Quillan's POV
I'm going to die out here.
The thought crosses my mind for the hundredth time as I stumble through rogue territory, starving and exhausted. I've been searching for three weeks—three weeks since I deserted Silvercrest Pack to find my sister's body.
Because Elowen is dead. She has to be. No one survives exile in rogue lands, especially not someone as weak as she'd become.
But I need to find her. Need to bring her home for a proper burial. Need to tell her I'm sorry I didn't defend her louder, fight harder, believe her when everyone else turned away.
My wolf whimpers as we cross another unmarked territory. We're running on fumes now, barely able to shift. I haven't eaten in two days. Haven't slept in longer.
"Just a little farther," I mutter to myself. "Check the Ironclaw borders, then head back—"
I freeze.
There's a scent on the wind. Familiar. Impossible.
Jasmine and snow.
Elowen's scent.
My heart stops. No. It can't be. I'm hallucinating from hunger and grief. My mind is playing cruel tricks.
But my wolf surges forward, energized by hope, following the scent trail desperately. It leads toward Ironclaw territory—enemy territory, but I don't care. If there's even a chance...
I cross the border, and immediately wolves surround me. Ironclaw patrol, their teeth bared.
"State your business!" one growls.
"I'm looking for someone," I gasp. "My sister. Elowen Frost. She was exiled from Silvercrest a month ago. Please, if you found her body—"
"Quillan?"
The voice stops my heart.
I spin around, and there she is.
Elowen. Alive. Standing fifty feet away in human form, staring at me like I'm a ghost.
But she's not dead. She's not even hurt. She looks... healthy. Strong. Her silver-blonde hair shines in the sunlight. Her gray eyes are bright and alert, not the dull, poisoned eyes I last saw.
"Ellie?" I whisper.
Then I'm running. We both are. We crash together in a desperate hug, and I'm sobbing like a child.
"You're alive," I choke out. "Oh goddess, you're alive! I thought—they said you'd die in rogue territory—I've been searching for your body—"
"I'm okay," Elowen whispers, crying too. "I'm okay, Quill. I'm safe."
We sink to the ground, holding each other, both shaking with relief. The Ironclaw wolves watch silently, lowering their weapons.
"How?" I finally ask, pulling back to look at her. "How did you survive?"
"Alpha Corwin found me," she says. A tall, golden-eyed man approaches—clearly the Alpha from the way others defer to him. "He saved my life. Brought me here. Healed me."
I look at this Alpha Ashford—Silvercrest's rival. The man who should have left my sister to die or used her as a hostage.
Instead, he saved her.
I drop to my knees immediately, bowing my head in submission. "Alpha Ashford. I owe you everything. My sister is all I have in this world. You gave her back to me. I swear my loyalty—"
"Get up." His voice is firm but not unkind. Strong hands pull me to my feet. "Your sister earned her place here through her own strength. You don't owe me anything."
"I owe you her life," I insist.
Corwin studies me with those intense gold eyes. "You deserted Silvercrest to look for her?"
"I couldn't stay in the pack that exiled her. That believed Vesper's lies. That let Thaddeus—" I cut myself off, anger choking my words.
"You're loyal," Corwin says. "That's good. Ironclaw values loyalty." He glances at Elowen. "If your sister vouches for you, you're welcome to join our pack. We could use wolves who understand what true family means."
Join Ironclaw? Become part of the pack that rivals Silvercrest?
I don't hesitate. "Yes. I'll join. I go where my sister goes."
Elowen hugs me again, fresh tears streaming down her face. "You left Silvercrest for me?"
"Of course I did. You're my sister." I pull back, looking at her closely for the first time. "Ellie, you look different. Stronger. What happened to you?"
Over dinner in the Ironclaw pack house, Elowen tells me everything.
The poison. The suppressed Alpha nature. Her transformation into a Healer Alpha. The combat training. Vesper's sister attacking. The threatening note left in her room.
With each revelation, my rage at Silvercrest—at Thaddeus, at Vesper, at everyone who betrayed her—grows hotter.
"They tried to destroy you," I say, my fists clenched. "Systematically. Deliberately. And Thaddeus let them."
"Thaddeus believed I was jealous and dangerous," Elowen says, but there's no pain in her voice anymore. Just cold anger. "He chose Vesper over me every single time."
"The pack is falling apart without you," I tell her. "I need you to know that. Everything you built—the healing programs, the community events, the peace you maintained—it's all crumbling."
"Good," Elowen says flatly.
The coldness in her voice shocks me. This isn't the gentle, forgiving sister I knew.
"Vesper rules everything now," I continue. "She's got Thaddeus wrapped around her finger. Makes every decision. The pack members who once loved you now worship her. And anyone who questions her..." I hesitate.
"What?" Elowen leans forward.
