The first night away from home was the hardest. Not because I was afraid. No.... Not fear. But because I was alone. For the first time, there was no familiar scent surrounding me. No pack walls protecting me. No Beta Adrian waiting to lecture me about taking unnecessary risks. No Mira forcing me to eat more than a few bites because she believed I was too stubborn for my own good. I was alone. And I wasn't sure how I felt about that. The forest stretched endlessly around me as I walked beneath the moonlight, my bag resting on my shoulder and my sword strapped securely to my side. I had spent years preparing for this moment. Years learning how to fight. Years learning how to track. Years learning how to survive. Because I knew the moment I stepped outside my pack, nobody would see me as Iris. They would see my surname. Thorn. The daughter of the Alpha who supposedly murdered his mate. The story followed me everywhere. Some people whispered that my father had lost control. Some said he had always been dangerous. Some said I was lucky the Beta family had taken me in before I became just like him. I ignored them all. Because none of them knew my father. None of them saw the way he looked at my mother. They didn't see the way he would sit beside her after long days of leading the pack, forgetting about everything else just because she was there. They didn't see the way he held me when I was a child. A murderer could pretend for a while. But could someone pretend for an entire lifetime? That was the question I had been asking myself for years. And I intended to find the answer. -- By midday, I reached the border of the Silver Ridge Pack. It was one of the oldest packs in the northern territories. According to the information I had gathered, my father had visited them several times before my mother's death. If anyone knew what he was involved in, it would be them. The guards at the entrance immediately noticed me. "State your name." I looked at the two wolves blocking my path. "Iris Thorn." The reaction was immediate. Their expressions changed. Recognition flashed across their faces. One of them exchanged a glance with the other. "That Thorn?" I sighed. I was already tired of that question. "Yes. That Thorn." The older guard studied me carefully. "You're brave coming here." "I'm not here for a fight." "Most people who carry that name bring trouble with them." I stepped closer. "Then it's a good thing I'm not my father." The guard didn't respond. But he moved aside. The pack was smaller than mine, but it was peaceful. Families walked through the streets. Children played. Wolves trained in the open fields. It reminded me of home. Before everything changed. I was led to the Alpha's residence, where I waited for nearly twenty minutes before someone finally entered. An older man. His hair was streaked with silver, but his presence was still powerful. "Alpha Cedric," I greeted. He looked at me for a long moment. "I never expected to see Rowan Thorn's daughter standing in front of me." "I'm looking for information about him." His expression hardened. "Why?" "Because everyone believes he killed my mother." Silence filled the room. "And you don't?" "No." The Alpha studied me. "You are either very loyal to your father or very foolish." "Well..I'm Neither." My voice remained steady. "I just know the man everyone describes is not the man I knew." Alpha Cedric walked toward the window. "Your father was a complicated man." "That's not an answer." "No," he agreed. "It isn't." I waited. Finally, he spoke. "Your father came to me months before your mother's death." My heart tightened. "Why?" "He was afraid." That caught me off guard. "My father?" "Yes." "For what?" Alpha Cedric looked at me. "For something he discovered." I stepped forward. "What did he discover?" He hesitated. And that hesitation told me everything. He knew more than he was saying. "Alpha Cedric." "You should stop searching for answers you may not survive finding." My jaw tightened. "I didn't travel this far to be told to give up." His eyes softened slightly. "You have your mother's stubbornness." I froze. "You knew my mother?" "Yes." "Then tell me what happened." The older Alpha looked away. "I wish I could." Wish. Not I don't know. Not nothing happened. Wish. Before I could question him further, a loud crash came from outside. The room shifted instantly. The Alpha's expression changed. "Rogues." My hand moved toward my weapon. "Stay here." I almost laughed. "Do I look like someone who hides?" "No," he said calmly. "You look like someone who gets herself killed trying to prove she doesn't need help." I ignored him and followed anyway. Outside, the peaceful pack had changed. Wolves were moving into defensive positions. The scent of strangers filled the air. Rogues. And they weren't here by accident. They were looking for something. Or someone. One of them stepped forward. His eyes landed directly on me. The moment he saw my face, he smiled. "Well, well." My instincts immediately warned me. Danger. "Look what we found." I tightened my grip on my weapon. The rogue tilted his head. "Alpha Thorn's daughter." The way he said it made my stomach twist. Not like he had found a helpless girl. Like he had found something valuable. And for the first time since leaving home, I wondered if searching for the truth had made me the target of something much bigger than I understood. Because maybe my father's disappearance wasn't just a mystery. Maybe it was a warning.

