Chapter#02

Selene’s POV

Blood. It was everywhere. I covered my ears, desperate to block out the echoes of screams; the anguished cries of my people, the defiant roars of my father, and the pain-filled howls of Damien. Each sound tore through me like claws raking my insides, shredding the fragile hope I’d clung to on my wedding day. I pressed my hands harder, shaking my head violently, but the screams only grew louder, reverberating in my skull like a curse.

“Please, stop!” I screamed, “I can’t bear it! I can’t…”

A cruel laugh broke through the cacophony, chilling me to my core. I opened my eyes, trembling, and there he was: Leandro, Alpha of the Bloodclaw Pack. His golden hair was streaked with the blood of my kin. His blue eyes glowed with triumph, and his cruel smirk sent ice down my spine.

In his hands, he held my world: Damien’s severed head in one, my father’s in the other. Their lifeless eyes stared at me in silent accusation.

“No!” I tried to scream as he threw them at me, but my voice caught in my throat. My vision blurred and my chest burned as I gasped for air…

I bolted upright, clutching my throat, my claws digging into my skin. It was a nightmare. But the searing pain in my chest told me it wasn’t just a dream; it was a memory, as vivid and brutal as the day Leandro slaughtered my pack.

Rowan’s POV

It had been two days since everything fell apart. Two long, torturous days since we lost our home in Northwest Lunareth, our family, and the Silverthorn Pack’s sacred traditions that had bound us together.

The Duskfang Pack was known for their mysticism, their treetop dens connected by rope bridges, their shamans brewing potions from nightshade and lunar dew under the cover of darkness. They were a secretive lot, their rituals shrouded in mystery, often accused of witchcraft. We’d avoided their patrols, knowing their mistrust of outsiders, but the forest’s cursed aura weighed on us.

The cave where we hid felt cold and suffocating. Its walls were slick with moss that glowed faintly with lunar magic. Selene sat curled in a corner, her knees drawn to her chest, trembling as soft cries broke the silence. Her silver-streaked hair was matted with dirt, and her gray eyes were red-rimmed. My heart ached to see her like this.

I knelt beside her, brushing a strand of silver hair from her tear-streaked face, “It’s okay, Selene. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite the storm of grief and rage inside me. I’d promised Kaelen and Father I’d protect her.

I’d failed; failed to stop Leandro, failed to save Kaelen, failed to keep our pack alive. But I wouldn’t fail her now.

She looked at me, and her voice trembled as she spoke. “How can one person be so brutal, Rowan? Why couldn’t our whole pack stop him? Why did we…” Her voice trailed off as tears choked her. Her hands clenched into fists as if she could fight the pain itself.

I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to steady her, though my own hands shook. “Right now, we need to think about staying safe. We can’t hide in caves forever,” I said in a firm tone. I wanted to act, to fight, to do something, anything, to fix this, but I knew we had to be smart.

Her lips quivered, and for a moment, I saw a flash of the strong sister I once knew; a girl who used to challenge me in everything, from sparring matches in the snowy meadows to hunting races through the Frostfang Peaks. I remembered the way our father used to laugh as we bickered.

The memory hit me like a wave. I was back in the training yard of the Alpha Hall. Laughter echoed as Selene darted behind Father, giggling.

“You can’t use Dad as a shield!” I’d shouted, chasing after her.

Father had chuckled, standing with his arms crossed. “I didn’t know I was a hiding spot,” he’d said, his voice warm with amusement.

“She cheats,” I’d huffed, but I couldn’t help grinning as Selene peeked out from behind him, sticking her tongue out at me.

“Cheating or not, she’s outsmarting you, Rowan,” Father had teased, ruffling Selene’s hair.

The image of his smile felt like a dagger now, twisting in my chest. I shook the memory away, forcing myself to focus as Caden sat down beside me on the cave floor. He didn’t say anything at first, but his brown eyes held a quiet understanding, shadowed by his grief.

“We need to leave soon,” Caden said in a low tone, “We can’t stay here long. Leandro’s men might already be tracking us, and the Duskfang Pack won’t take kindly to intruders in their forest. Their shamans can sense outsiders. They’ll find us if we linger.”

I nodded, “But where can we go? Selene can’t be seen, Caden. If they find her…” My voice cracked. The fear of losing her overwhelmed me.

Caden’s gaze turned sharp. “She’ll come with us. To the Ironfang Academy in the Central-North.”

I frowned, “That’s insane. She can’t just walk into a camp full of wolfmen. They’ll know her scent, Caden.”

“We’ll disguise her,” Caden interrupted, “Kaelen had to join the academy after the wedding. We’ll make her Kaelen.”

“They’ll see through her in a heartbeat.” I protested.

Selene stirred as her tired eyes landed on us, “What are you two talking about?”

Caden didn’t flinch. “You’re coming with us to the academy, Selene.”

Selene’s POV

I stared at them in disbelief as my heart pounded against my ribs. Pretend to be Kaelen? Kaelen’s memory was sacred. To take his name felt like erasing him, like losing another piece of my pack. But when I looked at Rowan and Caden, I saw the desperation and fear in their eyes, and I knew they weren’t wrong.

“This is the only way?” I whispered as the weight of the decision pressed down on me.

Caden nodded grimly, “It is, I believe. For two days, I’ve been trying to figure out a safe place for us, and the Ironfang Academy is the only place that keeps coming to mind. It’s neutral territory, a place Leandro won’t expect you to be.” He took a small, bone-handled knife from his pocket and offered it to me.

Rowan and I exchanged a look, and he broke the silence, “You don’t have to force yourself to do this, Selene. We can find another way. I’ll fight anyone who comes for you, I swear it.”

“If this is the only way to keep us safe…” My hands shook as I reached for the knife. “Then I’ll do it.”

Caden hesitated. His steady facade cracked for a moment as he saw the pain in my eyes. “Are you sure…”

“For Father, and the Silverthorn pack,” I said as my voice cracked.

Moonlight filtered through a crack in the cave’s ceiling, casting a pale glow on me as I began cutting my hair. The strands of silver fell to the ground in lifeless heaps. Each cut felt like a piece of me was being stripped away, but it was just a little sacrifice to the vengeance I’d vowed.

When I finished, I ran my fingers through what little was left. I barely recognized myself.

“This isn’t enough,” Caden said, pulling out a small vial of dye. Its contents were dull brown, made from Duskfang roots, a potion their shamans used to blend into the dark. He worked quickly, staining my hair. My silver locks were gone and were replaced by a muddy brown that dulled my spirit.

Finally, Caden uncorked another vial. It was a potion to mask my scent, brewed with nightshade and lunar dew, another Duskfang secret he’d bartered for during our escape.

“This will help you mask your scent,” he said in a low voice as he applied it to my neck and wrists. The acrid smell burned my nose. It was a sharp contrast to the pine and moonflower scent of Silverthorn, but it would make me smell like a generic wolf, untraceable to Leandro’s scouts and any of the wolfmen in the camp.

When it was done, I walked to the edge of a small pool in the cave. I stared at my reflection, and the girl I saw wasn’t Selene. She was someone else; someone unrecognizable, with cropped brown hair and a hollow gaze. The gray eyes staring back at me were not mine.

I swallowed hard. The lump in my throat threatened to choke me. “Let’s do this. For our family. For our people. For us,”

Rowan placed a hand on my shoulder, “For our family. For our people. For us,” he echoed.

Caden nodded, “We’ll make it to the Ironfang Academy,” he said, “And we’ll survive. Together.”

My chest tightened as I nodded. I wasn’t just Selene anymore. I was Kaelen now. And I would survive; not for me, but for the family I had left and the ones I had lost.