Chapter 3 The Ghosts and Ashes

Layla's POV

The forest was quiet now, far from the pack, far from the sneers and whispers. I sat beneath the old bent ash tree where my mother used to hum songs to me, long before everything burned. I closed my eyes, letting my fingers brush over the roots. Cold. Ancient.

I began to sing one of her songs... soft, broken, but still mine. The music danced through the leaves. My mother used to sing it on warm nights when the stars were just peeking through the canopy. Back when I felt safe. Loved.

"I remember this," a voice said behind me.

I turned quickly, my heart spiking. A woman stood at the edge of the area. She didn't look dangerous-but she didn't look normal, either. She wore a dark robe, the end stained with earth and ash. Her skin was pale like moonlight, and her violet eyes watched me with too much information.

"Sage," I said in a low voice.

The wild witch. Her name had been spoken in warning around campfires and whispered behind her hands. They said she lived between worlds, that she was half-shadow, half-truth. Dangerous.

But I didn't feel fear-just interest and a strange flash of warmth. "Did you know my mother?" I asked.

Sage nodded slowly. Her voice was low, thick with memory. Lira Blackthorn was brave, stubborn, fierce. She loved you with her whole heart.

My throat tightened. "She's gone." "No, she's not," Sage said. "Not really."

I didn't understand, but before I could ask, she stepped closer and pulled something from her coat: a small, burned picture. She gave it to me with care, as if it might fall apart in the breeze.

I looked at it. The edges were darker, the colors faded, but the picture still glowed with memory. My parents stood side by side, smiling. My mother held a baby in her arms... me. And beside them was a tall man I recognized instantly.

The Alpha Rowan. Kade's father. My breath hitched. "What is this?" I asked.

"Something was forgotten," Sage said. But not lost. You'll remember when it's time."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense. Why would Kade's father be with us? Why would he-?"

"There are truths buried in the ash," she said softly. But you can't uncover them all at once. For now... survive. Before I could say anything else, she stepped back and disappeared into the trees.

She was gone. I looked down at the picture again. My fingers shook. Why was my family with Nightfang's Alpha? Why had I never seen this before?

The wind moved. A crow called from above. I knew I couldn't stay here. I tucked the picture into the inside pocket of my shirt and began the long walk back to Silverclaw.

By the time I returned, the sun had fallen. The packhouse loomed like a scar in the fading light. I hadn't even gotten to my room before one of Alpha Marcus's guards found me.

"The Alpha wants to see you." My heart started racing in my chest. Marcus always looked at me like I was something he scraped off his boot.

When I entered his office, he barely addressed me. He stood by the window, his arms behind his back, his eyes fixed on the forest.

"You're late," he said without turning.

"I..."

"Save it." He finally faced me. His eyes were like chipped ice. "Celeste is throwing a feast tonight. For the visiting Nightfangs."

My stomach twisted. Of course.

Kade. "You're going to serve her table," Marcus continued. "When you get there, make sure you smile. Bow. Don't speak unless spoken to. Try not to embarrass us, and yourself.

I bowed my head, his two hands folded behind his back. "Yes, Alpha."

"Good," he sneered. "Maybe if you're quiet and pretty, they'll forget you were rejected."

The words hit hard, but I didn't move. Not in front of him. Though I felt it inside, I burned.

The hall sparkled with firelight and laughter. Silver plates. Polished floors. Candles spill wax as if time were melting.

Celeste sat at the heart of it all, dressed in blood-red silk, her lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Around her were pack leaders, fighters, and the Nightfang guests.

And Kade. He sat beside her, wearing dark clothes edged in gold. He didn't look at me... not once, but I felt him.

Every time I crossed the room, every time I bent to pour wine or collect empty plates, his eyes found me. I felt them like a burn between my shoulder blades.

I hated it.

It was worse-I still wanted him to look. Celeste raised her glass. "To alliances," she said, her voice as smooth as poison. "And to know your place."

Laughter rippled around her. I stood by the wall, put my head down, my hands shaking. "You look like a ghost," Ivy whispered as she passed, shoving a plate into my hand.

"Maybe I am." She gave me a quick look. "Hold on. Just a little longer." Then she was gone.

I turned and nearly crashed into Kade. My breath caught. I stared up at him, my heart beating.

He said nothing. Just looked at me. Then slowly, his eyes flicked down to the photo half-visible in my pocket.

His brow wrinkled, and for a moment, something passed over his face-confusion? Recognition?

Before I could speak, Celeste appeared at his side. "Darling," she purred, slipping her arm around his. "Dance with me."

He didn't look away from me. "Now," she added, her voice sharper. He tore his eyes from mine and followed her into the center of the hall.

I stood there, breathing hard. Sage's words echoed in my mind: You'll remember when it's time.

I didn't know what the photo meant or why Kade looked at it like it held answers he wasn't ready for. But something had shifted. Something had started.

Later that night, as I slipped out the back of the packhouse, someone grabbed my wrist.

I spun-ready to fight-but it was Ivy. "Come with me," she said, silent. "Now."

I followed her through the woods, away from the noise and lights. We stopped near the edge of the land, where an old well stood.

"I heard the guards talking," she said. "They're watching you." "What?"

"They think you know something. That the Nightfangs are hiding something too. And Kade-he's been asking about you. Quietly. But still."

My skin prickled. "Why would he-?" I asked. Ivy shook her head. I don't know, but it's not just rejection anymore. You're part of something bigger, Layla.

I pulled the picture from my pocket and showed it to her. Her eyes widened. "That's... that's the old Alpha."

"Exactly."

We stood there in silence. "I think my parents were part of something they kept hidden," I said in a quiet voice. "Something that got them killed."

"Then we need to find out what." I nodded. "But carefully."

"Careful's not your strong suit," Ivy smirked.

"Yeah, well. I'm learning." Far off, a howl pierced the air. Not a normal one, but it was deep, ancient, and it wasn't from any wolf I knew. "Ivy," I said slowly, "that wasn't from our pack." She went still. "No. It wasn't."

The pendant in my pocket pulsed once. Cold. Alive. And then I knew: the ghosts weren't just in my head. They were coming back, and this time, they wanted answers.