The Lotus compound was no longer a home of wolves. It was a kennel.
Chains rattled day and night as captains bound their followers more openly. The yard stank of poison, burned stone, and blood drawn from wolves who resisted. Packs strutted with marks etched into their flesh — the sigils of their captains burned into skin like brands of livestock.
A wolf of Widow bore black lips.
A wolf of Iron Veil dragged his own chains.
A wolf of Crimson Flame left scorched footprints wherever he walked.
One by one, the packs lost their names, becoming extensions of obsession. Wolves no longer looked like wolves. They looked like broken dogs.
And in the center of this order… Lin Zhen shone.
He stood among captains as though born to it, speaking softly, earning nods from even the most prideful. His words were careful, his presence magnetic. Packs whispered of him in awe:
"He will take Vulture's throne."
"He already carries Reed's favor."
"Maybe he'll be the fourteenth captain."
Each rumor was a dagger twisting deeper into my chest.
But it wasn't Zhen who pulled my gaze that morning.
It was the stranger.
* * * * * * * * *
They brought him into the yard under escort — but not like a prisoner. He walked freely, head high, steps measured. The guards flanking him kept their eyes lowered, as if they dared not meet his gaze.
He looked younger than some, older than others — thirty winters perhaps. His hair was dark, unkempt but deliberate, his face lean, his eyes… sharp. Too sharp. They lingered not on the captains, but behind them, through them, as if measuring shadows.
He wore plain robes, but his aura carried weight — not like the suffocating obsessions of captains, but a quiet pressure, a reminder that he was not prey.
Iron Veil's chains rattled as he sneered down at the newcomer. "Another stray? Reed, you drag filth to our halls now?"
The stranger bowed slightly — neither submissive nor defiant. His voice was calm, low, but it cut through the noise like a blade through silk.
"My name is Jian Yi."
Ink Widow tilted her head, her black lips curling. "Jian Yi… a name that vanished with Black Vulture, did it not? I thought you drowned with him."
A ripple moved through the yard. Whispers rose.
"Jian Yi… wasn't he Vulture's shadow?"
"They say he drank with him the night before he died."
"No, he vanished weeks earlier. He fled. He killed him."
The rumors spread like sparks in oil.
Lin Zhen, standing near Widow, turned slightly, his eyes flicking to the stranger. He said nothing, but I saw the faint tightening of his jaw.
* * * * * * * * *
Jian Yi smiled faintly. "The dead carry many stories. I am only here to serve the Lotus."
His words were smooth. Too smooth.
Reed remained silent, his presence unreadable. But his gaze lingered on Jian Yi longer than most.
The captains tested him.
Crimson Flame stepped forward, his aura scorching the air. A tendril of fire lashed toward Jian Yi's robes, a warning, a question.
Jian Yi did not flinch. He raised his hand, the flames curling around his fingers. He twisted slightly — and the fire guttered out.
No Lein sparked. No obsession flared. Only silence.
Yet the flame died all the same.
Crimson Flame's scowl deepened.
Ink Widow's laughter dripped like venom. "Oh… he knows tricks. I like tricks."
* * * * * * * * *
My wolves muttered around me.
Wei Lan leaned close, whispering with a grin. "He smells wrong. Like a corpse that refuses to rot."
Qiao Han's hand rested on his saber, his voice tight. "Too calm. Too clever. He's hiding something."
Shen Yu scribbled furiously into his parchment, his ink-stained fingers trembling. "Shadow returns. Shadow drinks blood. Shadow hides fangs. Shadow lies."
I said nothing.
But Jian Yi's eyes found me across the yard.
He held my gaze too long, his head tilting slightly. A faint smile touched his lips, not mocking, not kind — knowing.
When he spoke, his words cut deeper than any chain.
"Your chains smell of betrayal."
The yard went still.
Wei Lan stiffened. Qiao Han's grip tightened. Shen Yu hissed, tearing his parchment.
