The ledger still lay heavy in my hands, though Reed had taken it. Every name, every mark, every symbol within its pages gnawed at me. Wolves chained to captains, brothers set against brothers.
But Reed did not let me dwell.
He summoned me again the next evening, his presence as suffocating as ever. His chamber reeked of stillness — not dust, not blood, but silence so thick it smothered breath.
He stood with his back to me, hands clasped, the ledger resting on a pedestal before him. His voice was calm, but there was a weight to it, as though each syllable could crush bone.
"You did well," Reed said. "The ledger confirms what I knew. The Lotus is already split."
I bowed. My body still ached from the chains I had forced from blood, my veins tender as raw wounds. But I held the bow steady.
Reed turned slightly, enough for one pale eye to catch me in its trap.
"Tonight, you will see another truth."
My chest tightened. "Captain?"
"A guest comes to the Lotus. A wolf from beyond our walls, bringing knowledge. Captains will gather. You will watch."
There was a pause, long enough that the silence thickened again.
"Watch carefully, Lin Xuan. This guest may shape the war more than the ledger."
He dismissed me with a flick of his sleeve.
But his words clawed at me long after I left.
* * * * * * * * *
My wolves noticed the tension the moment I entered our quarters.
Wei Lan grinned, sprawled across the mat, tossing one of her knives into the air. "Mmm, you reek of silence again. Did he strangle you with truths this time, Leader?"
Qiao Han leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His voice was low, grim. "What did Reed say?"
Shen Yu scratched characters into the floor with broken chalk, whispering: "Guest comes. Guest binds. Wolves drown."
I sat down heavily, ignoring Wei Lan's taunt.
"There's to be a guest," I said at last. "Someone from outside. Reed wants us to watch."
Wei Lan's smile sharpened. "Ohhh. New blood in the hall of fangs. How exciting."
Qiao Han frowned. "Outsiders don't enter Lotus halls. Whoever this is… they'll be dangerous."
I nodded faintly, though my chest felt heavier with each breath.
Dangerous.
More than dangerous.
Something in Reed's tone gnawed at me — as though he knew this guest mattered to me, personally.
But that was impossible. No one knew of my past life.
No one but me.
* * * * * * * * *
The hall of assembly had been hastily repaired since the last chaos. Cracks were patched, scorch marks scraped away, though the scars still whispered of what had happened.
The thrones loomed as before, each captain seated in wary silence. Iron Veil's chains rattled faintly. Ink Widow lounged, lips stained black. Crimson Flame's fire flickered across her skin, Iron Hand's gauntlets rested heavy on stone. Silk Ghost twitched, threads gleaming in torchlight.
The empty throne of Black Vulture still gaped like an open wound.
The wolves stood along the walls, silent. My wolves pressed close around me, though their eyes wandered: Wei Lan eager, Qiao Han grim, Shen Yu muttering as he wrote.
Then the doors opened.
And my world stopped.
* * * * * * * * *
He entered with measured steps, his robe trimmed with silver thread, his eyes alight with confidence. His hair was bound high, his back straight. His smile was sharp but calm, practiced.
I knew that smile.
Lin Zhen.
My brother.
The man who had driven a blade through my spine in my past life.
My blood roared in my ears. My vision blurred at the edges. My heart tried to claw its way from my chest.
But outwardly, I did not move.
To anyone watching, I was just another wolf.
Inside, I was fire.
* * * * * * * * *
He bowed to the captains, his voice smooth as polished steel.
"Honored Captains of the Lotus," Lin Zhen said. "I come with knowledge of the sects beyond. I bring maps of their weaknesses, of their armies, of their greed. I seek not only to serve, but to sharpen the Lotus against its enemies."
Captains murmured. Even Iron Veil's chains stilled, listening.
Ink Widow's lips curled. "Mmm. A clever tongue. And a handsome face. You may serve well, wolf."
Crimson Flame snorted, flames flickering higher. "We'll see if his fire matches his tongue."
Silk Ghost's threads twitched, as though already winding around him. "New blood always tastes best."
Lin Zhen smiled wider, unbothered.
* * * * * * * * *
I could not breathe.
Memories surged — his blade in my back, his whisper in my ear: "Only one brother may live."
The pain of betrayal, the cold of death, the darkness that had followed.
And now here he stood, alive in this life, stronger, smoother, walking into Lotus halls as though fate itself guided his steps.
Wei Lan leaned close, her voice a delighted whisper. "Leader… you're trembling. Do you want him dead? Mmm, I've never seen you tremble before."
Qiao Han glanced at me, brow furrowed. "What is it?"
Shen Yu's quill tore parchment, ink smearing as he muttered: "Blood remembers. Brother devours brother. Past devours present."
