Chapter 89 so fast
Raelynn stumbled out of the packhouse, her body trembling as the weight of rejection settled deep into her bones. Each step away from the only home she had ever known felt heavier than the last, but she refused to stop. Her wolf, Becky, whimpered in the back of her mind, the pain of their mate’s rejection cutting through them both.
The air still crackled with the remnants of fire, the scent of scorched earth thick in my lungs. My pulse hammered, but my instincts screamed that this wasn’t over.
Lena wiped blood from her lip, her silver-lit eyes sharp as they met mine. “We need to move.”
I exhaled, forcing the fire inside me to settle. “They’ll come back.”
“Of course they will.” She scanned the trees, her body tense. “But now they know what you can do.”
And that meant they’d come prepared next time.
I clenched my fists. My fire had hurt them—it had burned through the golden veins that made them nearly indestructible. That meant something.
The Wardens weren’t as invincible as the legends claimed.
Lena started moving, but I didn’t follow immediately. My gaze lingered on the darkness where they’d disappeared.
The leader’s words echoed in my mind.
"You weren’t meant to exist."
I should have been afraid.
Instead, all I felt was fury.
I wasn’t done.
I turned to Lena. “I need answers.”
Her jaw tightened. “I know.”
“Not later. Now.” I stepped closer. “You knew what they were. You knew what I was.”
She hesitated. “Elias—”
“No more half-truths.” My voice was low, edged with heat. “Tell me everything.”
She held my gaze for a long moment. Then, finally, she exhaled.
“Fine.” She glanced around. “But not here. We’re too exposed.”
I bit back my frustration. She was right. The Wardens had retreated, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be watching.
Lena motioned for me to follow. “There’s someone who can tell you what you need to know.”
I frowned. “Who?”
She hesitated before answering.
“The one who tried to kill you.”
I stilled.
A slow, cold realization settled over me.
She wasn’t talking about the Wardens.
She was talking about the only other person who had ever looked at me with the same kind of fear.
The man who had raised me.
The Alpha of my pack.
My father.
The weight of Lena’s words settled in my chest like a stone.
My father.
The man who had trained me, shaped me—and the man who had looked me in the eye and decided I wasn’t worth saving.
My hands curled into fists. “You expect me to go back to him?”
Lena didn’t flinch. “I expect you to get the truth. And whether you like it or not, he has it.”
A growl rumbled low in my throat. Every instinct in me rejected the idea. Going back meant facing the pack that had cast me out. The Alpha who had ordered my death.
But I needed answers.
I needed to know why the Wardens wanted me. Why my fire had burned them. Why they had called me something unnatural.
And deep down, I already knew Lena was right.
My father had always looked at me like I was something wrong. A mistake.
Now I had to find out why.
I exhaled sharply. “Fine. But if he tries anything—”
“He won’t.” Lena’s voice was steady. “Not if he wants to live.”
There was something dark in her tone, something colder than I’d ever heard from her before. She wasn’t just worried about me.
She was afraid of what I was becoming.
I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
We ran.
The journey back to the pack’s territory was brutal. We stayed off the main trails, moving fast through the dense forest, avoiding Enforcer patrols. The further we went, the more the air smelled like home.
Only, it wasn’t home. Not anymore.
By the time we reached the outskirts of the pack’s land, the moon was high overhead. Shadows stretched long across the ground, and the scent of wolves was thick in the air.
Lena slowed beside me. “They’ll sense us soon.”
I nodded, my wolf bristling beneath my skin.
A few months ago, this was the place I had called mine. Now, I was an outsider. A threat.
The Alpha’s house loomed in the distance. Warm light glowed from the windows, voices murmuring inside.
And then—
A howl split the air.
Not a warning.
A challenge.
I turned, already knowing who I’d see.
A group of warriors emerged from the trees, led by the one wolf I had no desire to face.
Logan.
The Beta. My father’s most loyal enforcer. The same man who had held me down while the Alpha gave the order to kill me.
His golden eyes burned with rage as he stepped forward. “You have a lot of nerve coming back here.”
I met his glare without flinching. “I’m not here for you.”
His lips curled into a snarl. “Then you’re a fool.”
The other warriors shifted, muscles tensing, ready to attack.
Lena edged closer to me. “Elias—”
“I know.” My voice was calm, but inside, the fire burned.
Logan tilted his head. “You were given mercy once.” His gaze flicked to the scar on my shoulder—the only reminder of the execution I had barely survived. “You won’t get it again.”
I bared my teeth. “I don’t need mercy.” He spoke annoyed.
His eyes darkened and his jaws clenched in anger unexplainable. “Then I’ll give you something else.”
He lunged.
But I was faster.
Fire erupted beneath my skin, power surging through my veins.