The rain dies slowly, leaving only the dripping of water from the trees as Lyon walks toward the Kade estate. Mud squelches under his bare feet, but he no longer feels the cold. The storm clouds shift overhead, revealing slivers of moonlight that cling to him like a spotlight.
The world feels sharper.
Every scent—earth, pine, distant wolves—slices through the air like a blade.
Every sound—a leaf falling, a guard breathing, a heartbeat thumping—reaches him with unnatural clarity.
He is different now.
Alive.
Awakened.
Marked.
My strength is yours, Fen'Rath's presence murmurs inside him. But your path… is your own.
Lyon doesn't reply. He doesn't need to. The flame inside his chest pulses in agreement.
The guards who saw him rise still kneel behind him, trembling—not daring to follow. Their fear clings to the air like smoke.
Good.
He steps forward, leaving them behind as he approaches the massive gate of the Kade compound.
Two new guards stand under the archway, spears crossed. When they see him, their posture stiffens.
"Stop!" one barks, raising his weapon. "This area is restricted. Identify yo—"
His sentence dies.
Lyon steps fully into the moonlight.
Their eyes widen in horror.
"That's… impossible…" the second guard whispers.
The first guard stumbles back. "No—NO. We pulled his corpse from the cliffs. He was dead. DEAD!"
Lyon's golden eyes glint faintly. "Apparently not."
His voice is calm. Dead calm. And that somehow terrifies them even more.
It should.
The first guard drops his spear entirely. "You're… one of them. A revenant. A demon—something cursed."
Lyon's head tilts.
"No. I'm what you refused to protect."
The guard collapses to his knees.
The second raises his spear in shaky defiance. "S-stay back! I'll call for the Beta!"
Lyon doesn't move.
"I'm not here to fight you."
The spear lowers an inch.
"I'm here to show my father… that I am alive."
The guards exchange a look—fear, confusion, disbelief—and slowly part to let him pass.
As Lyon enters the courtyard, the godwolf's shadow trails behind him like a living omen. Fen'Rath is not visible, but his presence twists the torchlight, bending it, turning it gold.
Every flame he passes flickers violently.
Every wolf housed in the kennels whines and backs away, ears flat.
Lyon approaches the main hall.
That is where they'll be.
His father.
Zale.
The elders.
The traitors who let him die.
His stomach tightens—not with fear, but something uglier, heavier, and hotter.
Retribution will come, Fen'Rath's voice murmurs. But tonight, you show them the truth.
Lyon reaches the heavy wooden doors. Voices echo from inside.
Laughter.
Wine glasses.
Celebration.
Celebrating the death of their "weakest heir."
His fingers curl around the door handles. Energy hums through him.
He pushes.
The doors slam open—BANG—crashing against the stone walls.
The hall goes silent instantly.
Dozens turn to stare.
In the center of the room sits Alpha Draven Kade, Lyon's father—broad-shouldered, cold-eyed, wearing authority like armor. At his right sits Zale, smirking, cup raised, as if nothing evil ever stained his hands.
The moment they see Lyon, both freeze.
The laughter dies.
The music stops.
Breath itself seems to pause.
Lyon steps across the threshold, rain dripping from his hair, golden ember-light flickering faintly under his skin.
Every elder stands.
A whisper slithers through the hall:
"…he's alive…"
"…no, not possible…"
"…the curse…"
"…the prophecy…"
Zale's cup falls from his hand, shattering against the ground, wine splattering like blood.
Draven rises slowly, his expression unreadable.
Lyon meets his father's gaze.
"Hello, Father."
A ripple of shock runs through the elders.
Zale stammers, "No—NO. This is a trick. A shapeshifter mimicry—something demonic. He—he died!"
Lyon lifts his chin slightly.
"You should know. You were there."
The room gasps.
Zale's jaw locks, fury and fear wrestling in his eyes. "You— You dare—!"
"Enough."
Draven's voice stops everything.
All eyes shift to him.
The alpha steps forward, towering but tense, posture rigid. His eyes search Lyon's face, his body, his aura.
"You are not the same," Draven says quietly. "Your scent… your presence… it's changed."
Lyon stands still. The flame inside him pulses once.
Fen'Rath whispers, Do not bow. Do not submit. Not tonight.
Lyon's posture remains tall.