I clenched my fists until blood welled beneath my nails.
Not yet.
I could not move yet.
But inside, the vow ignited, hotter than flame, heavier than chains.
This time, brother, it will not be me who dies.
It will be you.
* * * * * * * * *
Lin Zhen stood at the center of the hall, every movement deliberate, every word wrapped in silk.
He unrolled maps onto the cracked stone floor — diagrams of sect compounds, notes of their routes, their weaknesses. He spoke of patrol schedules, of hidden vaults, of the debts sect elders owed.
The captains leaned forward, hungry.
Iron Veil's chains swayed like pendulums. "Discipline. Detail. Order. This wolf sees as I do."
Ink Widow's blackened smile widened. "Mmm, and his words taste of poison — sweet at first, deadly later. I approve."
Crimson Flame flared, laughing loud. "Bah! He's too polished. I'll scorch him myself, see if there's iron beneath that tongue."
Iron Hand's fists cracked stone as he rumbled, "If his words break weaker sects, I'll lend him my gauntlet."
Silk Ghost's threads writhed, catching faint glints of light. "All I hear is opportunity. Wolves make such fine strings."
One by one, the captains acknowledged him.
* * * * * * * * *
And I?
I could not move.
Every word from his lips was ash in my ears.
I remembered his laughter when his blade slid into my back. The coldness in his eyes. The ease with which he had discarded blood ties.
Now he stood again before me — not as traitor in shadow, but as a rising star beneath the Lotus banners.
This was not chance.
Fate had pulled him back into my path, dangling him in front of me.
My fingers trembled, blood prickling at my palm, crimson threads threatening to spill.
But I forced them still.
Now was not the time.
* * * * * * * * *
Lin Zhen's gaze swept the hall. He bowed low, voice humble yet confident.
"I ask for nothing but the right to serve. I have no master beyond the Lotus. Let me be a wolf, and I will bare my fangs at her enemies."
Captains nodded. Even Veil inclined his head. Widow clapped faintly. Crimson Flame smirked.
Then — his eyes brushed me.
Just for a moment.
Cold. Dismissive.
And then he turned away, as though I were dust on stone.
He did not recognize me.
He did not see the brother he had once betrayed.
To him, I was nothing.
The insult cut deeper than hatred.
* * * * * * * * *
Wei Lan's whisper brushed my ear, shivering with delight.
"Ohhh, Leader. I've never seen you tremble like this. Do you want him dead? Say it, and I'll carve his heart out for you."
Qiao Han shifted closer, wary. "What's wrong? Who is he?"
I did not answer. I could not.
Shen Yu's ink-stained fingers smeared black lines down his face as he muttered, "Blood remembers. Brother devours brother. Past devours present. Chains strangle blood."
I clenched my jaw until my teeth cracked.
Not here. Not now.
But the vow formed, iron and fire within me.
This time, Lin Zhen…
You will not strike my back.
You will drown in my blood.
* * * * * * * * *
Reed had not spoken through it all, his Silence pressing faintly over the hall. But I felt his eyes on me. Watching. Measuring.
Did he know?
Could he sense the storm boiling inside me?
When the assembly finally broke, when the captains dispersed, when Lin Zhen was led deeper into the Lotus halls with new honor, I lingered.
And Reed's gaze found mine.
His lips did not move, but his eyes spoke.
I saw.
* * * * * * * * *
Later, back in our quarters, my wolves pressed me.
Wei Lan danced on her toes, knives spinning in her hands. "Leader, I'll cut him for you. Just give me the word."
Qiao Han sat stiff, hands tight on his saber. "That man… he's dangerous. He spoke, and captains listened. If he rises, he'll crush wolves like us without thought."
Shen Yu scribbled faster, pages tearing beneath his quill. "Chains bind brothers. Blood binds chains. Brother strangles brother. Wolves bleed red."
I sat in silence, my hand over my heart. My pulse throbbed beneath my palm, hot, furious, unrelenting.
Not yet.
But soon.
Every chain begins as thread. Every thread strengthens with blood.
And I would forge mine from vengeance.
Lin Zhen thought me nothing.
But he had already become the core of my obsession.
And obsession births Lein.
* * * * * * * * *
The Lotus halls echoed with whispers that night.
"Did you see the newcomer? Handsome, clever, cunning."
"He'll rise quickly. Maybe even faster than wolves born inside."
"Iron Veil watches him closely. Widow too. He may tip the balance."
Wolves muttered in corners. Some already moved to offer him respect.
But I only sat in shadow, eyes closed, blood seeping faintly from my palm as crimson threads quivered and died.
Each attempt left me weaker. Each chain shattered.
But each time, they burned brighter. Stronger.
Blood answered obsession.
And my obsession had a name.
'Lin Zhen'.