The first thing I learned about chasing the truth was that it rarely came quietly. It came with threats. With blood. With people who wanted you to stop asking questions. I stood in the middle of the Silver Ridge Pack's courtyard, my fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of my dagger as the rogue stared at me like he had already decided what I was worth. A prize. A weakness. A way to gain something. I hated that look. I had seen it before. People rarely saw Iris Thorn. They saw my father's daughter. They saw a name. A legacy. A story they had already decided was true. The rogue took another step forward. "Your father caused a lot of problems before he disappeared." My eyes narrowed. "You knew him?" A slow smile spread across his face. "Everyone knew Alpha Rowan Thorn." I didn't like the way he said his name. Not with respect. Not with fear. With bitterness. "What do you want?" His gaze moved over me. "That depends." "On what?" "On whether you are worth more alive or dead." The wolves around me tensed. So did I. Alpha Cedric stepped forward, his aura filling the courtyard. "You entered my territory uninvited." The rogue laughed. "You still think territory means something?" His eyes returned to me. "The world has changed, little Thorn." I hated the nickname immediately. "Call me that again, and you'll find out how much I've changed." A few wolves around us looked surprised. Maybe they expected me to hide. Maybe they expected the daughter of a fallen Alpha to be fragile. They were wrong. I had spent my entire life preparing for people like this. The rogue tilted his head. "You really are his daughter." I didn't wait for him to finish. I moved. The fight was quick. Not because I was stronger than him. I wasn't arrogant enough to believe that. But I was prepared. I had trained against opponents bigger than me, faster than me, and more experienced than me. Size didn't win fights. Control did. The rogue swung first. I dodged. His fist missed my face by inches. I used his movement against him, striking his side before stepping away. He recovered quickly. Too quickly. This wasn't an ordinary rogue. He was trained. The realization barely crossed my mind before he attacked again. This time, I wasn't fast enough. Pain shot through my shoulder as I hit the ground. Before he could move again, several Silver Ridge warriors surrounded him. The rogue looked annoyed, but he didn't fight. Instead, he looked at me. "You're looking for your father." It wasn't a question. My expression hardened. "How do you know that?" "Because everyone who carries the Thorn name eventually starts looking for answers." He stepped backward. "But be careful, Iris." The way he said my name made my stomach tighten. "Some truths are buried for a reason." Then he disappeared into the forest. Nobody spoke for several moments. I hated that. Silence always meant people were hiding something. Alpha Cedric looked at me. "You should leave." I frowned. "Excuse me?" "You heard me." "I came here for answers." "And you nearly got yourself killed." "I handled it." "Yeah .....Barely ." His words annoyed me because they were true. I looked away. He sighed. "You have your father's determination." I stiffened. "I'm not like him." "I didn't say you were." The Alpha's expression softened. "That might be the problem." I looked back at him. "What does that mean?" He hesitated. Then he said: "Your father spent his entire life protecting secrets." My heartbeat slowed. "What secrets?" But before he could answer, a messenger rushed toward us. "Alpha." Cedric turned. "What is it?" The messenger looked between us. "There was another attack." My eyes narrowed. "Where?" "The eastern border." "By the same rogues?" The messenger nodded. "But that's not all." A pause. Then: "They left something behind." Alpha Cedric's expression changed. "What?" The messenger swallowed. "A symbol." My stomach tightened. "What symbol?" The messenger looked at me. "The Thorn crest." That night, I barely slept. Someone was using my family's name. Someone wanted me to find something. Or someone wanted to make sure I never did. I sat near the fire, staring at the old dagger I carried. It had belonged to my father. The only thing I had left of him. For years, I wondered if I was chasing a ghost. But now I knew one thing. My father's disappearance was not the end of the story. It was the beginning. And someone out there was terrified that I would uncover the truth.