Sleep refused to come.
That should have been obvious.
You don't walk back into the pack that exiled you, crack the earth on arrival, and then sleep peacefully like a well-adjusted woodland creature.
The cabin was quiet.
Too quiet.
Every creak of wood sounded like a warning.
Every shift of wind through the trees felt like someone watching.
I lay on the narrow bed staring at the ceiling for a long time before finally giving up.
"Fine," I muttered to the empty room. "We're doing this the difficult way."
The pull under my ribs was still there.
And very clearly pointing toward the forest.
Toward Fenris.
That was a problem.
I pushed myself off the bed and moved toward the door.
Outside, the pack territory had settled into night patrol rhythm.
Two guards crossed the clearing.
Another pair lingered near the council den.
Rowan had said I wasn't a prisoner.
But he had also quietly arranged enough guards to make leaving difficult.
Kael's voice echoed in my head.
Try the west trail.
I slipped along the shadow of the cabins, keeping low and quiet.
No one stopped me.
Which either meant I was very good at sneaking—
Or someone wanted me to think I was.
That thought sat unpleasantly in the back of my mind as I reached the west trail.
The path curved between two tall pines before disappearing into thicker forest.
I paused at the edge of the tree line.
"Still doing reckless things, Lyra?" I whispered to myself.
Then I stepped into the forest.
The woods outside Silverhide were darker than I remembered.
Maybe because I knew what lived out here now.
Rogues.
Predators.
And Fenris.
My chest tightened at the thought.
The pull beneath my ribs grew slightly stronger the farther I walked.
A branch snapped somewhere ahead.
I froze.
Voices drifted through the trees.
Low and whispering.
Pack wolves.
I moved closer, crouching behind a fallen log.
Two figures stood in the small clearing beyond.
One I recognized instantly.
Rowan.
The other was Elder Varric.
My stomach tightened.
"…she returned easier than expected," Varric was saying.
Rowan folded his arms.
"She always thinks about others first."
"That makes her predictable."
"Yes."
Predictable.
Wonderful.
"Northbound hasn't moved," Varric continued.
"They won't yet."
"Then the threat you told her about—"
"It worked."
Ice slid through my chest.
So Fenris had been right.
Rowan hadn't lied entirely.
He had just rearranged the truth.
"You manipulated her," Varric said.
Silence followed.
I felt something crack quietly inside my chest.
Not the earth this time.
Trust.
"If she had stayed with the rogue," Rowan continued, "things would have escalated too quickly."
Varric studied him.
"You're certain the rogue is the catalyst?"
"Yes."
My breath caught.
"If they bind," Rowan said carefully, "her power will surface immediately."
Bind.
The word echoed in my skull.
Varric frowned.
"And that's dangerous?"
"It's uncontrollable."
"For her?"
"For everyone."
The forest felt colder.
"What exactly happens when she
awakens?" Varric asked.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"Her mother called it the 'Silver Vein.'"
My pulse stuttered.
"An old bloodline ability," Rowan continued. "One tied to the land itself."
The ground beneath my feet pulsed faintly.
Right on cue.
"She warned me it would remain dormant until the girl found the wolf meant to trigger it."
Varric's gaze sharpened.
"The rogue."
"Yes."
My stomach dropped.
"If she binds with him before we contain the awakening," Rowan said quietly, "there will be no controlling what she becomes."
The silence stretched.
Then Varric asked the question that made my blood run cold.
"And if she refuses containment?"
Rowan didn't hesitate.
"Then we remove the catalyst."
My chest tightened.
Fenris.
"And if that doesn't stabilize her?" Varric pressed.
Rowan's voice hardened.
"Then we remove the problem."
The forest went silent.
For a moment I couldn't breathe.
They were talking about me.
About killing me.
Just like that.
My fingers curled into the dirt.
Anger flared hot and sharp.
But I didn't move.
Because Rowan wasn't finished.
"She has weaknesses," he said quietly.
"That will help us keep her close long enough for us to prepare."
Varric nodded slowly.
"And the rogue?"
Rowan's eyes darkened.
"He won't stay away."
"Good," Varric said.
"Why good?"
"Because then we can kill him where he stands."
Something inside me snapped.
A twig cracked beneath my foot.
Both wolves turned instantly.
My heart slammed.
Rowan's eyes locked onto the shadows where I crouched.
"Lyra?"
Too late.
I bolted.
Branches whipped past my arms as I sprinted through the forest.
Behind me, Rowan shouted.
"Stop!"
Right.
Because that had worked so well last time.
Wolves crashed through the trees behind me.
Pack wolves knew these woods better than I did.
Great planning, Lyra.
A large shadow moved ahead.
And suddenly Fenris stepped into my path.
I nearly collided with him.
"What happened?" he asked sharply.
"No time," I gasped. "Run."
He didn't question it.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the forest.
Behind us, Rowan's voice rang through the trees.
"Fenris!"
Fenris didn't slow.
"How many?" he asked.
"Three. Maybe four."
"Rowan?"
"Yes."
His jaw tightened.
"Of course."
We cut through the underbrush, moving faster than any normal wolf should manage in human form.
Fenris knew the terrain.
Better than the pack.
Which raised a question I hadn't asked yet.
"How do you know these woods so well?" I panted.
He didn't answer immediately.
Because ahead of us, more wolves appeared between the trees.
Blocking the path.
Fenris stopped.
Slowly, his posture shifted.
"Stay behind me," he said quietly.
"Oh great," I muttered. "Another life-threatening situation as if I was getting bored."
One of the wolves stepped forward.
"You shouldn't have come here, rogue."
Fenris's voice turned colder than winter.
"You shouldn't have followed."
The wolf shifted.
Bones snapped and claws extended.
Fenris exhaled slowly.
Then something changed.
Not around us.
Inside him.
I felt it.
The pull beneath my ribs surged violently.
Fenris's eyes flashed silver.
For a split second—
The wolves hesitated.
Rowan stepped into the clearing behind them.
"Interesting," he said quietly.
Fenris's gaze locked onto him.
"You manipulated her."
"Yes."
My head whipped toward Rowan.
He wasn't denying it.
Not even pretending anymore.
"You brought her back," Rowan continued calmly. "Exactly as expected."
My stomach twisted.
"You used me," I said.
"I protected you."
"By planning to kill me if I didn't cooperate?"
Rowan's expression tightened slightly.
"You heard more than I intended."
"Stop."
Fenris's voice cut through the tension.
"You said remove the catalyst."
Rowan met his gaze.
"Yes."
"You meant me."
"Yes."
The clearing went still.
Then Fenris laughed.
"You should have done that earlier."
Rowan's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Fenris's gaze flicked toward me.
"Because it's too late now."
The pull inside my chest exploded.
And the ground trembled.
Cracks spidered through the clearing floor.
The wolves staggered back.
Rowan's expression shifted in recognition.
"No," he whispered.
Fenris turned to me slowly.
And for the first time since I met him—
He looked different.
"Lyra," he said quietly.
"What?"
His voice dropped.
"You're not the only one with a secret."
The earth pulsed again beneath our feet.
And as Fenris's silver eyes began to glow in the darkness—
I realized Rowan hadn't been trying to stop a monster from awakening.
He had been trying to stop two.