Chapter 3 Ravenspire

The night air crackled with an unnatural chill as Kaela crossed into the rogue lands. The trees here were older, twisted, their bark blackened as if they had once burned but refused to fall. A deadly silence clung to the forest, broken only by the rhythmic crunch of her boots on frost-covered earth.

She had left Ironclaw behind.

Left the lies and the future her father had tried to chain her to.

Now, she hunted for the truth.

And the trail led straight into Ravenspire.

Stories about the outlaw territory were whispered like curses back home, rogues who drank moonlight, creatures who forgot they were ever wolves and a city built from the bones of the betrayed.

Ravenspire was the place exiled wolves went to disappear or to become monsters.

Every pup in the Ironclaw Pack had heard the tales. Rogues roamed freely there, torn from their packs by exile, grief or madness. It was a land outside the law, where blood bought survival and allegiance was poison. No one in their right mind entered Ravenspire alone but Kaela Ironclaw had never been just anyone, she wasn't afraid and she was born of blood and prophecy.

The stolen scroll still burned in her satchel. The name scrawled at the bottom haunted her more than the creatures stalking her through the dark.

A low rustle came from her left.

She slowed.

I know you are there, she called out, her voice calm.

A growl answered her.

Three shadows melted from the woods, rogues, cloaked in dirt and fangs. Their eyes glinted, starved and cruel.

Kaela didn't flinch. She had felt them circling her for the past mile. They were testing her, as the stories said they would. If she ran, she was prey. If she showed fear, she was food.

You smell like Ironclaw, one of them said, voice gravelly.

Not anymore.

They circled her like vultures. She dropped her cloak and unsheathed her silver dagger, the blade gleaming under the blood moon.

You should have stayed in your pretty little packhouse, princess, another sneered.

Kaela smiled coldly. You should have brought more friends.

The first rogue lunged.

I'm not in the mood for games, kaela growled, her voice firm.

Silence answered.

Then, movement fast and brutal.

A blur of fur lunged from the treeline, teeth bared.

She ducked under the first rogue's attack, spun quickly, and slashed her dagger across his chest. He cried out in pain and stumbled back, black blood spreading across his shirt. The second rogue lunged at her with his claws ready. Kaela didn't hesitate, she shifted mid-move. Her black wolf burst forth, swift and fierce. With a powerful leap, she sank her jaws into his leg and pulled him down hard. She fought like her father had taught her, fast, ruthless and precise.

The third turned to run.

Kaela let him.

It was over in seconds.

The rogues lay groaning and bleeding on the forest floor.

Kaela shifted back, breathing hard. Blood soaked her shirt, her cloak torn. But she stood tall.

The trees were still again. Ravenspire opened before her.

Ravenspire wasn't a real city, it was a wreck of what used to be. The black cliffs held the remains of buildings, their stone walls cracked and falling apart. Towers leaned like they might collapse at any moment, their tops broken open to the sky. From the trees, strange objects dangled, bones, sharp teeth, and old rusted chains. They weren't decorations, they were warnings. The air smelled sharp and heavy, like dried blood mixed with something wild and unnatural.

A narrow path wound up to a gate carved with ancient sigils. At its center was a stone wolf with hollow eyes and a mouth that looked ready to devour anything foolish enough to approach.

Kaela stepped forward, unhooking the small leather vial from around her neck. Inside, three drops of her mother's blood shimmered crimson.

Thane had said it would grant her passage. That Ravenspire doesn't open for strangers, he had told her. Only blood or power will grant her passage.

"Let me in," kaela whispered.

She poured the blood into the wolf's open mouth.

The stone gate groaned, shifting sideways, revealing a narrow gap. A whisper of heat and shadow curled from within.

She stepped into the heart of exile.

Inside, rogue wolves stared at her with blank, unreadable faces. Some looked broken, others looked wild, a few were too calm. it felt unnatural, like something was off. No one spoke or greeted her.

That was okay.

She didn't come for them.

She came for Cassian Frost.

The old meeting hall was a ruin, cracked marble floors and walls covered in vines. In the center, a small fire burned in a stone pit. Sitting next to it, hidden in the flickering light and deep shadows, was a man Kaela almost barely recognized.

She found the ruins of the old hall near the city's heart, twisted pillars and crumbled statues of ancient Lunas. Moonlight shone through holes in the ceiling, illuminating dust and bloodstains alike.

He was there.

Cassian Frost sat by a small brazier, its flames casting flickering shadows across his weathered face. His eyes were sunken, haunted by years of silence and exile. His left arm ended at the elbow, the stump bound tightly in worn leather. The moment he saw Kaela, his body stiffened like a ghost remembering how to breathe.

You shouldn't be here, he rasped.

Kaela didn't waver. You are supposed to be dead.

So are a lot of us. He responded.

She stepped forward, drawing the scroll from her cloak and tossing it beside him. Why did my father lie? What happened to my mother?

Cassian looked at the scroll for a long moment.

Then, with a sigh, he said, Seraphine didn't die in a rogue attack.

Kaela's pulse quickened.

She was betrayed by someone close. She was going to leave Ironclaw that night, take you and start over. Said she had seen a vision, one too dangerous to keep quiet.

A vision? Kaela echoed.

Cassian nodded. A prophecy.

One that said a Luna born under the Blood Moon would bring down the old order and lead the rebirth of the packs. Your father feared that.

Kaela's throat closed.

You are saying he knew the truth?

Cassian's eyes were full of sorrow. He knew the truth. He couldn't control her anymore, So he silenced her.

No, Kaela whispered, though deep down, something inside her had always known. Why would he kill the woman he claimed to love?

Because Ronan Ironclaw doesn't love anyone. He only fears one thing, being replaced.

Kaela's hands shook. The fury in her blood surged.

Outside, a low growl echoed.

Cassian stiffened. You were followed.

Kaela turned just as three Ironclaw warriors stepped into the ruined hall, swords drawn.

Her father had sent them.

Cassian shoved her behind a column. Go! There is a tunnel beneath the altar, It leads out.

I'm not leaving you.

You must! You are the Luna he feared. You are the future Seraphine died for.

The assassins advanced.

Kaela hesitated, then fled toward the altar as Cassian charged with a roar, blade flashing.

She heard the clash of steel behind her. She didn't look back.

The tunnel was narrow, slick with moss. She ran blindly, stumbling, heart pounding.

At the end, she burst into cold air and fell to her knees beneath the blood-red moon.

Ravenspire had given her the truth. Her father had taken everything.

And now, she would take it back.

The moon hung low and red.

She stood on the edge of a cliff, Ravenspire below, Ironclaw far behind.

She didn't cry.

She didn't scream.

She let the rage fill her bones.

I'm coming for you, Father, she swore.

Then movement.

A figure stepped from the shadows, tall and cloaked, eyes glowing violet.

You carry her blood, the figure said softly.

Kaela stiffened. Who are you?

The figure smiled slowly. Someone who remembers Seraphine and someone who has been waiting for you.