Chapter 8 SISTER OF SHADOWS**
CHAPTER EIGHT
SISTER OF SHADOWS
ZARIAH NIGHTBORNE POV
Lena looked like hell.
Her clothes were torn, blood crusted on her temple, her left eye swollen shut. The rogues had tied her hands behind her back, silver-laced rope burning into her wrists.
Good.
I circled her slowly, letting the silence stretch, letting her fear build.
"You have thirty seconds," I said flatly. "Then I let them tear you apart."
"Zariah, please—"
"Twenty-five."
"I'm sorry!" The words burst out of her, desperate and broken. "I'm so sorry. They threatened my family. My little brother. They said if I didn't—"
"Twenty."
"Your mother is dying!" Lena screamed.
I stopped.
The compound went silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
"What did you say?"
Lena's voice shook. "The stasis chamber. It's failing. They're letting her die to force your hand. Lucien's orders."
My jaw clenched. "When?"
"Three days. Maybe less." She met my eyes, tears streaming down her face. "But that's not all. There's someone else. Someone they kept hidden."
"Who?"
Lena swallowed hard. "Your sister."
The world tilted.
"I don't have a sister."
"You do." Lena's voice dropped to a whisper. "She's seventeen. They've been training her since she was a child. Told her you're the enemy. That you killed your mother. That you're the reason the packs are at war."
I staggered back, my mind reeling.
A sister.
"Where is she?"
"With Lucien. He's using her as his weapon. His failsafe." Lena's eyes were pleading now. "Zariah, she's been sent to kill you. She's already on her way."
Veda stepped forward, her hand on her blade. "Could be a trap."
"It is a trap," I said quietly. "But that doesn't mean she's lying."
I turned back to Lena. "What's her name?"
"Elara. Elara Nightborne."
The name hit me like a physical blow. Our mother's middle name.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
Lena reached into her pocket slowly, carefully. The rogues tensed, but she pulled out a photograph—crumpled, bloodstained.
She held it up.
A girl stared back at me from the photo. Dark hair. Sharp features. And my eyes.
Exactly my eyes.
"She has your mother's ring," Lena whispered. "The one with the lunar seal. They gave it to her. Told her it was her birthright."
My mother's ring. The one I'd seen in the tablet image, still on her finger in that crystal tomb.
"They took it from her," I said, my voice hollow.
"To give to Elara. To make her believe she's the true heir." Lena's voice cracked. "Zariah, she worships Lucien. Thinks he saved her. She'll do anything he asks."
I stared at the photograph, memorizing every detail.
I had a sister.
A sister who'd been raised to kill me.
"Where's Lucien now?" I asked.
"The old cathedral. Twenty miles south. He's gathering his forces. Planning to strike your compound at dawn."
Veda cursed. "That's less than six hours."
"How many?" I demanded.
"Fifty wolves. Maybe more." Lena looked up at me. "But Zariah, that's not the worst part."
"What could possibly be worse?"
"The Alpha Don is coming. Personally." Her voice dropped. "He wants to watch you break."
The compound erupted into chaos. Rogues shouting, arguing, panic spreading like wildfire.
But I felt nothing.
Just cold, crystalline clarity.
"Veda," I said quietly.
She turned to me, her expression grim. "Yeah?"
"Get everyone ready. Full gear. We're not waiting for dawn."
Her eyes widened. "You want to hit them first?"
"No." I smiled, and it was a terrible thing. "I want to burn that cathedral to the ground."
"Zariah—"
"They want war? They'll get it." I turned to the rogues. "Anyone not ready to die tonight can leave. No judgment. No shame."
Silence.
Then one of the scarred women stepped forward. "We're with you, Luna."
The others echoed her. All twenty of them.
I nodded. "Good. We move in one hour."
Veda grabbed my arm as I turned away. "What about her?" She jerked her head toward Lena.
I looked at the girl who'd betrayed me. Who'd sold me to monsters.
"Lock her up. If we survive, we'll deal with her then."
"And if she's lying? If this is all a setup?"
"Then we die." I met Veda's eyes. "But at least we die fighting."
She grinned. "Damn right we do."
\---
Fifty-three minutes later, we moved out.
Twenty rogues. One Luna. Against an army.
The odds were suicide.
I didn't care.
Damien intercepted us at the tree line, stepping out of the shadows like a ghost.
"You're insane," he said flatly.
"Probably."
"You'll all die."
"Maybe."
"Zariah—" He grabbed my arm, and I yanked free.
"Don't," I said coldly. "Don't pretend you care now. You had your chance to help. You chose to warn me and walk away."
"Because I knew you'd do exactly this!" His voice rose. "Throw yourself into a slaughter because you're angry and hurt and—"
"And what?" I stepped closer, my voice deadly quiet. "I should just wait? Let them kill my mother? Let them use my sister as a weapon? Let the Alpha Don decide my fate?"
"You should be smart about this—"
"I'm done being smart." I turned away. "Smart got me caged. Smart got me betrayed. From now on, I'm being savage."
"Then let me come with you," he said.
I stopped.
Turned back.
"Why?"
"Because despite everything, despite all the lies..." He met my eyes. "I meant what I said. I want to protect you."
"I don't need protection."
"I know." A ghost of a smile. "But maybe I need redemption."
I studied him for a long moment. Saw the truth in his eyes. The regret. The grief.
"Fine," I said finally. "But you follow my orders. No arguments. No heroics."
He nodded. "Understood."
Veda appeared beside me. "We're ready."
I looked back at my army. Twenty broken wolves. One conflicted traitor. And me.
Against the world.
"Then let's go start a war."
\---
The cathedral loomed against the night sky, all gothic spires and broken stone.
We approached in silence, shadows among shadows.
I could feel them inside. Fifty wolves. Maybe more. Their presence thrumming against my senses like a second heartbeat.
And something else.
Something powerful. Ancient. Wrong.
The Alpha Don.
"Positions," I whispered.
The rogues scattered, surrounding the building, cutting off escape routes.
Damien stayed beside me. "What's the plan?"
"Simple." I drew my blade. "We walk in the front door."
"That's not a plan. That's suicide."
"Then it's a good thing I'm already dead." I started forward.
He caught my wrist. "Zariah, wait. There's something you should know. About your sister. About Elara."
"What?"
His expression was pained. "She's not just trained to kill you. She's been conditioned. Brainwashed. Even if you reach her, she might not—"
"I'll reach her," I said coldly. "One way or another."
I pulled free and walked toward the cathedral doors.
Behind me, Veda and the rogues followed.
Twenty-one wolves against an army.
The doors loomed before me, ancient wood reinforced with iron.
I placed my palm against them.
Took a breath.
And pushed.
They swung open with a groan, revealing a vast chamber lit by torches.
And there, waiting in the center, stood a girl.
Dark hair. Sharp features. My eyes.
Wearing my mother's ring.
Elara.
She looked at me, and smiled.
"Hello, sister," she said softly. "I've been waiting to meet you."
Then she shifted.
And lunged.