My freedom tasted so sweet. I laughed, low at first, then louder, because the sound of it filled my chest and made the cave feel smaller, it felt like I was going to die and rot in there, not when the Moon finally decided to stop watching and start moving pieces on the board. 

    "The prophecy," I muttered, voice rough from disuse. For years I had wondered if it was a lie the witches fed packs to keep them obedient, or a story told to frighten young alphas into staying in line, but tonight a girl had stumbled into my prison like she had been pulled by a string, and when her hands touched my chains the world shifted. 

    Was it a gift or a curse? It was a blessing I had waited too long for. I rolled my freed wrist, feeling blood rush back into my hand, feeling pain and life together, and the fog that clung to the chains hissed and curled because it knew I was finally free.

    I lifted my head, eyes fixed on the cave mouth where she had fled. "I'll find you, mate." Mate, saying it felt right, like the words belonged to my tongue even though I thought I'd never utter those words till my last breath. 

    Five years, five whole years of darkness and silence, since the Lycan witches took me out and the world turned on me as if I was a monster they had always expected me to be. I was accused of a crime I did not commit, they said I turned on my own people and that I did it all for power. So they chained me here, deep in the forbidden forest, in a cave sealed tight with magic, a place where no outsider was meant to enter. 

   They told my pack I was dead and crowned another letting my bloodline rot. The only way out was simple and impossible at the same time. Only Lycan witch blood could set me free or the mate bond. The witches would never free me and I couldn't escape, the cave was sealed in a way that anyone outside wouldn't be able to track or smell my scent. And no one would be able to see the entrance with their bare eyes. So only one thing could and she had done it without even knowing. 

    My mind drifted back to her face as if it had been branded onto my eyes. My precious mate, my little dive.

    She had looked at me with terror and heartbreak mixed together, like she had been hurt so many times she didn't know how to trust even her own choices. Her hair had been messy she looked like she was from running, strands stuck to her cheeks. Her lips were pale. Her eyes were huge and shining with tears she didn't have time to wipe away. She was bBeautiful, yes, but looked for fraile. 

   And her scent... It hit me even now when I thought about it, cherry blossom and honey with a hint of mint, it was mine, she was mine. It called to my wolf like a command and my wolf woke up, howling and chanting like crazy. But what bothered me, what stayed sharp in my mind, was the way she didn't react when I spoke the word mate. Like she couldn't feel it, how could a mate not feel it and why was she running in the first place, why was she bleeding and why did she move like someone who was being hunted. 

    I had so many questions and I would get answers later. First, I needed my pack, I needed to reclaim what they stole and burn the ones who put me here. I set my feet against the rock and pulled. The chains groaned and the fog hissed as metal bit into my skin. I didn't care, I was a chain away from freedom. I pulled again, harder, letting rage fill the space where despair used to sit. The restraints cracked one by one, bolts ripping from stone with sharp sounds that echoed through the cave. Pain lanced up my arms, but pain meant I was alive. 

    When the last chain snapped the fog scattered,

   I threw my head back and laughed, then I howled, and the sound rolled out of the cave mouth into the forest like a warning to every living thing that had forgotten my name, Draven Blackwood is back. 

    My body remembered the forest as if it had never been chained. My muscles screamed at first, stiff from years of stillness, but the more I moved the more the world came back to me. Trees blurred, dirt flew under my feet and cold air filled my lungs and tasted like revenge. 

    Duskwood's border hit my senses before I saw it and there it was, my pack, my land. The scent markers were wrong and faint neglected if I must say. another male's claim layered over mine like an insult. I bared my teeth as I crossed and the first wolves who caught my scent froze and their eyes went wide. I didn't slow down, I tore through the trees and up the path that led to the pack house, and when I reached the front gates, guards stumbled back like they'd seen a ghost. 

    The doors opened to chaos as gasps erupted inside the great hall, with voices rising and bodies shifting they all stepped back in fear and disbelief.

