Vengeance Under the Full Moon

The darkened forest welcomed me as I made my way back home. Stormveil Hollow. My home pack. I had been away for so long that it almost felt like a dream—a distant memory of where I belonged. But it was no dream. The forest was as familiar to me as my own skin. Every step I took through the towering pines, every breath of the crisp, earthy air, pulled me closer to the life I had left behind.

And to Draven.

I thought of him constantly over the past two years. My mate, my love. We were promised to one another long before I left, bound by more than just the traditions of the pack. He had been my anchor, my partner, the one person who understood me completely. The night before I left for my training, we stood beneath this same moon, and he promised me that when I returned, our future would begin.

But now, as the trees opened up to reveal the village lights of Stormveil Hollow, I felt a weight settle in my chest. Something was different. Something I couldn’t quite name, but it gnawed at me from the moment I stepped foot back on this land.

Alpha Kaelen Ironshade walked beside me, his large frame moving silently through the forest. He had been the one to meet me at the border, insisting on accompanying me back to the heart of the pack. His loyalty had never wavered, even after I left. He was our Alpha, and his rule had been strong and just. But there was something about him tonight—something in the way he looked at me with those sharp blue eyes, as if he knew a secret I didn’t.

“You’re quiet,” Kaelen said, breaking the silence.

I glanced at him, his rugged features half-hidden in the shadows. “Just thinking.”

“About Draven?”

I didn’t answer right away. The truth was, I had been thinking of Draven since the moment I began my journey home. But it wasn’t just thoughts of him that weighed on me—it was the feeling that something was wrong. That the reunion I had dreamed of wouldn’t be as I had imagined.

“I’ve been gone a long time,” I finally said, my voice quiet. “Things change.”

Kaelen gave a noncommittal grunt. “Not everything changes. Not the important things.”

I wanted to believe him, but I could feel the tension in the air, the unspoken words hanging between us. Kaelen had never been one for small talk, and though we had always shared a close bond, I could sense that he was holding something back. He knew something I didn’t.

“Things have been… complicated since you left,” he said after a long pause.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.

Kaelen hesitated, his gaze flicking toward the village ahead. “You’ll see.”

That was all he said, and the rest of the walk was filled with heavy silence.

As we entered the village, the familiar sights and sounds of Stormveil Hollow greeted me—the crackling of fires, the murmured conversations of the pack members, the distant howl of wolves in the night. But beneath the surface, I could sense the shift.

I made my way through the village, exchanging nods and polite greetings with those I passed, but my focus was on Draven. I needed to see him. I needed to know that everything was as it should be.

Kaelen walked with me in silence, his presence steady and unwavering. As we neared Draven’s quarters, I could feel my heart racing in my chest. I had imagined this moment a thousand times—the look in his eyes when he saw me, the way he would pull me into his arms, the way everything would feel right again.

But as I approached the door, I stopped.

Voices. Two of them.

I hesitated, my enhanced hearing picking up the low murmurs from inside the room. One voice was unmistakable—Draven’s deep, familiar tone. But the other…

A chill ran down my spine.

It was Ravenna.