Chapter 9 When Wolves Lie

Layla's POV

The Truth in the Moonlight

The ruins felt different tonight... as if the ancient stones had been waiting for me.

Sage was already there, hunched beneath the twisted oak once more. The wind carried echoes of broken lullabies and burning wood. I stood before her, determined but trembling.

"Sage," I said quietly, dropping the letter I still carried at my feet. Elias's words burned in my mind, but they weren't the full story. Not yet.

She raised her hand, violet eyes serious.

"It's time you learned everything: about your birthright, your destiny, and why the pack turned you into a ghost."

I sat on a broken stone, heart thumping.

The night pressed around us. "My father," I began, voice shaking, "he... you said he was Alpha?"

Her lips tightened. He was. Lucian Thorn... the rightful leader of Bloodfang.

A hidden line, erased by your grandfather and Marcus during the Great Blood Moon Pact.

I swallowed, my mind racing. "Why would they kill him?"

"Power," she said bluntly. "Fear." She leaned in, her voice low. "They feared the prophecy."

"Prophecy?" The word tasted foreign and heavy.

Her gaze locked onto mine. That the lost Alpha's daughter would unite the shattered packs. That she would bring them back from the brink. That the moon's true heir would rise... and heal... or destroy everything.

My heart hammered like a war drum.

"Then I'm..."

Your father's blood runs in your veins.

And that lineage terrifies them all. She closed her eyes. They killed him in secret.

Buried the truth. Erased your name. And for years, you were bred to be less. Less than an Alpha. Less than human."

I stood, my voice trembling. "I'm not less. And I never will be."

Sage's hand pressed to my shoulder. Then let them hear your howl. Because the moon knows... "When wolves lie," she finished, her eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Between Regret and Truth

Kade found me just before dawn. He walked in silence beside me as I paced outside the packhouse. The scent of rebirth was in the air: burned wood, new leaves, and something like hope.

"I heard," he said finally, his voice low.

I didn't look at him. Your father... the prophecy. I had no idea. I clenched my fists. "Of course you didn't. You didn't want to know. You rejected it. Or... rejected me."

He stopped. His hand brushed my arm-tentative, soft. "You're changing." I stared at him, my chest tight with the weight of hidden truths. "No. I'm remembering."

He reached up and touched my cheek, an agony of regret in his eyes. "I never wanted to reject you. I never meant it."

I turned away, my voice quiet. "But you did. And I'll never forget... not what you said, or what Celeste said, or how they treated me."

He closed his eyes, pain raw in his expression. "I know."

And for a moment, the world held its breath... two people torn between loyalty and blood, history and redemption, broken trust and a shared destiny.

The Blood at the Gate

The packhouse erupted in chaos as dawn splintered across the sky. Ivy grabbed my arm, breathing ragged. "They're attacking!"

Outside, warriors scrambled. Metal clashed. Wolves howled. But this... this was different.

Through the dust and shadows, I made out the enemy's banners: Bloodfang's symbol-the thorned crescent moon. And at the edge of the swarm... Elias Thorn, standing tall and dangerous, eyes centered on me.

Ivy pressed into my side. "He's here for you." A spear tore between us. I ducked, my wolf roaring to life.

Elias stepped forward, his voice carrying over the chaos. "Come with me, Layla," he called, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Or everyone dies."

My heart froze. Iva's voice cracked:

"Layla..."

I didn't know what to do. If I left with him, the pack and the enemy would clash behind me. If I stayed, every life around me could be slaughtered. My wolf surged, instincts flared. Every sense screamed at me.

A spear flew-time slowed.

Between Blood and Iron

Kade jumped in front of me, his body rigid. The spear slammed into his arm, blood blossoming down his sleeve.

"Get back!" he roared, his voice a controlled fury. He faced Elias toe-to-toe.

"You'll have to kill me first."

Elias laughed-cold and sharp. "That can be arranged."

The packhouse erupted. Warriors from both sides poured into the fray. Screams mixed with the clang of metal. Wolves tangled around weapons and bones.

I shoved Iva behind a crate and dropped to my knees beside Kade. His eyes were fierce, unyielding, but shock flickered in their depths from the betrayal-and the pain.

He squeezed my hand. "Stay with me."

I knelt there, heart pounding, every nerve alive. I saw soldiers I had trained fall. I saw Celeste's face twist in shock and fury. I saw Lily, the healer, stumble as a rogue lunged, and suddenly I realized this night wasn't only about survival. It was a reckoning.

I forced myself to rise, pagan fear in my blood, molten courage in my veins. "Stop this." My voice echoed across the field.

"All of you... should stop it!"

The battlefield hesitated, warriors frozen.

Only Elias sneered. I stepped forward, barefoot, coat torn, hair wild, eyes bright with authority I had never dared to claim.

"My father's blood... runs in these veins," I shouted so every wolf around me heard it.

"The prophecy is real. I am the heir... and I will not be your pawn."

Whispers raced like wildfire. Elias spied my words, lips twisting. He readied a dagger... silent, swooping. Kade stepped between us, again... shielding me. "We will finish this together," he said, his voice hard.

Elias raised the dagger, eyes blazing.

"Then let the moon decide." He lunged-fast as death. Time snapped back. I braced for impact...

But the roar of wolves and warriors filled the air.