Nyra stood in the middle of the living room with a small travel bag at her feet.
The house felt different now.
It had only been a few weeks since Mara’s funeral, yet every corner seemed to carry a memory of her.
The chair by the window where she used to sit, the kitchen where she would complain whenever Nyra skipped breakfast, even the little table where they had shared countless meals together.
Nyra had spent twenty years calling this place home, but now it felt more like the last remaining piece of a life that had already disappeared.
“I’m not asking you to understand. I’m asking you to trust me.”
Ravenna leaned against the wall with her arms folded, watching Nyra carefully.
“So you’re really leaving.”
Nyra nodded.
“Yes.”
Aurelia looked at the bag, “How long?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where are you going?”
“Wherever the clues take me.”
Ravenna sighed.
“You know that’s a terrible plan, right?”
“It’s the only plan I have.”
Nyra picked up the bag and placed it on the table.
Inside were a few clothes, supplies, some money, and the pendant Mara had given her.
She touched the pendant briefly.
“I need answers.”
Aurelia stepped closer.
“Then we’ll help you find them.”
Nyra looked at her.
“I know.”
“Then we’re coming.”
Nyra shook her head.
“No.”
Both girls stared at her.
Ravenna straightened.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
Ravenna’s expression hardened.
“Nyra, you just found out that your parents were murdered by people powerful enough to control an entire council. Mara was killed because she protected you. And now you’re telling us you’re going into unfamiliar territory alone?”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“I know.”
Aurelia looked between them.
“Then why?”
Nyra took a breath.
“Because I don’t know what I’m walking into.”
She looked at both of them.
“I don’t know how many people are involved. I don’t know who I can trust. I don’t know how much the council knows about me, and I don’t know whether someone is already watching this house.”
Ravenna’s expression slowly changed.
Nyra continued.
“I’m not going out there just to fight. I need information. I need evidence. I need to understand what happened to my parents before I start accusing people.”
She paused.
“And if I’m going to face people powerful enough to kill a King and Queen, I need to become stronger.”
Aurelia nodded slowly.
“You’re thinking about building allies.”
“Eventually.”
Nyra looked toward the window.
“I can’t take on an entire council by myself. If I’m going to bring them down, I need knowledge, experience, and people I can trust.”
Ravenna was quiet for a moment.
“Then let us come with you.”
Nyra’s expression softened.
“I know you want to.”
She walked toward them.
“And I appreciate it more than you know.”
She looked at Ravenna first.
“Both of you have already done more for me than I could ever ask.”
Then she looked at Aurelia.
“But I need you two to stay.”
Ravenna frowned.
“Why?”
“Someone needs to watch this place.”
She pointed toward the house.
“If the council suspects I’m alive, they might come looking for me. They might come looking for evidence. They might search the house. They might even send someone to follow me.”
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed.
“And you want us to find out if they do.”
“Exactly.”
Ravenna thought about it.
“So one of us stays here while the other goes with you then.”
“No.” Nyra shook her head.
“Both of you stay.”
“Nyra”
“Please.”
Her voice softened.
“I need to know that someone is watching my back from here too.”
The room fell silent.
Ravenna eventually sighed.
Nyra smiled faintly.
Aurelia nodded.
“Fine.”
Ravenna looked at her.
“You’re actually agreeing?”
“She’s right.”
Ravenna groaned, “Traitor.”
Aurelia laughed.
Nyra smiled for the first time that morning.
“Thank you guys.”
Ravenna pushed away from the wall.
“But we’re not just sitting here.”
“I know.”
“We’ll investigate anything suspicious. We’ll keep an eye on the house. We’ll ask questions.”
“And we’ll train,” Aurelia added.
Nyra nodded.
“Good.”
Ravenna pointed at her.
“And if you disappear for too long, we’re coming after you.”
Nyra raised an eyebrow.
“That sounds like a threat.”
“It is.”
Aurelia smiled.
“You’d better send updates.”
“I will.”
Ravenna walked over and pulled Nyra into a hug.
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I won’t.”
“You’d better not.”
Aurelia joined them.
For a moment, the three friends stood together in silence.
They had started university as three young wolves who had no idea how deeply their lives would become intertwined.
Now one of them was leaving to uncover a secret that had been buried for twenty years.
Nyra gently pulled away.
“I’ll come back.”
Ravenna looked at her.
“You better.”
