Elara's pulse thundered in her ears as Amara's words echoed through the dungeon. He'll burn every inch of Silvercrest to get you back.
The dim torchlight flickered across the rough stone walls, casting Amara's shadow long and sharp behind her. The silence that followed pressed on Elara's chest until she could hardly breathe.
"What do you mean—get me back?" she asked finally, her voice breaking. "That doesn't make sense. I've never even met Kael before. I'm not—"
Amara turned, her face half-hidden by the darkness. "You think you haven't. But the Alpha of the Bloodbane Pack doesn't move for no reason. He doesn't ask for peace, and he doesn't barter for strangers."
Elara's throat felt tight. "You're saying Roran… stole me? That's impossible. He's my Alpha. He raised me in Silvercrest. I was born here."
Amara shook her head slowly. "That's what you were told."
Elara stepped closer to the bars, her hands gripping the cold iron. "Then tell me what really happened."
Amara hesitated, glancing down the corridor as if afraid someone might hear. Then, in a low voice, she said, "It was about twenty years ago. The pack had just come out of a border conflict with Bloodbane. I wasn't a warrior yet, but I remember the chaos. Alpha Roran returned from one of the missions… carrying a small child. A girl."
Elara's stomach dropped. "A girl?"
Amara nodded. "You. You were no older than three. Covered in soot and blood. Everyone thought you were a survivor from one of the burned villages along the border. The warriors asked Roran where he found you." She paused, her voice tightening. "He didn't answer. Just said the child needed protection. When the Beta pressed him again the next day, Roran… claimed he couldn't remember."
Elara shook her head in disbelief. "No. That's—he wouldn't—"
"He would," Amara interrupted quietly. "The Alpha was different then. Obsessed with territory, glory. But something about that day changed him. Some said he'd been cursed. That he came back with blood on his hands and a child that didn't belong to him."
Elara's fingers slipped from the bars. Her knees weakened. "You're saying he stole me… from Kael?"
Amara's expression softened, pity flickering across her features. "I think Roran didn't even realize who you were when he did it. But Kael—Kael never forgets. The Bloodbane Pack lost something that day, and their Alpha has been waiting for the right moment to reclaim it."
Elara pressed a trembling hand to her chest. "If that's true, then why didn't Roran tell me? Why let me believe I was one of them?"
"Because guilt festers in silence," Amara said. "He built this pack's peace on a lie, and you're the center of it. You were raised to be loyal to the man who stole you."
The words hit her like a strike. Every memory—her childhood, her bond to the pack, the rejection by Kieran—suddenly twisted, taking on new meaning.
Elara's wolf, Lyra, stirred uneasily. We were never truly one of them.
Elara's voice cracked. "Then what am I supposed to do now?"
Amara stepped closer, her tone grave. "Survive. Kael's patience is running thin. If he comes again, this pack won't be able to stop him. And when he does…" Her eyes gleamed faintly in the dark. "You'll have to decide where you belong."
A heavy silence hung between them.
Finally, Amara turned to leave, her boots echoing softly on the stone. Before she disappeared, she spoke once more without looking back. "Whatever happens next, Elara—remember this. Sometimes the monster outside isn't the one you should fear."
The door shut behind her, leaving Elara alone again—but this time, the darkness felt different. It wasn't just fear that filled her chest now. It was the weight of truth, raw and merciless.
Lyra whispered from deep within her mind, If Roran took us… Kael will come for what's his.
Elara closed her eyes, her heart trembling. And if he does… what does that make me?
The dungeon walls offered no answer. Only the faint hum of distant thunder, rolling low and heavy across the mountains—like a warning that the past was finally coming home.