their posturing.
Silence.
"I bled for this pack. You think I came back to destroy it?"
"No one is accusing—" Rowan began.
"I think you are," I said evenly. "And if you are, say it with your chest, Elder."
A few gasps. A few glances exchanged.
Then, from the far end of the room, the oldest among them — Elder Rhea — spoke in a voice that sounded like wind through ancient trees.
"Stormblood doesn't forget. Neither does the land beneath."
The room fell silent again.
Kael finally looked at me then, but his face gave nothing away.
And suddenly, I felt it — that weight again. The sense of being watched. Not by Kael. Not by anyone in this room. But something older. Deeper. Something that had been waiting.
Something that had never left.
Kael POV
I didn't wait for the meeting to end. I grabbed Leif by the arm and dragged him into the corridor.
"We need to talk."
He looked around, wary. "Now?"
"Yes. Now."
He followed, reluctantly, into my office. I shut the door, not caring how loud it slammed.
"You knew about the revoked treaty before I did," I said. "And I know damn well you didn't learn it from the council."
Leif ran a hand through his hair. "Kael, listen—"
"No. No more stalling. Talk."
He sighed. "There was a letter. Sealed. Hidden in your father's belongings. We only found it because your mother insisted on sorting through his things."
"And you didn't think to tell me this the moment it was found?"
"It was addressed to Elder Rowan," he said quietly. "Not you."
That stung more than I expected.
"Rowan kept it from me."
"It said…" Leif hesitated. "It said there were secrets tied to Arielle's family. Secrets that made the Ridge wolves uneasy. Something about a bloodline pact that was never fulfilled."
I swallowed hard. "What kind of pact?"
Leif didn't answer. He just looked away.
"Leif."
"I don't know. But Rowan's been pushing the council behind your back ever since. He says you're blinded by emotion."
"Maybe I am," I said. "But I still deserve the truth."
Leif nodded, guilt in his eyes. "I'll get you the letter."
But it wasn't the letter I needed.
It was her.
Arielle POV
I found him standing outside the hall, back straight, eyes stormy. The moment I saw him, I knew something had changed. There was a distance in his gaze that hadn't been there before.
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't speak.
"Kael—"
"You need to tell me the truth," he said flatly.
I blinked. "About what?"
"Your family. Your bloodline. Why would the Ridge wolves revoke the treaty unless there was a threat?"
My chest tightened. "You think I'm the threat?"
"I think…" He paused, jaw clenched. "I don't know what to think. Everything points to you."
"That's convenient," I said bitterly. "The girl who vanished, comes back, and suddenly she's the reason the world is falling apart."
"I never said that."
"But you're thinking it."
He stepped forward, voice low. "I'm trying to protect you."
"No," I said, my voice shaking. "You're trying to protect the version of me that didn't come back changed. The version who never endured the things I did."
Kael looked like I'd slapped him.
"I came back to a pack that questions my loyalty, an Alpha who won't look me in the eye, and memories that keep me awake at night. But sure, let's blame me for everything falling apart."
He looked at me then. Really looked. "I don't know how to reach you anymore."
I swallowed. "Then maybe you never did."
There was a long silence.
Then, gently, he stepped forward. His hand brushed my cheek.
"You think I don't wake up wishing I'd found you sooner?"
My breath hitched.
He leaned closer, his lips hovering over mine.
"I still—" he whispered.
But I stepped back.
"Don't offer me your lips when your trust is still locked away."
He flinched like the words hurt.
Then he nodded. Just once. And walked away.
Arielle
I needed air.
The woods were quieter than I remembered, but not silent. The night whispered to me, old sounds carried on the wind. My boots crunched over dry leaves as I walked toward the clearing.
The old tree still stood — the one I used to climb as a child. It looked smaller now. Older. Scarred.
Like me.
I rested my hand against its bark, closed my eyes.
A wind blew.
The blood remembers.
I froze.
Then it came — a flash, bright and burning.
Hands grabbing me.
A voice — familiar.
A scream.
And someone… someone from the pack.
I stumbled back, gasping.
Who betrayed me?
My legs gave out. I dropped to my knees, breath shaky, hands trembling.
Something was waking.
Something old. Something tied to me.
And maybe the council was right to fear it.
But they should fear what I'd become even more.
Because I wasn't the broken girl they thought I was.
I was something else now.
And I would find the truth.
No matter what it cost.