Nyra picked up her bag then she looked around the house one last time.
Her eyes stopped at Mara’s favorite chair.
She swallowed.
“I’ll make sure her death wasn’t for nothing.”
Nyra walked toward the door then she stopped.
“Take care of each other.”
Ravenna smiled.
“You too.”
Nyra stepped outside.
The morning air was cool against her face.
She took one last look at the house before turning toward the forest and ran into the forest.
The first day of being in the forest was easy.
The second day was harder.
By the third, Nyra’s legs were beginning to ache.
She had chosen to travel through the forest rather than follow the main roads.
It was slower in some places, but it made her harder to track.
She didn’t know who might be watching the roads, and she wasn’t interested in making herself an easy target.
She moved quickly whenever the terrain allowed it, relying on Eira’s heightened senses to detect unfamiliar scents and movement.
‘We’re getting farther and farther from home’.
Eira’s voice sounded inside her mind.
“That’s the point”.
‘You’re tired’.
Nyra smiled faintly.
“I’m fine.”
‘You’re lying.’
“I’m fine enough.”
Eira huffed.
Nyra laughed quietly.
Despite everything that had happened, she was beginning to appreciate having her wolf beside her more than ever.
Eira had always been there, but now, Nyra felt as though she understood her differently.
There was something unusual about them: She had always been faster than the other wolves at university.
Her reflexes had always been sharper.
Her senses had always seemed stronger.
She had simply assumed that was because she trained harder.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
On the fourth day, Nyra finally stopped.
She had reached a small clearing near a stream.
Her stomach growled, She looked down…
“Okay.”
She sighed.
“Food.”
Eira seemed amused.
Finally.
The forest was quiet, No, too quiet.
She stood.
Something was nearby.
She could smell it.
Not one wolf, several.
Nyra slowly turned and saw four wolves emerged from between the trees.
They weren’t wearing pack markings.
Rogues.
Nyra’s expression hardened.
One of them looked her up and down.
“Well, what do we have here?”
Another chuckled.
“Looks like someone got lost.”
The largest one stepped forward.
“A lone Omega.”
Nyra said nothing.
The wolf grinned.
“You’re a long way from home, little girl.”
Nyra’s eyes narrowed.
“Move.”
The four rogues laughed.
One of them stepped closer.
“Or what?”
Nyra didn’t answer.
She simply shifted her stance.
The wolf noticed.
“Oh?”
He smiled.
“She’s got some fight in her.”
Another wolf circled behind her.
“Let’s see how long that attitude lasts.”
“Eira,I’m ready.”
The first rogue lunged.
Nyra moved.
She ducked beneath his attack and struck him hard enough to send him stumbling sideways.
The others immediately attacked.
Nyra spun away from one strike and kicked another wolf backward.
The third rushed her.
She caught his arm and twisted it, forcing him off balance before driving him into the ground.
“She’s faster than she looks!”
Nyra barely had time to react before another wolf came at her but she blocked.
The impact sent her backward.
She recovered quickly but three wolves surrounded her.
The fourth watched.Nyra’s breathing grew heavier.
She had underestimated them.
One attacked from the left.
She dodged, another came from the right, She blocked.
The third lunged straight toward her.
Nyra struck him.
He staggered.
She turned toward the next attacker, too slow.
The fourth wolf was already behind her.
Nyra sensed him.
She turned but the wolf was faster.
His claws came toward her.
For the first time since leaving home, Nyra realized she might actually lose.
She braced herself.
Then
CRASH!
The rogue was thrown violently across the clearing.
Nyra froze.
The other three froze too.
A tall figure stood between her and the fallen wolf.
He was completely calm.The stranger slowly turned his head, His eyes moved from the three remaining rogues to the one lying on the ground then to Nyra.
The rogues backed away.
One of them whispered,
“Riven.”
Nyra’s eyes widened.
The stranger didn’t say a word.
He simply took one step forward and every rogue in the clearing suddenly looked terrified.Nyra stared at the man standing between them.
She had never seen him before but she knew that name.
Everyone did.
Riven, The Most Fearsome Rogue.
The man whose name made even Alphas think twice.
And for the first time in years, Riven found himself staring at something he hadn’t expected to see.
His wolf stirred violently…
‘Mate.’
Riven’s expression remained completely stoic.
but inside him, everything had just changed.
To be continued…
Thanks for reading.