Chapter 3: Shadows and Secrets

About that chill was somehow clinging to the morning air as I followed Ren back toward the campfire. The shadowy figure I had seen in the trees had vanished, but their unsettling aura remained coiled in my gut like a warning.

Ren was notably quiet during our walk; although I sensed that he was tense, his eyes often sliding beyond our range of perception, someone . . . something stayed my tongue. I wanted to ask him if he had seen the figure, but something held me back. I certainly did not need him, or worse, Kael, to think that I was seeing things.

As we finally reached the center of the camp, there, leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, was Kael. The exiled leader was written all over him-strong, watchful, and remote. I felt drawn to him like a gravitational pull, wanting to ask him questions he might never answer.

He looked up, his gaze locking onto mine with a knowing intensity that made my heart stutter.

"Oh, so you're still here," he said in a monotone.

"I told you I wasn't going," I shot back, meeting his stare headnote.

Kael's jaw clenched. He glanced at Ren, who appeared almost amused by our exchange.

"Did you give her the whole tour?" Kael asked coolly.

Ren gave a curt nod, the slightest of smirks turning at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, she got the grand tour. She even heard a few stories about our very esteemed alpha."

Kael squinted now, and for a moment, it appeared as though he may explode with rage against Ren. But then he turned back to me, his features stonewalled. "I'm sure he provided you with plenty of opinions. Some of us somehow still suffer regarding the past."

The accusation in his voice caught me completely by surprise. Before I could stop myself, I spat out, "Haunted by betrayal?"

His gaze quickened from me to God, his jaw tight with anger."Keep your mouth shut."

In a low, slow pace tone I encouraged “You don't have to panic, I could get a glimpse of what it means to be exiled, I and my mom are exiled too”

There was a sharp gaze immediately. I said these words as if interested in what I just said, but quickly, he shrugged it off.

A wave of frustration whipped through my head; it seemed like he had built walls with such height and thickness that no one could ever hope to penetrate. Yet something in me lingered on wanting to try, wanting to understand him.

"Maybe it's not keeping them safe," I said, surprising myself with the boldness of my words. "Maybe it's about revenge."

He whipped his head toward me, his eyes sharp and piercing. "What do you know about revenge?"

I swallowed. I could feel the weight of his question settle on me. "I know that feeling of wanting justice--of wanting to make things right, even if that means breaking the rules." In a lower tone,”I want that too for my mother”

He stared at me, inscrutable. For a moment I thought he might dismiss me, turn away, and leave me standing there alone. Then, to my surprise, he let out a bitter laugh, low and rough.

"Justice," he murmured. "What a beautiful lie."

I took a step closer, emboldened. "Maybe it doesn't have to be a lie."

He looked down at me and in his eyes for the first time I saw something raw and vulnerable, something that flickered and was gone.

"What do you know about it?" he muttered, pain-laced in his voice. "What do you know about losing everything you've built, everything you've fought for, just because someone decided you didn't fit their mold?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, a branch snapped somewhere behind us, and Kael became tense. He had turned toward the source of the sound, and the alertness in his eyes turned sharp.

I turned and my heart raced as I scanned the shadows for any sign of motion. But there was nothing. Only a dense, dark forest stretching boundlessly around. "Who's there?" asked Kael in a low, commanding voice.

The silence stretched in electric, tense agony. After what seemed ages, the figure slowly stepped out from behind the tree, his face partially veiled by shadows.

Recognition twisted my sLorenach; it was the same figure who had.

The stranger was tall and slender, his face scoured with scars that made him look both dangerous and utterly familiar in a way I could not quite define. His eyes glared in two unnatural shades of green, shining in the dim light like those of a monster. He grinned, or rather, bared his teeth like a feral creature; a livid shiver raked its way down my spine.

“Kael," the stranger said, pouring contempt into his voice. "Long time-no-see."

Kael's jaw clenched audibly, radiating hardly restrained whispering fury. "Loren, you shouldn't be here."

With that, Loren chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm here now. Funny how that works."

I glanced between them, sensing history and tension hanging thick in the air. This was all too unresolved. Kael made fists and seemed taut and ready to explode.

"And what do you want?" he demanded, dangerously low.

"I thought I'd just pay you a friendly visit to see how the mighty Kael is faring out here in exile." With that, Loren started to crack a cold smile.

There was something in that tone, the way he glanced at Kael as if he were merely a beaten dog.

Kael stepped forward with blazing eyes: "Get lost."

But Loren laughed, as though he had expected this response. "You think you can intimidate me? You are a shadow of what you once were, Kael; no pack, no power… “