Jian Yi's eyes did not leave mine.
"Familiar… very familiar."
* * * * * * * * *
The captains shifted uneasily, but none claimed him. Not yet. Reed remained silent, but I felt his shadow closing in.
Lin Zhen finally moved, stepping forward with his practiced smile.
"Every wolf serves in their way," he said, voice smooth as oil. "If Jian Yi wishes to return, then let him. The Lotus has room for every fang."
His tone was generous, but his eyes were knives.
Jian Yi bowed slightly toward him, then back toward the captains. His calm never wavered.
But when he turned away, his glance brushed mine once more.
And for the first time in years, I felt something colder than betrayal.
Recognition.
* * * * * * * * *
The gathering ended with captains dispersing, wolves herded back into their kennels of loyalty.
But whispers followed Jian Yi through the halls.
"Vulture's shadow…"
"He vanished the night of the death…"
"Maybe he slit the captain's throat himself…"
"No. Maybe he watched."
The uncertainty gnawed at every ear, every pack.
And for me, it was a seed.
Because if Jian Yi had been Vulture's man… then he knew the truth.
Who killed the captain?
Why did the Lotus fracture?
And why, when he looked at me, did his eyes burn with the same shadow as the night my brother killed me?
* * * * * * * * *
That night, back in our quarters, my wolves could not stay silent.
Wei Lan giggled, lying upside down on the mat. "I like him. He smells of secrets. Secrets are delicious when you cut them out slowly."
Qiao Han frowned, sharpening his saber. "No. He's dangerous. He slipped through every test. Even Flame couldn't scorch him. That means he's hiding strength."
Shen Yu scrawled blood across parchment, his whispers trembling: "Shadow lies. Shadow bleeds. Shadow strangles brother. Shadow watches."
I sat in silence, bloodied hands clenched, the words Jian Yi had spoken echoing through me.
Your chains smell of betrayal.
He knew. Somehow, he knew.
And that meant one thing.
He was either my ally.
Or my executioner.
* * * * * * * * *
The yard reeked of blood again before dawn.
Two packs clashed, their captains watching from the balconies above like gamblers tossing dice. Wolves screamed, blades flashed, Lein rattled the stones. What began as a "training drill" dissolved into slaughter within heartbeats.
Chains tore flesh. Flames consumed hair and skin. Poisonous mist spread through lungs like wildfire.
The captains smiled.
This was not training. This was war, staged in miniature.
* * * * * * * * *
My wolves and I stood at the edge of the chaos. I wanted no part of this farce. But wolves without a faction drew suspicion, and suspicion always drew blades.
It came as expected.
A branded wolf — his veins still pulsing black from Widow's toxins — staggered toward us, sneering. "Free wolves, eh? Reed's strays? You don't belong here."
He spat blood, drawing a jagged blade. "Maybe we'll cut you down now, save the captains the trouble."
Behind him, more came. At least ten. Some with Veil's chains still glowing faint on their skin. Others with burn-marks from Flame. All carried the stench of leash and collar.
Wei Lan grinned like a starving animal. "Finally."
Qiao Han drew steel with a sharp rasp, his stance low, measured. "Leader…"
Shen Yu's quill scratched madly against parchment, even as his other hand dragged across the blood-stained dirt. "Wolves in chains. Wolves hunt free wolf. Wolf bleeds red. Wolf strangles."
I bled my palm before the first blade reached me.
Chains flickered crimson, sparks hissing against the stone.
* * * * * * * * *
The clash tore into us.
Qiao Han met them head-on, his saber splitting air with the weight of discipline. He carved open a branded wolf's arm, turned another aside with his shoulder, his defense buying seconds.
Wei Lan darted through gaps like a serpent, her knives kissing throats, her laughter high and sharp. Every time her blade slid, a wolf fell gurgling.
Shen Yu screamed, his voice cracking, his fingers smearing sigils in blood on the ground. Wolves hesitated as his madness rolled over them, their steps faltering.