"They disappear. Three wolves who spoke up about wanting you back—they were exiled for 'spreading dissent.' Sable tried to recant her testimony against you last week. She's in the pack prison now."
"Sable can rot there," Elowen says without sympathy. "She made her choice when she helped poison me."
I've never heard my sister sound so hard. So unforgiving.
Corwin, sitting beside her, places a hand on her shoulder. "What else should we know about Silvercrest's current state?"
"They're weak," I report. "Border patrols are sloppy. Training has declined. There's talk of other packs sensing the vulnerability. And Vesper..." I pause, choosing my words carefully. "She's been in contact with outsiders. Wolves I don't recognize. She meets with them in secret."
"Blackfang," Elowen says immediately. "She's working with Blackfang Pack. That's who sent her to infiltrate Silvercrest in the first place."
"If that's true, Silvercrest is in serious danger," Corwin says grimly. "Blackfang has been trying to absorb smaller packs for years. With a spy in Alpha position..."
"Let them fall," Elowen interrupts coldly. "Silvercrest exiled me. Tried to kill me. Why should I care if they get destroyed?"
"Because innocent wolves will die," I say quietly. "Children. Elders. Wolves who never hurt you."
Elowen's expression flickers—just for a second, I see the old Elowen, the healer who loved everyone. Then it's gone, replaced by ice.
"They stood by and watched me get exiled. Called for my death. Not one of them defended me except you." She stands abruptly. "I'm done protecting people who wouldn't protect me. If Silvercrest burns, they lit the match themselves."
She walks out, leaving me stunned.
"Is she always like this now?" I ask Corwin.
"She's healing," he says carefully. "But healing from betrayal that deep takes time. She's angry. She has a right to be."
"I know, but..." I struggle to explain. "That's not Elowen. She's gentle. Forgiving. She wouldn't wish destruction on anyone—"
"The Elowen you knew was suppressed," Corwin interrupts. "Poisoned. Kept weak and submissive. This Elowen—angry, fierce, unwilling to be a victim—this is who she really is. You need to accept that."
His words hit hard because they're true.
My sister isn't the same person who left Silvercrest. She's been broken and reforged into something stronger. Harder.
I'm proud of her. But I'm also a little scared of her.
That night, I settle into a guest room—my new home. Tomorrow, I'll officially join Ironclaw Pack through a ceremony.
I'm almost asleep when Elowen slips into my room.
"Quill?" She sits on the edge of my bed, looking younger suddenly. Vulnerable. "I'm sorry. For what I said about Silvercrest. I know there are innocent wolves there. I just..."
"You're hurt," I finish. "You have every right to be."
"I don't want to become cruel," she whispers. "But I also can't go back to being weak. To letting people walk all over me."
"Then don't. Be strong. Be fierce. But don't lose your compassion entirely. That's what made you a great Luna—you cared, even when it was hard."
She nods slowly. "Corwin is teaching me to fight. To use my Alpha nature. But I'm scared I'll forget how to heal. How to be kind."
"You won't. I'll remind you when you need it." I take her hand. "That's what family does."
She squeezes my hand, and for a moment, she's just my big sister again. The one who raised me after our parents died. The one who taught me kindness and strength could coexist.
"There's something I didn't tell you at dinner," I say carefully. "About Thaddeus."
Elowen stiffens. "What about him?"
"He's been... different lately. Distracted. He barely speaks in pack meetings. And I've heard him say your name in his sleep."
"I don't care—"
"Three days before I left, I saw him standing at the border where they exiled you," I continue. "Just staring into rogue territory. He stood there for hours. When I asked what he was doing, he said..." I hesitate.
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'I'm waiting for her ghost to forgive me.'"
Elowen's expression doesn't change, but I see her hands tremble slightly.
"He regrets what he did," I say gently.
"Too late." Her voice is ice again. "He made his choice. Now he lives with it."
She stands to leave but pauses at the door.
"Quill? Thank you for coming to find me. For believing in me when no one else did."
"Always, Ellie. We're family. That never changes."
After she leaves, I lie awake thinking about everything I learned tonight.
Silvercrest is falling apart. Vesper is working with Blackfang. Thaddeus is drowning in regret. And my sister—my gentle, healing sister—is transforming into something powerful and dangerous.
A storm is coming. I can feel it.
And when it breaks, I'll stand beside Elowen, no matter what she becomes.
Because that's what family does.
Through my window, I see a shadow move in the forest—too deliberate to be an animal. Someone's watching the pack house.
I should report it to Corwin. Sound the alarm.
But something stops me. Because the shadow's scent, faint as it is, smells familiar.
It smells like Silvercrest.
Someone from our old pack is here. Watching. Waiting.
And I have a terrible feeling I know exactly who it is.