Chapter 8: A Mother’s Legacy

RAVEN

The wind whispers through the trees, carrying the scent of pine, damp earth, and something else—something softer, something familiar.

Lavender.

It coils through the night air, wrapping around me like an unseen presence, slipping into my lungs like a memory long forgotten.

I sit on the edge of the pack’s outer borders, perched on a fallen log, my arms wrapped tightly around myself. I don’t remember deciding to come here. I just walked, letting my feet carry me anywhere but there. Anywhere but Victor’s study, where his voice still rings in my ears.

"You are lucky to even still be here."

"You will never be more than what you are."

I always knew he didn’t care about me. That I was nothing to him. That he let Lilliana and Seraphina torment me, never once stopping them, never once standing up for me.

But hearing him say it aloud, with such cold finality—

That was something else entirely.

My hands tighten into fists, my nails digging into my palms.

I am alone.

Utterly, completely alone.

But then—

The scent of lavender grows stronger.

A breath of wind shifts through the trees, carrying a warmth that has no place in the cold night air.

And suddenly—

I am not in the forest anymore.

I am five years old.

Standing in an open meadow beneath the full moon.

The grass brushes against my small hands as I turn in slow circles, confused, blinking up at the endless sky.

And then—I see her.

A woman stands in the clearing, bathed in silver light.

She is tall and strong, wrapped in a cloak of midnight blue, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders in soft waves. Her features are sharp yet kind, fierce yet warm, and her golden eyes shine like twin suns against the night.

My breath catches in my throat.

Even at five years old, I know.

This woman is my mother.

Selene Nightshade.

I have never seen her before. Not outside of fragments of whispered stories, blurred memories stolen from overheard conversations.

And yet—I know.

Selene kneels before me, her expression soft but steady.

"You are not supposed to be here," she murmurs, her voice velvet and steel all at once.

I take a hesitant step forward. "Where is here?"

Selene smiles, reaching out. Her fingers brush over my wrist, tracing the crescent moon birthmark there.

"The in-between," she says.

I frown. "The what?"

She chuckles softly, her eyes warm. "The space between past and present. Between memory and forgetting."

I look up at her with wide, searching eyes.

I have never known what it’s like to be held by her, to hear her voice, to be comforted by her presence.

I have spent my entire life being told that my mother is gone. That she died bringing me into the world.

And yet—here she is.

She doesn’t look weak.

She doesn’t look like a woman who faded from existence the way the pack always made it seem.

She looks like a warrior.

"You have greatness in you, Raven," Selene whispers, cupping my small hands in her own. "More than they will ever let you believe."

I swallow, my throat suddenly tight.

"But I don’t feel great," I whisper.

Selene tilts her head, her expression full of something deeper than sympathy—something close to sorrow.

"They have made you feel small," she murmurs. "But that does not mean you are."

I hesitate, looking down. "Everyone says I’m… a mistake."

Selene’s fingers tighten around mine, strong, unyielding.

"They are wrong."

My lower lip trembles. "But they say you died because of me."

Her face softens, but her grip does not loosen.

"My body gave you life," she says, firmly, fiercely. "That is not a curse, Raven. That is a gift."

A lump rises in my throat, and for the first time, tears burn at the corners of my eyes.

No one has ever spoken of my mother this way. No one has ever told me that I am anything more than a burden.

But Selene—she does not look at me with resentment.

She looks at me like I was meant to be here.

"I do not have much time," Selene says, brushing a gentle hand through my hair. "But you must listen to me."

I nod quickly, desperate to hold onto this moment.

Selene’s expression darkens, something ancient and knowing flickering behind her golden eyes.

"They will try to make you disappear," she whispers. "They will try to erase my name. Your name."

My breath catches.

Selene leans in, pressing a hand over my heart.

"But you are my daughter. And you were born for more than this."

The wind picks up, the scent of lavender growing stronger.

Her form begins to fade, her golden eyes still locked onto mine.

"Remember who you are."

And then—

She is gone.

I gasp, my body jerking as I am yanked back into the present.

I am still sitting on the log, my arms wrapped around myself, the wind rustling through the trees.

But the scent of lavender lingers.

And my wrist—

I look down, my heart pounding as I run my fingers over the crescent moon birthmark.

It tingles beneath my touch.

I swallow hard, tears burning behind my eyes.

She was real.

Not just a name whispered in passing.

Not just a tragic afterthought in the pack’s history.

My mother had been strong. Respected. A warrior in her own right.

And she had wanted me to be so much more than what they had reduced me to.

I wipe my face with the back of my hand, blinking up at the sky.

I am done waiting.

Done hoping.

Victor has already erased Selene’s name.

Lilliana has already buried my mother’s memory beneath her lies.

But me?

I will not let them do the same to me.

I clench my fists, my mother’s final words echoing in my mind.

"Remember who you are."

I will not be forgotten.

I will rise.

And when the time comes?

They will remember both of our names.