Chapter 74

Isla POV

The morning came slow, like it was afraid to touch what the night had broken.

I stood at the edge of the balcony, watching the fog creep across the courtyard. The world looked the same — same walls, same trees, same sun straining through the mist but everything inside me had changed.

Kieran was gone.

I told myself I had made the right choice, that choosing Tristan was what any Luna would have done. It was the rational choice, the loyal one. But no matter how many times I repeated it in my head, the words rang hollow.

I could still feel Kieran’s eyes on me, that last look before he vanished into the trees hurt, betrayal, disbelief.

I pressed my palm to the railing and let the cold metal bite into my skin. “You did the right thing,” I whispered. But the voice that came out sounded like someone I didn’t know.

Behind me, the door opened. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Tristan. His scent cedar and smoke filled the air before he even spoke.

“You didn’t sleep,” he said quietly.

“Neither did you,” I replied, forcing a small smile.

He stepped beside me, his hand brushing against mine on the railing. The warmth should have soothed me, but instead it just reminded me how cold I’d become inside.

“I had scouts search the perimeter,” he said after a pause. “No sign of Kieran.”

The words landed like a stone in my chest. No sign. Not even a trace of his scent. That meant he was either masking it or he didn’t want to be found.

Tristan’s jaw flexed as he spoke again. “If he’s smart, he’ll keep moving. If he’s not” He trailed off, his eyes darkening.

I turned to face him. “Don’t,” I said softly. “Please. Don’t talk about him like that.”

His gaze met mine tired, guarded. “You still care about him.”

It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.

“I care about everyone in this pack,” I said, but even I knew how weak that sounded.

Tristan exhaled, his hand raking through his hair. “You made your choice, Isla. You stood by me. But if there’s any part of you that’s still… torn, I need to know.”

I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t torn, that I was certain, that the bond we shared was enough but the words tangled in my throat. Because the truth was, certainty was something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“I’m with you,” I said instead.

He studied me for a long moment, his eyes searching my face like he could peel away the truth hiding beneath the surface. Then he nodded slowly and stepped closer, pressing his forehead against mine.

The mate bond hummed between us, strong and steady. It should have felt comforting. Safe. But all I could think about was how quiet it felt. How empty.

By midday, the entire pack had heard whispers of Kieran’s exile. The training grounds buzzed with murmurs some relieved, others uncertain. He had been one of us, even if not by blood. The kind of wolf who could silence an entire room with just a look.

Now he was a ghost story.

I sat in the council hall, trying to focus as Tristan led another endless debate about border patrols and rogue threats. My mind kept drifting to the eastern woods the same place Kieran had last been seen.

“and until we’re sure the rogues aren’t regrouping, no one leaves the compound after dark,” Tristan was saying. His tone was clipped, authoritative. He was the Alpha everyone expected him to be.

One of the elders spoke up. “Alpha, do we know if this rogue threat has anything to do with the one Kieran was allegedly seen with?”

The word allegedly made my chest tighten.

Tristan’s eyes flicked to me for a brief second before returning to the elder. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Kieran’s no longer our concern.”

That was the moment something inside me cracked.

Because I knew Kieran. For all his flaws, for all the danger he carried in his eyes, betrayal wasn’t in his nature. He had secrets, yes, but not disloyalty.

After the meeting, I slipped out of the hall, my head spinning. I needed air. I needed truth.

The woods felt different now.

Colder. Hungrier.

Every sound the rustle of leaves, the distant call of a raven made my pulse quicken. I followed the faint trail Kieran used to take when he went scouting, the one that curved past the old stream.

His scent was faint but still there, clinging to the trees like a memory refusing to fade.

I stopped by a fallen log, crouching to touch the damp earth. Claw marks. Deep ones. Recent.

“Kieran” I whispered, tracing the gouges.

A branch snapped behind me.

I spun around, my wolf instincts flaring, ready to defend but it wasn’t him.

It was Lyra, one of the trackers. She looked startled to see me. “Luna? What are you doing out here?”

“I needed to see if there was any sign of him.”

Lyra hesitated. “Tristan said no one should”

“I know what Tristan said,” I interrupted. My voice came out sharper than intended, and she flinched. I sighed. “Please, Lyra. Don’t tell him I was here.”

After a long pause, she nodded reluctantly. “There’s been talk, Luna. Some of the scouts think Kieran wasn’t alone when he left.”

I froze. “What do you mean?”

“Another scent,” she said softly. “Faint, but unfamiliar. Male. It wasn’t one of ours.”

My stomach turned. “A rogue?”

She nodded. “Maybe more than one.”

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

Every creak in the house made my heart race. Every shadow on the wall seemed to whisper his name.

When I finally drifted into an uneasy sleep, the dreams came.

I was standing in the same forest, moonlight spilling through the branches. Kieran was there his back to me, shoulders rigid, his wolf’s gold eyes flickering through the dark.

When he turned, his face wasn’t the one I remembered. It was wilder. Colder.

“Why did you leave me?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. He only stepped closer, his voice low and broken. “You chose him. Now you’ll live with it.”

And then the dream shifted — the trees bled into red, the air thick with the scent of smoke and blood. A howl split the sky, so raw it tore through me.

I jolted awake, breath ragged, a cold sweat clinging to my skin.

The howl still echoed faintly in my ears. Except… it wasn’t a dream.

It was real.

From outside the walls, somewhere deep in the forest, a wolf howled again — long, mournful, and familiar.

Kieran.

I jumped out of bed, my heart slamming against my ribs. Tristan stirred beside me. “Isla? What’s wrong?”

“Did you hear that?”

He frowned, half-asleep. “It’s just a stray. Go back to sleep.”

But I knew better.