   I walked in like I had never left, like the last five years were nothing. A figure moved at the front of the hall, turning slowly and behold stood my brother and worst enemy Lucian. 

   He wore the Alpha crest and he stood where I used to stand, that was a fucking slap to my face. 

    His eyes narrowed, then widened and hardened again, like he had prepared for this moment in nightmares but still didn't know what to do with it in real life. For one second, the room felt like it held its breath ready for the havoc I was about to unleash .

    "Hello, brother," I said, voice steady, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Happy to see me?" 

    Lucian's mouth tightened. "H-how ? You're supposed to be dead," he snapped, a few wolves murmured, trembling. I took a step forward. "Not dead," I said. "Just inconvenient." Lucian's jaw flexed. "Why have you returned traitor ? You should have stayed where they put you." 

   "They," I repeated, tasting the word. "You mean the witches you invited into my home." His eyes flashed. "Watch your mouth." 

   "Or what," I said, and the hall felt smaller with my dominance. "You'll order your guards to chain me again?" Lucian's hand went to the blade at his hip. Mine was already in my hand and the room erupted into movement, wolves backed away some shouting, some trying to step in, but no one was fast enough to stop what had been waiting to happen for five years. 

    Lucian lunged and I met him halfway, the steel collided and rang as we crashed into each other like two storms and all I could see was his face, my brother's face, twisted with anger and fear and something else beneath it. Probably Guilt,we struggled, blades locked, breath harsh, shoulders slamming into pillars, and he hissed, "You don't understand what you were becoming." 

   I shoved him back. "And you don't understand what I'm going to become now." He swung again, I stepped inside the strike and drove my blade across his throat,it was too quick and shockingly easy. Lucian's eyes went wide. His hands flew up, fingers pressing to the wound as blood spilled between them. He made a wet sound, trying to speak and dropped to his knees. 

   The hall went silent, the kind of silence that makes even wolves afraid to breathe, lucian fell forward and didn't move. I stood over him, blood on my hand with my chest rising and falling and I felt nothing but the calm that comes after a decision you have waited too long to make. 

    I turned to the trembling guards, "Call the pack elders," I ordered. "And the shaman too." No one moved at first." And get him a doctor, he is still alive he can't die this easily..... where's the fun in that." My gaze swept the room. "Now," I said and they scattered, rushing to obey. 

    I looked over the hall, over the faces that had watched my fall and accepted my replacement, and my voice cut through them like a blade. 

    "Tell everyone your Alpha has returned."

His laugh stayed in my head even as I ran, I still couldn't comprehend what that was all about. He was like a mad man, maybe that's why he was locked up. 

   I forced myself to keep moving, my legs felt and I didn't know where I was going anymore. Branches slapped my face and rocks cut my feet and night blurred into an endless cat and mouse game. 

  It all came to an end Ehem I hit something warm and solid, a body .  stumbled back, gasping, and the figure in front of me stepped into the moonlight like he had been waiting, my eyes widened as I swallow the gasp that threatened to escape.

  " Se-Sean," I stumbled backwards trembling. 

   His eyes were cold, and his mouth was set like he'd already decided what I deserved. "found you little omega," he said, voice low. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, my words were stuck in my throat. He moved swinging his arm landing one blow to my head. Pain exploded across my face and skull as  the world tilted sideways. I hit the ground, tasting dirt and blood, my ears ringing so loud I couldn't hear my own sob. 

   Everything started to turn hazy, I tried to crawl away but my arms wouldn't work right. The pain, I couldn't carry any of it anymore and my body failed me. Darkness started to roll in and in that moment all I wished for was to die that very moment.

   *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

   When I woke up, the first thing I felt was coldness 

   Not the cold of night air, but  of metal close to skin, and a sharp sizzling sting. My eyes fluttered open and the light above was dim and yellow, like old torches.  I tried to sit up but jolt of pain ran through my head, and I hissed under my breath.That's when I saw them, bars, silver bars all around me, I was  in a cage. 