"I'm not the one who changed," he says. "I'm simply the one who stopped pretending."
Gasps.
Whispers.
Fear.
Zale snarls, unable to hold himself back. "He's LYING! He's playing with forbidden powers! A demon is inside him—I knew it! He should be put down!"
Lyon turns his head slightly toward him.
The torches flare gold.
Zale's mouth snaps shut, terror freezing him.
Draven continues studying Lyon—not speaking, not blinking.
"What are you?" Draven finally asks.
Lyon steps closer. The room parts like water.
He stops only a few feet from his father.
"I am Lyon Kade," he says softly, "son of your bloodline. And… the heir you abandoned."
Draven's jaw tightens, but his eyes—usually cold steel—flicker with something else. Something dangerous.
Fear.
The elders murmur among themselves.
"The prophecy…"
"The godwolf's return…"
"The mark of the Reborn Alpha…"
"His eyes—they glow…"
Zale snaps, "Stop talking nonsense! He's a FRAUD! An abomination!"
Lyon's gaze shifts to Zale fully.
"Zale," he says simply, "you killed me."
The room explodes in noise, but Lyon raises his hand slightly.
Silence slams back into place.
Zale trembles. "I—I did no such thing!"
"You held me down," Lyon says. "You laughed. You told me I deserved to die." His golden eyes darken. "Fen'Rath remembers your voice."
Zale turns pale. "Fen… who?"
"The godwolf," an elder whispers in awe. "The first ancestor. The primal spirit. Only the chosen heir bears that flame…"
Zale steps back, sweating. "This is insane! This is a trick! He was DEAD!"
Draven finally raises a hand, silencing everyone.
"Zale."
Zale turns to him. "F—Father, this is—"
"Enough."
Draven steps closer to Lyon, eyes narrowing.
"If you truly carry the mark… prove it."
The room freezes.
Lyon feels Fen'Rath stir inside him, regal and vast.
Show them. Let the weak tremble and the guilty choke.
Lyon exhales slowly.
Then his eyes ignite—bright gold, flashing like lightning.
The torches in the hall flare, burning twice as tall, all shifting to the same gold. Shadows spiral around Lyon, forming the outline of a massive wolf behind him—paws, fangs, eyes burning like suns.
The elders fall to their knees.
Several guards collapse outright.
Zale screams, stumbling backward.
Draven—Draven, the Alpha—staggers one step, face drained.
The wolf-shadow lifts its head and releases a silent howl that shakes the hall.
Then everything dims. The flames return to normal.
But the fear remains.
The power hangs thick in the air, impossible to deny.
Draven slowly lowers himself to one knee.
Not a bow.
Not full submission.
But acknowledgment.
The room erupts in shocked gasps.
Zale stares in disbelief. "F—Father? What are you…?"
Draven rises, eyes sharp—calculating.
"You are no longer the boy we cast aside," he says. "Something has awakened in you."
Lyon meets his gaze.
"Something… or someone."
The implication hangs like a blade.
Fen'Rath's voice rumbles through Lyon's mind.
This is the beginning. Make them see. Make them fear. Make them respect.
Draven steps back slightly, giving Lyon space.
"Very well," the Alpha says softly. "If the godwolf truly chose you… then the pack will not challenge it."
But Zale slams his fist into the table.
"No! This is not right! He's a curse, a danger, a liar! I will NOT accept him!"
Draven's gaze turns icy. "Zale—"
Zale points at Lyon, shaking with fury. "I CHALLENGE HIM!"
The entire room inhales sharply.
A challenge.
To the heir.
To Lyon.
Lyon's pulse stays calm.
Zale's voice cracks. "Tomorrow. At dawn. In the Trial Grounds."
Draven's expression darkens. "Zale, this decision will bind you—"
"I don't care!" Zale shouts. "He dies. AGAIN."
Lyon steps forward.
His voice is soft.
"Zale."
Zale freezes.
Lyon's eyes burn bright gold.
"I accept."
Silence.
Total. Heavy. Inevitable.
Zale's face contorts into a grin of rage-filled triumph.
But Lyon sees the truth behind it: fear.
Fen'Rath whispers:
Tomorrow… we begin.
Lyon turns away and walks out of the hall, leaving the entire pack in trembling silence.
Tonight, the weakling returned from death.
Tomorrow, he will show them what the Reborn Alpha truly is.