Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen

Chapter 17:

Lia’s POV

The alley’s chill seeped into my bones, but it was nothing compared to the cold fury burning in my chest as I stared at Quinn. Her bloodied face was pale, her eyes darting between me and Edgar, guilt written in every line of her body. The bond with Edgar pulsed, hot and insistent, his presence at my side a steady anchor, but it couldn’t quell the storm inside me. Rafe’s words “your mama was Ironclad” echoed in my head, each one a shard of glass cutting deeper. My mother. The woman who’d warned me about the woods, who’d died leaving me alone, had been part of this world. And Quinn had known.

“Talk,” I said, my voice low, sharp enough to cut. My claws were still out, my wolf hovering close to the surface, the mark on my shoulder throbbing like a second heartbeat. “No more lies, Quinn. What do you know about my mother?”

Edgar’s growl rumbled beside me, his eyes locked on Quinn, his body tense like he was ready to pounce. “You’ve got one chance, Colby,” he said, his voice a dangerous rumble. “If you’re hiding something, it ends now.”

Quinn’s hands shook as she pushed herself off the wall, wiping blood from her lip. Her eyes flicked to me, then away, like she couldn’t bear to meet my gaze. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you, Lia,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I found a journal in the bookstore, old Ironclad records. There was a picture, your mother, with a man from the clan. I don’t know who he was, but… she was one of us. A werewolf. Tied to the curse.”

My breath caught, the world tilting under my feet. My mother, a werewolf? The woman who’d baked bread and sung me to sleep, who’d never once mentioned wolves except to warn me away? It didn’t make sense, but the mark on my shoulder burned, like it was confirming the truth I didn’t want to face. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded, stepping closer, my voice shaking with betrayal. “You knew this whole time, and you let me think I was alone in this?”

“I didn’t know what it meant!” Quinn snapped, her voice cracking. “I was trying to figure it out, to protect you. The clan’s already on edge about you being moonbound. If they knew your mother was Ironclad, it’d make things worse. They’d question your loyalty, Lia. They’d turn on you.”

“Like you did?” The words slipped out, sharp and venomous, and I saw the hurt flash in her eyes. But I didn’t care. Not now. The wolf in me was awake, fierce and unyielding, and it wanted answers, not excuses.

Edgar stepped forward, his hand brushing my arm, the bond flaring at the contact. “What else, Quinn?” he said, his voice low, deadly. “Rafe knew about the journals. How? Who’s talking to the Frostclad?”

Quinn’s eyes widened, fear replacing the guilt. “I don’t know,” she said, too quickly. “I swear, I didn’t tell them. I kept the journals hidden, but… someone must’ve seen me. I don’t know who.”

I didn’t believe her. The wolf in me didn’t either, its growl vibrating in my chest. My skin tingled, the memory of my partial shift in the alley still fresh, the power still coursing through me. I was stronger now, not the scared girl who’d stumbled into Duskwood. But that strength came with a cost—trust was slipping through my fingers, and every secret Quinn kept felt like a blade aimed at my back.

Before I could press her, a sharp pain tore through my shoulder, the mark blazing hotter than ever. I gasped, stumbling, my vision blurring as a wave of heat surged through me. The wolf was pushing again, harder this time, my bones creaking, my claws lengthening. “Lia!” Edgar’s voice cut through the haze, his hands grabbing my shoulders, steadying me. “Breathe. You’re shifting. Fight it, just a little longer.”

I tried, clinging to his voice, but the wolf was relentless, clawing at my insides, demanding to be free. My heartbeat thundered, drowning out everything else, and for a moment, I saw it—a vision, sharp and vivid, like the dreams that had haunted me. A woman with my amber hair, running through the forest, her eyes glowing gold, a man at her side who looked like Edgar. My mother. And then, a flash of claws, blood, betrayal.

I snapped back to the alley, my breath ragged, my body trembling. Edgar’s hands were still on me, his eyes wild with worry. “What did you see?” he asked, his voice urgent.

“My mother,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “She was… running. With someone. And then…” I couldn’t finish, the image of blood too raw, too real.

Quinn’s face went white, her eyes darting to the shadows like she expected an attack. “Lia, I didn’t—”

A sudden blur of movement cut her off, and before I could react, a figure lunged from the darkness—not Frostclad, but Ironclad. A woman, her eyes blazing with jealousy, her claws aimed straight for me. I barely dodged, my wolf instincts kicking in, but she was fast, her claws grazing my arm, drawing blood. Edgar roared, tackling her to the ground, his own claws out, his body a shield between me and her.

“Maris!” he snarled, pinning her down, her struggles useless against his strength. “What the hell are you doing?”

Maris, one of the Ironclad, spat at him, her eyes wild, her voice dripping with venom. “She doesn’t belong here, Edgar! A moonbound outsider? She’ll ruin us! I told Connor where to find her—it’s for the clan!”

My heart stopped, the betrayal hitting like a punch. An Ironclad, one of Edgar’s own, working with Connor. I glanced at Quinn, her face frozen in shock, but I couldn’t tell if it was real or an act. The wolf in me howled, rage and fear mixing, pushing me closer to the edge of a full shift.

Edgar’s growl was pure alpha, shaking the air. “You betrayed us,” he said, his voice low, deadly. “For what? Jealousy? Power?” His claws tightened on her arms, drawing blood, and I felt his rage through the bond, a mirror to my own.

Maris laughed, a bitter, broken sound. “You’re blind, Edgar. She’ll destroy you, just like her mother did to the clan. Ask Quinn, she knows!”

My eyes snapped to Quinn, my wolf snarling. “What does she mean?” I demanded, my voice more growl than human. The mark on my shoulder burned, the wolf pushing harder, my body trembling with the effort to hold it back.

Quinn shook her head, her hands raised, her voice desperate. “I don’t know what she’s talking about! Lia, I swear—”

“Enough!” Edgar roared, his eyes glowing gold, his wolf close to breaking free. He looked at me, his face torn between rage and desperation. “Lia, we need to get you out of here. Now.”

But I couldn’t move, not yet. The wolf was too close, the truth too heavy. My mother, the Ironclad, a traitor in the clan, and Quinn’s secrets,it was all crashing down, and I was caught in the middle. I met Edgar’s gaze, my voice steady despite the storm inside me. “I’m not running,” I said. “Not until I know everything.”

His eyes softened, just for a moment, but the bond screamed with urgency. “Then we do this together,” he said, his voice a promise. “But we’re out of time.”

Another growl echoed from the shadows, and my heart sank. The Frostclad were back, and Maris’s betrayal had given them exactly what they needed. The wolf in me howled, ready for a fight, and for the first time, I didn’t push it down. I let it rise, my claws lengthening, my senses sharpening. Whatever came next, I’d face it, not as a human, not as a victim, but as something more.