Chapter 2 The Ashes Beneath The Throne

The moon had long dipped beneath the treeline, but sleep never came.

The grove whispered with secrets long buried. Kaela didn't sleep that night. The message Thane had delivered burned in her mind, each word echoing like a howl through the darkness.

Kaela sat curled beneath the ancient spirit tree at the edge of the grove, the bark rough against her back, her eyes hollow. The note trembled in her hand like a live thing, its edges worn soft from hours of clutching it.

"Your mother didn't die by rogues."

She read the line a dozen times, traced the ink until her fingers smudged it but the meaning didn't change. Everything she thought she knew about her mother's death,the ambush, the guards, the river, was a lie or at least not the whole truth.

The stars above blinked in differently as she read the message again and again, until the words bled into her skin. The truth had been buried and hidden. Kaela would dig it up, no matter how deep the grave.

At dawn, The pack bustled with the rhythm of morning, hunters heading to the forest, pups yipping around the training grounds but Kaela moved like a shadow, cloak tight around her shoulders, eyes fixed ahead.

The Council Hall loomed in the center like a monolith of cold stone and colder men. But she didn't go there. She had another destination. One few remembered and fewer dared to enter.

The temple loomed with its hollow arches and solemn runes. Beneath it lay the Ironclaw archives, carved into the stone long before her father ruled, long before Seraphine had died. Only the Elders and the Luna had access once. But Seraphine had taken her there as a child, sneaking Kaela past the runes that shimmered in warning.

Kaela's heart thudded as she reached the sealed door hidden behind the altar. Faint glyphs pulsed across its surface, wards meant to deter the unworthy. Only the Luna had once passed freely here.

Knowledge is power, she had

whispered and power is meant to be earned, not given.

Kaela pressed her palm to the rune at the center. Her wolf stirred beneath her skin restless. Magic flickered at her touch. For a moment, nothing happened then the runes dimmed and the stone door creaked open.

The door opened.

Inside, the air smelled of parchment and dust. Rows of scrolls lined the walls, some untouched for generations. She moved quickly, pulling records of border patrols, combat reports, anything connected to the day Seraphine died.

She combed through battle logs, patrol records, and Luna correspondence. One scroll caught her eye.

"Patrol Report – Darkfang River – Cycle 2000"

Her breath caught. That was the day Seraphine died.

The ink was fresh, too fresh.

Heart pounding, Kaela unrolled the parchment. The names of the guards were all there, her mother's elite escort. All listed as deceased except one.

"Cassian Frost".

Kaela frowned.

That name had never been mentioned. Every elder had said Seraphine's entire guard was slaughtered but this suggested someone survived.

His name was smudged, violently crossed out. As though someone had tried to erase him from the record and failed.

Kaela stared at it, mind racing.

One survived and never told his story?

She stuffed the scroll inside her cloak and slipped out of the archive, the door sealing behind her like a closing tomb. Outside, the wind whispered through the trees, colder now.

Cassian Frost.

The name was foreign and familiar all at once. No elder had ever mentioned a survivor. No grave bore his name. Why?

Later that day, Kaela entered the warriors' training ring. Her limbs ached from sleeplessness, but her focus was sharper than ever. She scanned the crowd, seeking out a face she hadn't seen in years.

And then she found him.

Leaning against the fence, scarred and silent, was Garrick, Seraphine's old Beta. He had retired after her death, disappearing from pack politics.

Kaela walked straight up to him. "I need answers."

His eyes flicked to her, About what?

"Cassian Frost."

The name hung in the air like a spell.

Garrick's jaw tightened. He glanced around, then pushed off the post. "Come."

She followed him to the rear of the barracks, where an old stone well sat unused. Moss curled along its edge, forgotten.

You are too much like her (Seraphine), he said quietly. "Always digging."

I learned from the best. Kaela responded.

He sighed. Cassian was a scout, assigned to Seraphine's protection detail that day. He wasn't supposed to survive but he did.

He came back changed.

Changed how? Kaela asked

"Quiet, afraid and he wouldn't speak a word to alpha Ronan.

Then, disappeared the next moon.

Kaela's heart pounded. Do you know where he went?

I don't.

But I know where he was seen last.

Ravenspire. The outlawed territory beyond Ironclaw's borders. Home to exiles, rogues and wolves who rejected pack law.

Kaela nodded slowly. Then that's where I'm going.

That night, she prepared to leave. She packed light, just blades, cloak, and the scroll. She left no note.

If her father learned of her journey, he would send warriors to drag her back or even worse.

As she stepped into the woods, the wind shifted.

A growl rumbled behind her.

Going somewhere? came a familiar voice.

Kaela turned.

Thane stood beneath the shadows of the pine trees, arms crossed.

She glared. Did you follow me?

I'm the Alpha's enforcer. I follow threats.

She laughed bitterly, You think I'm a threat?

I know you are but not to the pack. He stepped closer, his face grim. You are a threat to the truth.

You gave me that message, she said. "Why?

Because I owed her, his eyes darkened and because I'm tired of watching your father destroy what Seraphine built.

Kaela studied him.

Thane had always been Alpha Ronan's shadow, loyal to a fault but now, cracks were forming.

I'm going to find Cassian, she said.

I figured. He tossed something at her, a small vial. Ravenspire's gates are sealed by blood wards.

That will get you through.

She caught it, surprised.

What is it?

Your mother's blood, taken after the ritual, before she died. He looked away.

Kaela's throat tightened. Thank you.

Don't thank me. If your father finds out, we are both dead.

With that, he vanished again.

Kaela turned toward the dark horizon. The forest loomed ahead, vast and unforgiving. Ravenspire was three days' journey through untamed territory. She would face rogues, shadows and her own past.

But she would not turn back.

She was Seraphine's daughter.

The storm and the flame.

And the truth waited for her in the ashes.