Chapter 55: The Howl That Found Me

Chapter 55: The Howl That Found Me

Fianna’s POV

The forest had been too still that night.

Even in Shadow Pack lands, where danger lingered in every corner and whispers of war coated the air like fog, there was always sound—wolves patrolling, fire crackling, whispers rising from dark corners of the camp. But tonight, it was different. Silence pressed against my ears, sharp and unnatural, as though the night itself was holding its breath.

I sat near the fire, staring into the flames until they blurred. Sparks lifted into the night air, flickering like fragile stars before being swallowed by the dark. My hood shaded most of my face, though no one lingered close enough to see. Derek’s wolves gave me space—too much space, like I was a secret they hadn’t decided how to handle yet.

I told myself I liked the quiet. That I needed it. But in truth, it only reminded me of the emptiness inside me, the place I had carved hollow to survive.

And then—

The silence shattered.

A howl split the night sky, deep and raw, carrying across the miles with the weight of grief, fury, and something far more dangerous.

I went rigid, the mug in my hands slipping, hot liquid spilling across my fingers, but I didn’t feel it. My heart lurched violently, my breath caught, and my wolf—

My wolf howled back.

Not aloud, but inside me, her cry rising instantly to answer his. She surged forward, pressing against the walls I had built, her tail high, her body straining toward the sound like a tether had just snapped taut.

Kael.

It was him. I knew it with a certainty that sank into my bones. That sound—the raw, soul-deep pull of it—belonged to only one wolf.

My Alpha.

My mate.

No.

I shook my head violently, gripping my chest as if I could claw the bond out myself. He wasn’t mine. Not anymore. I had cut that tie, buried it, buried her.

But gods, it didn’t matter. The bond still lived, hidden like a scar under the skin, and now it burned. His howl was a blade against that scar, cutting it open, bleeding me raw all over again.

Wolves stirred across the camp. Some raised their muzzles instinctively, answering his call with low whimpers, others shifting uneasily, their hackles high. Even the humans sensed it—fires dimmed, laughter faltered, unease crawled through every corner. That was the power of an Alpha’s voice on the wind.

And Kael wasn’t just any Alpha.

He was mine.

I bit down hard, tasting blood, forcing myself to breathe through the ache. My hands shook, nails digging into my palms until crescent moons marked my skin.

We should go to him, my wolf whispered fiercely. He calls for us. He needs us.

“No,” I hissed under my breath, low enough that only the fire could hear. “We’re not his. We can’t be.”

But my body betrayed me. My pulse raced, my chest ached, my legs twitched as if they might carry me into the forest whether I willed it or not. That was the cruelty of the bond—it didn’t care about scars, about betrayal, about the ashes I had crawled through to survive. It only cared about him.

And then, like a shadow pulled from the dark, he was there.

“Fianna.”

I flinched at my name.

Derek stood across the fire, his arms folded loosely, his posture calm, but his eyes—those cold, dangerous eyes—glowed faintly with the reflection of the flames. He had heard the howl too, and unlike the others, he wasn’t cowed by it.

He was calculating.

“You feel it, don’t you?” His voice was smooth, even, but edged with something sharper. “That pull in your chest. The bond you thought was dead.”

I met his gaze, jaw tight, though my silence was answer enough.

Derek stepped closer, the firelight painting his face in harsh gold. He studied me with unnerving patience, like a predator waiting for a prey animal to stumble. “Kael will come for you now. He’ll tear down every wall, every pack, every wolf that stands in his way. He’ll burn his world to reach you.”

The words landed heavy because they were true. I had no illusions about Kael’s temper, his rage, his endless hunger for control. If he had discovered I was alive, then Shadow Pack itself would not hold him back.

And yet—despite the terror curling in my gut—there was another feeling I couldn’t name, couldn’t bury. Relief.

Because even after everything, some part of me… had wanted him to know.

Derek’s eyes narrowed faintly, reading me too well. “So tell me, Fianna—when he comes, will you run back into his arms… or will you let me break him before he reaches you?”

The fire popped sharply between us, sparks leaping into the night air. My wolf keened, torn between the bond that burned for Kael and the defiance that burned for me.

I swallowed hard, pressing a shaking hand against my chest, where my heart still beat too fast. “I don’t belong to either of you.”

Derek’s lips curved, though there was no humor in it. “That’s where you’re wrong. Wolves like you don’t get to stand alone. Sooner or later, you’ll have to choose who claims the bond and who dies because of it.”

My stomach twisted. The world tilted.

Because I knew he was right.

And no matter
what I chose—Kael, Derek, or no one at all—the blood spilled would be mine to bear.