   My breath caught and panic rose fast, choking me harder than Sean's hand had. I scrambled back until my spine hit the cage wall and it stung. The silver was thick, built to burn and weaken wolves.

   Outside the cage, two guards stood with spears, their eyes hard, their bodies relaxed like they weren't guarding a person, just waiting for an animal to stop moving. 

   I was no stranger to this place, I was in the dungeon multiple times. The air smelled damp and stale, like stone that never saw sun. I swallowed, my throat still very dry. "Why am I here," I croaked. 

  One of the guards laughed. "She's finally awake. We thought you'd be dead by now after last night."

   Last night ? Did that mean I had been out for hours and why didn't I die, I would have been better off dead than have to face Sean. Voices echoed from farther down the hall, and I leaned a little closer to the bars, listening because it was all I could do and maybe I'd know what was going to happen to me. 

   "...Alpha Draven is back." 

   The words cut through me, another voice replied, tense. "He almost killed his brother. Slit Lucian's throat like it was nothing." A third voice, quieter, afraid. "He reclaimed Duskwood. And now he'll be going pack to pack, dealing with anyone involved in his disappearance." My hands tightened around the bars without thinking, and the silver bars burnt into my palms. 

   Draven? why was he the talk at the moment. 

   His name meant something even in Silver Fang. A story parents used when pups acted brave, the dark Alpha who betrayed his people, the Alpha who vanished years ago like the forest swallowed him. I blinked hard, trying to clear the haze in my head. 

   Then it came back to me, the cave and the chained man. I felt my blood drain from my face,no  it couldn't be, it couldn't be him I tried to talk myself out of my thoughts. Footsteps came toward my cell, lighter than guards, confident, like someone enjoying the sound they made. 

   Then the dungeon door opened and Laura stepped in. Even here she looked perfect. Her hair neat, dress clean, cheeks warm with blush .She looked at me through the silver bars and smiled like she was admiring a dress in a shop. 

   "Did you like my little gift," she said softly. I furrowed my brows "what do you mean? ," I whispered.  She tilted her head. "You're welcome," she continued, like we were having a normal conversation. "I didn't think you had a percentage of instinct in you. You almost got away and everything I did to get you here would have gone to waste." 

   My hands started shaking. "You...you did this?" I said, now everything made sense, she must have disguised her as me and..... "You... it was you , you attacked the Alpha." Laura's smile sharpened. "Of course I did. Took you that long to figure out."

  Her  words landed like a slap. 

   She stepped closer, her eyes bright. "I mean, it's already a privilege for you to look exactly like me," she said. "That doesn't mean you get to have something I can't." My stomach dropped as bile slid into place, ugly and clear, this was all about Sean and the Moon Match.The rage in her face when she got a regular mate. 

  " You can have him if you want him, please just get me out of here." 

  She laughed like I had just cracked some joke, she leaned closer to the bars and lowered her voice. "It's sad," she murmured, "this is the last time I get to play dress up as you." I stared at her, as a lump formed in my throat. "Why," I choked out. "I'm your sister." Laura laughed quietly. "No," she said. "You're a mistake that looks like me, enjoy that while you can." With that she turned on her heel and walked out like she hadn't just confessed to ruining my life. 

   The dungeon door shut, I sat there, numb, trying to breathe around the fear, trying to think of a way out, but my mind kept sliding off the walls like there was nothing to grab. And a while later keys rattled and guards came to my cage. 

   "Get up," one of them barked. I backed away. "No," I whispered. "Please." But they had no mercy , the cage door opened with a screech as silver burned the air. 

   Hands grabbed my arms and yanked me out. I stumbled, weak, my head still pounding. They dragged me down the corridor, up stairs, through halls until I heard voices and the light. We were at the execution grounds. They dragged and shoved me onto the platform. 

   Wolves filled the area, regulars and warriors, elders standing in a row like judges, and at the front sat the Alpha and Luna of Silver Fang, faces set hard for the pack to see, sean stood beside them, with his beta and My father stood to the side. Laura stood near him looking calm, almost pleased, like this was an event she'd planned and couldn't wait to finish. 

