Chapter 2

The Silvercrest territory was nothing like Shadowfang.

Where Kael's pack lived in cold modern compounds, Silvercrest was ancient — a fortress carved into mountain stone, surrounded by forests so old the trees had names.

A woman waited at the gates. Silver-haired, sharp-eyed, dressed in armor that looked ceremonial but wasn't.

"Sera Voss?"

"Sera," I corrected. "Just Sera."

"Not for long." She extended her hand. "I'm Commander Isolde. I served your mother before she was murdered."

The word hit like a physical blow. "Murdered?"

"Your mother was Lyra Silvercrest, firstborn daughter of High Alpha King Aldric. She was killed twenty-three years ago by a rival pack who wanted the Silvercrest bloodline erased." Isolde's eyes hardened. "They thought they succeeded. They were wrong."

She led me through corridors lined with portraits. I stopped at one.

A woman who looked exactly like me — same dark hair, same grey eyes, same stubborn jaw — standing beside an enormous silver wolf.

"Your mother," Isolde said quietly. "And her wolf, Astraea. The most powerful Alpha wolf born in three centuries."

"I don't have a wolf," I whispered. "She never manifested."

"She was sealed. Your mother did it to protect you — an unsealed Silvercrest wolf would have been detected by every pack on the continent. You would have been hunted from birth."

I touched my stomach. "And my children?"

Isolde's eyes dropped to my belly. Her expression shifted — shock, then something fierce.

"Twins?"

"Yes."

"With Alpha blood?"

"Their father is Kael Nightcrest."

Isolde went very still. "The Alpha who just rejected you is the father of Silvercrest heirs?"

"He doesn't know. And he won't."

"Sera—"

"He rejected me in front of his entire pack. He called me a stray. His mother called me worthless." My voice was steady, but my hands were shaking. "He chose another woman while I was carrying his legacy. He doesn't deserve to know."

Isolde studied me for a long moment, then nodded.

"Your grandfather wants to meet you. He's... not well. But he's been waiting twenty-three years for this moment."

She led me to a chamber deep within the fortress.

An old man lay in a massive bed, surrounded by healers. His eyes — grey, like mine — opened when I entered.

"Lyra?" he whispered.

"No." I knelt beside him. "I'm Sera. Her daughter."

Tears streamed down his weathered face. He reached for my hand with trembling fingers.

"You have her fire," he said. "I can feel it. Even sealed, your wolf is burning."

"Grandfather—"

"The seal must be broken. Tonight. Before I die." His grip tightened. "You are the last Silvercrest, Sera. And when your wolf wakes..." He smiled, fierce and proud. "Every Alpha on this continent will feel it. Including the fool who let you go."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Seventeen missed calls from an unknown number.

I ignored them.

"Break the seal," I said.