Chapter 4 The Thorns and Fire

Layla's POV

Celeste's laugh rang through the dining hall like broken glass.

She'd "accidentally" spilled wine again, crimson and sticky across the smooth stone floor, pooling at my feet. I stood there frozen, my eyes on the mess, but my hands were already curled into fists behind my back.

"Clean it, mutt," she sneered, loud enough for the entire room to hear. Her voice dripped with sugar and venom.

I dropped to my knees without a word, like I'd been trained. Like they all expected me to. My fingers shook as I reached for the cloth, soaking up the wine that looked too much like blood under the flickering candles.

Kade didn't look at me. He had all night. Not even once.

I was invisible again. The rejected omega. The broken girl everyone stepped around... no, stepped on. I scrubbed the stone harder.

Then Celeste moved behind me, the sound of her heels sharp against the floor. She slammed her hand into the back of my head, pushing me down. My face hit the floor with a sharp thud.

The entire hall went silent.

"She's nothing," Celeste laughed, lifting her glass in a mock toast. "Just a pathetic, rejected dog."

The surroundings grew thicker, and my heart raced in my chest, louder than my thoughts. My wolf stirred inside me... not fully awake, not yet... but something within her snarled. The air moved. It wasn't rage, not exactly.

It was... remembering, and then...

A chair scraped loudly against the floor. Firm. Final.

Kade stood. His voice sliced the quiet in half. "That's enough." Gasps rang through the hall like thunderclaps. Her head turned. Forks dropped. Even Alpha Marcus sat up straighter, his eyes squinted.

Celeste blinked, her smirk weakening. "What?"

Kade's voice was steel. "You heard me."

"She's just the omega," Celeste hissed, her smile curling at the edges again. She's packing dirt. She's not..."

"She's packed," Kade said coldly. "Not your toy." His golden eyes burned straight through Celeste, and then... finally... shifted to me, and for the first time since the refusal, he looked at me.

Really looked at me. My breath caught. There was something in his eyes I hadn't seen before.

No pity. Not disgusted. Regret. Real. Raw. Regret, but it was too late.

My chest ached like fire under my skin. My wolf whimpered low and weak, as if the sound of his voice had cut her deeper than Celeste ever could. Still, she stirred, her claws touching my ribs from inside.

Celeste said nothing more. Her anger was quiet, but her appearance burned like poison. Alpha Marcus didn't speak, either, but I saw it in his jaw, the way his teeth clenched.

Kade had crossed a line, and I was the reason. I didn't stay to see the rest of the feast.

I left as soon as I could... back to the edge of the woods, where the moonlight streamed down through the trees and the cold air bit at my cheeks.

I curled under a wide birch, pressing my face into my arms. Finally, I let the tears fall. Not for Celeste. Not for the spilled wine.

For everything.

By the way, my wolf barely spoke anymore. For how empty I felt. For the rejection that still throbbed like an open wound, I couldn't stitch shut.

The pain of it hadn't lessened. Not even a little. "Layla?" a voice whispered behind me.

I wiped my eyes quickly and turned.

It was Ivy. She moved carefully, holding something wrapped in brown cloth. Her face was serious. "You got something at the border," she said, giving it to me.

I took it, confused. "What is it?"

"It was delivered by a rogue," she said silently. I caught it before the guards did. You need to be careful, Layla. Something is happening.

I unwrapped it slowly. Inside was a single piece of paper, folded three times, sealed with black wax and stamped with a crooked symbol I didn't recognize. My fingers shook as I broke it open.

I read the note quietly. You don't belong there. Come find your truth.

– Elias Thorn, Bloodfang

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Bloodfang. An enemy pack... fierce, wild, dangerous. I'd heard stories of their Alpha, a guy who ruled through blood and respect. And Elias... the Alpha's son. Rumored to be as cruel as he was clever.

Why would he write to me? Why now?

"I don't understand," I said in a low voice. Ivy crouched beside me, eyes wide. "Do you know him?"

I shook my head. "Never met him." "But he knows you." She tapped the letter with one finger. "Why would a Bloodfang heir send you a personal message? It must be tied to that picture. The one Sage gave you. Maybe they know something about your past."

I stared at the letter again. The words felt heavy. I didn't even know if I could trust them, but deep in my chest, my wolf stirred again. Stronger this time. Not in pain. Not in fear.

Curiosity. Hope?

"Ivy," I breathed, "I think something's changing." She nodded slowly. "It already is." That night, I couldn't sleep.

I turned the letter over and over in my hands until my fingers were sore. My mind spun with questions I didn't have answers to.

What is the truth? Why now? Why me? And why did my wolf feel more awake now than she had in months?

I got up just before dawn and climbed out of my window, slipping into the woods without a sound. I didn't know where I was going... only that I couldn't stay still anymore.

I ended up in the ruins again. Where Sage first found me. Where the trees seemed to whisper secrets in the wind.

I knelt beside the stones and laid the letter out in the moonlight. "What do I do?" I whispered.

My voice barely made a sound, and yet... I felt something stir around me.

A hum. A pulse. Then, in the distance, a wolf howled. Not one I recognized. Deep. Low. Ancient.

It rang through the trees like a warning... or maybe... a calling. I pressed my hand to the ground, and it felt warm.

Like fire was waiting beneath the earth, and suddenly, I knew: this wasn't just about rejection anymore.

This wasn't just about pain or rank or even Kade.

Something was waking. In me. In the forest. In fact, everyone tried to bury it. Something older than the pack rules.

Older than genes, and whatever it was... it wasn't going to stay quiet much longer.

Back at the pack house, word had spread. Celeste was furious but quiet.

Alpha Marcus paced like a man who felt something slipping through his fingers, and Kade... Kade looked at me like he saw a ghost every time our eyes met.

But I wasn't a ghost. Not anymore. I woke up, and I was done moving.