   Rope was tied around my wrists, I swallowed hard, looking out over the crowd, searching for one face that might soften, one person who might believe me. 

   "Please," I said, voice shaking. "I didn't do it." 

   A pack elder stepped forward. "Kyra Hale," he announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You have been found guilty of attempting to murder your Alpha." Murmurs rippled through the crowd. "To set an example," the elder continued, "you will be executed." 

   My knees went weak, I turned my head toward my father. "Father ," I whispered. "Please. Look at me. You know I wouldn't." He just turned away and didn't even look at me. Not  even for a second, it felt worse than the rope on my wrists. 

   I turned toward the Luna, desperate. "You said the Moon chooses for reasons," I pleaded. "Please. I was with Sage. I never left the omega quarter." The Luna's face tightened, but she stayed silent. Sean's eyes stayed cold, Laura's lips curved in a small smile. The guards moved behind me, getting ready.

   I shut my eyes because I couldn't hold the stares anymore, and I tried to speak to the only thing left that might hear me. 

   "Moon Goddess, please if I die let me reunite with my mother, "l said a little prayer. a guard walked towards me with a sword in his hand. I bowed my head and finished my last prayer as tears rolled down my face. Before he could swing it, a sound cut through the lair. It was a growl

   I kept my head low but from the side of my eyes I could see a man walking forward.My breath caught, because even from here I knew that shape, that presence, that feeling crawling up my spine. 

  Gasps spread through the pack like fire. I heard the name whispered, then said louder. 

   "Alpha Draven?"

  I walked into Silver Fang like I owned the place, I mean I could if I wanted to. 

  The pack grounds stretched wide under torchlight, familiar in a way that made my mouth curl, because five years ago they would have bowed when I stepped onto soil like this, and tonight they were staring like they'd seen a dead man climb out of his grave. I smiled anyway.

  Three men stood behind me, big enough to make even warriors shift uneasily. One of them my trusty Beta , who was locked up by Lucian for not obeying him. Now that I am back he is by my side and you didn't have to be told who he was.

  He didn't smile, he didn't need to. The way he stood said enough, calm and ready, like the ground would crack before he did.

  The execution platform was ahead, crowded with elders and guards and leaders, and in the center of it all was a girl on her knees, wrists bound, hair falling forward, face hidden like she had already been buried.

  "Our mate," Ruin growled inside me.

  The bond tugged at me like a hook, steady and sure, and it made Ruin roll under my skin, restless, angry at the sight of her like this.

  I kept my composure and continued walking.

  The Alpha of Silver Fang rose from his seat so fast his chair scraped and of course Morgan, the Beta, and idiot of a son tensed beside him.

  Their scents spiked with fear, sharp and sour, and it made my smile widen because fear was honest, fear didn't pretend.

  "D-Draven," they said together, like saying my name might summon a curse.

  I stopped a few steps from the platform and spread my hands a little, like I was greeting old friends.

  "Ah," I said, voice carrying through the silent crowd. "So you still remember me."

  No one moved, the torches crackled, wolves held their breath.

  I let my gaze drift over them, slow, taking in every face that had been part of the lie, every leader who had benefited from my absence.

  "I was worried," I added, mockingly. "I thought you might have forgotten the man you helped bury alive."

  A few murmurs rippled through the crowd, quickly smothered by fear.

  I laughed, quiet and sharp. "Don't look so tense. I'm not here for speeches." I tilted my head. "I'm here to unleash havoc."

  The Alpha's jaw worked like he was chewing on words he didn't want to say. "This is Silver Fang land," he snapped. "You have no right to-"

  I lifted a brow. "No right," I repeated, tasting it. "Interesting."

  Dexter shifted behind me, just one step, and the sound of his boots on dirt made the nearest guards flinch.