And I — I pulled chains from my veins.
Each lash burned, every breath scraped my ribs raw. But my obsession drowned the pain.
Betrayal.
Blood.
The snow of another life.
The blade in my back.
Chains erupted, snapping through air, binding blades, breaking bones. For ten breaths — ten burning, eternal breaths — the crimson chains lived. They dragged wolves screaming across stone, left grooves like scars in the yard.
The branded wolves broke. They had fought for captains, but fear of the free wolf bled faster than loyalty.
They fled, leaving bodies behind.
* * * * * * * * *
Silence stretched.
Then I heard him.
Slow steps across the cracked yard, deliberate, unhurried. Jian Yi emerged from the shadow of the wall, his robe unmarked by blood.
He had fought too. Wolves lay at his feet, their eyes wide in shock, but not dead. Their throats bruised, limbs twisted wrong, but still breathing.
He spared lives deliberately.
And he watched. Always watched. His gaze swept across the captains above, through the packs writhing in pain, then finally, inevitably, to me.
Our eyes locked.
He smiled faintly, stepping closer.
"I saw a brother kill a brother once," he said quietly, so only I and my wolves could hear. His voice was calm, conversational, like a man remarking on weather. "Strange thing… it looked much like you."
* * * * * * * * *
My blood froze.
Wei Lan stiffened, knives slick in her hands. "Leader… he's toying."
Qiao Han stepped closer, blade raised. "What are you saying, stranger?"
Shen Yu trembled, his whisper breaking. "Shadow knows. Shadow saw. Shadow speaks death."
Jian Yi's smile did not falter. He only tilted his head, watching me, waiting for my reaction.
I forced my breath steady. "Careful with your tongue. Wolves choke on lies."
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice to a whisper meant only for me.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps I simply remember the smell of blood."
Then he turned away, walking calmly into the dispersing chaos.
* * * * * * * * *
The captains watched all of it.
Widow's black lips curved in amusement.
Iron Veil's chains rattled louder, grinding stone beneath his feet.
Crimson Flame's eyes burned hotter.
And Reed — Reed's silence pressed heavy, his gaze following Jian Yi until the man vanished into the halls.
* * * * * * * * *
When the yard emptied, my wolves gathered tight.
Wei Lan hissed, wiping blood across her mouth. "He wants to unnerve you. Don't let him."
Qiao Han shook his head, grim. "No. He knows something. He wouldn't risk such words otherwise. That man is more than he pretends."
Shen Yu tore at his parchment, ink and blood blending as he scrawled with trembling hands. "Shadow saw brother kill brother. Shadow breathes lie. Shadow drinks truth. Shadow strangles."
Their voices blurred in my head.
I saw only Jian Yi's eyes. Calm, unflinching, sharp. Eyes that had seen blood spill in betrayal.
Eyes that knew something about mine.
* * * * * * * * *
That night, I cut myself again, drawing crimson across my arms, feeding the hunger in my veins. Chains lashed in the dark, longer, sharper, snapping against the walls until stone cracked.
Ten breaths became eleven.
Eleven became twelve.
And still I bled.
The obsession grew — not only vengeance, but truth. The truth of betrayal. The truth of shadows.
Lin Zhen was my executioner once. But perhaps others had played their hands, in life or death. Perhaps Jian Yi's words were not lies, but daggers pointing toward a deeper wound.
Who killed Black Vulture?
Who whispered in Lin Zhen's ear the night he killed me?
And why did Jian Yi walk through fire unburned, chains unbound, poison unchoked?
* * * * * * * * *
Somewhere in the compound, Reed summoned Jian Yi privately.
None saw what passed between them.
But Shen Yu did not sleep. He crouched in shadow, his ink-stained hands clutching parchment, his eyes wide and unblinking. His voice shook as he whispered to no one:
"Two shadows bind. One truth bleeds. Tomorrow… the Lotus drowns in red."