  I leaned forward slightly. "My men are already on your grounds," I said, calm as if I was discussing weather. "By the next hour, your population will drop by seventy five percent."

  The silence broke into panic, gasps, a few cries, someone in the crowd started praying under their breath.

  The Alpha's face drained and the Luna gripped the arm of her chair so hard her knuckles went white.

  Morgan stepped forward, trying to look brave, trying to look like the Beta he had become. "You can't do that," he said. "You're not in a place to."

  I turned my head toward him slowly.

  Morgan.

  The name sat bitter on my tongue. Not because he mattered, but because he had chosen a side five years ago, and choices had prices.

  I smiled at him. "I'm exactly in the place to," I said. "I took my place back."

  I lifted my chin toward the crowd, toward the trembling elders and warriors.

  "I am Alpha again,still the most powerful and dangerous." I continued, my voice steady. "Which means I can do what I want. I can claim blood. I can claim land. I can claim lives."

  The Alpha took a step down from the platform, palms slightly raised. "Draven," he said, forcing calm. "We can talk. Whatever you think happened, we can settle it."

  I laughed, louder this time, because the idea was almost funny.

  "Settle it," I echoed. "Like it was a misunderstanding?"

  The Luna's voice cut in, shaky. "Please. There are pups here."

  I looked at her, expression cold. "Then you should have thought about pups before you betrayed your people."

  The Alpha's throat worked. "We didn't," he started.

  "Lie to yourself if you want," I said. "Don't lie to me."

  I turned my gaze toward the execution platform again, toward my mate. 

  The pull in my chest sharpened, I wanted to make whoever did this to her, but it wasn't the right time yet. 

  Then a voice rose from the back , light and pleased, like she was offering a gift. 

  "Maybe we can make a peace trade," she said. 

  " Peace trade ?" I repeated. 

  " We can give you one of our people to prove our loyalty.....and if you need a person," the voice said, "a trade for a treaty... take her."

  I shifted my eyes.

  A young woman stepped forward, hands folded, face innocent, but her scent was sharp with satisfaction. She pointed toward my mate like  she was pointing at a broken tool.

  My gaze dropped back to the kneeling figure.

  Even with her head down, even with dirt on her skin and rope on her wrists, the bond hit me hard enough to make my breath slow.

  Her scent slid into my lungs, cherry blossoms and honey. Soft, warm, dangerously sweet against the night air and smoke.

  It was her, my mate.

  I took a step closer, eyes narrowing as I looked at the line of her shoulders, the curve of her neck, the tremble in her bound hands.

  Then my gaze shifted, trying to make out what was happening. 

  Because beside the leaders, near Morgan, stood another girl and she had the exact same face.

  I wasn't hallucinating, they had the same eyes, same mouth, same exact look, like the Moon had copied one and made two.

  Which mena , they were twins. 

  My gaze flicked back and forth between them so fast it almost felt like my vision glitched.

  But one thing was clear , there was no mate bond between her and I. 

  Ruin growled inside me, confused as I was. 

  One was my mate, the other wasn't . 

  Thoughts slammed into me, fast and sharp. For years I had imagined justice as a straight line, a clear target, a clean revenge, and now the Moon dropped something twisted into my hands like a cruel joke.

  I forced my breathing steady and lifted my chin, letting the confusion settle behind my eyes instead of on my face.

  Then I cleared my throat, slow, deliberate, and let a smile spread again, because if they wanted a monster, I could be one.

  "Double," I said, voice smooth, "is better."

  Heads snapped up towards me, a few elders stiffened like they hadn't heard right.

  I looked at my mate then at the standing twin, and my smile widened.

  "I'll take both of the twins," I said. "As payment."

  The crowd erupted.

  "What?"

  "No."

  "That's impossible."

  Morgan's face went tight with shock. The Alpha stepped forward, furious and the Luna's mouth fell open.

  My mate, lifted her head slightly as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

  I held the moment in my hand like a weapon, then I spoke again, colder.

  "Agree," I said, "or bury your pack."