Amara sat on the edge of Selene's bed like she owned it.
Boots kicked off. Arms folded. Watching Selene pace the small guest quarters like a caged animal.
The room wasn't fancy. Just a cot, a dresser, and a single window overlooking the training fields. But it was hers — her space. One of the few places she could breathe.
Until now.
Selene stopped pacing. "Start talking."
Amara leaned back lazily. "You always were impatient."
"You always were annoying."
Amara smirked but didn't bite back.
"The White Wolf," Selene said again. "Her name."
Amara studied her. "First, you tell me something. What did they promise you here?"
Selene blinked. "What?"
"This pack. Kael. The warriors who look at you like you don't belong. What did they promise you to make you stay?"
Selene crossed her arms. "Freedom. A clean record. A shot at a normal life."
Amara gave a low chuckle. "There's no such thing as normal for wolves like us."
"Maybe not for you," Selene said. "But I'm done living like a shadow."
"Are you?" Amara's voice softened. "Because from where I'm sitting, you still flinch when someone walks behind you. You still sleep with a blade under your pillow."
Selene's jaw tightened. "Give me the name."
Amara tilted her head, eyes dark with memory. "Her name is Nerya."
Selene froze.
That name hadn't passed her ears in years. Not since her last mission. Not since everything went wrong.
"She was dead," Selene said, her voice low. "We buried her."
"No," Amara said. "You buried what was left after she turned."
Selene's heart pounded.
Nerya had been her partner. Her only friend during the years she worked undercover. Beautiful, clever, fearless Nerya. They trained together. Fought together. Bled together.
Until the final mission. Until the betrayal.
"She was caught in the blast," Selene whispered. "I saw her fall."
"She survived," Amara said. "Barely. And whatever soul she had left… it burned away. Now she's something else. Something colder."
Selene turned away, trying to breathe. Nerya was the White Wolf?
"How?" she whispered.
Amara stood and walked toward the window. "They rebuilt her, Selene. Not with machines or magic. With purpose. Gave her a reason to hate, and hate was enough to wake her back up."
Selene swallowed hard. "What does she want?"
"To end the system that broke her. To burn every Alpha seat down to ash."
"She's starting a war."
"She's starting a reckoning."
Selene turned back to her. "And what do you want out of this?"
Amara met her gaze. "To stop her."
Now that — that made Selene laugh.
"You trained her, Amara. You made her. Don't pretend your hands are clean."
"No," Amara said quietly. "But I didn't ask for her to become a monster."
Selene stepped closer. "Why now? Why come to me?"
Amara's voice dropped. "Because she asked for you by name."
Selene stilled.
"She doesn't want Kael," Amara continued. "She doesn't want this pack. She wants you."
There was silence in the room, thick and sharp like the edge of a blade.
Selene turned away again. Her hands trembled slightly.
"She wants revenge?" she asked.
"No. She wants to know why you left her behind."
Selene closed her eyes. It was worse than revenge. It was personal.
A knock came at the door.
Selene's voice was steady. "Come in."
Kael stepped inside, his gaze sweeping between them.
"We have a problem," he said.
"What now?" Selene asked.
"There was another attack," he said. "North outpost. Three warriors dead. One missing."
Amara tensed.
"Any signs?" Selene asked.
Kael nodded. "Claw marks. Symbols burned into the trees. Same as before."
Selene turned to Amara. "Was it her?"
Amara didn't answer right away.
Then, "If it was… she's getting bolder."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "I want to meet her."
"You don't," Amara said. "Trust me. She doesn't talk. She destroys."
Kael stepped closer. "We can't wait for her to come to us again. I want a name. A location. A plan."
Selene watched the two of them. The Alpha and the shadow from her past. And for the first time, she felt something twist in her gut.
Fear.
Not of Amara. Not of Kael.
Of what came next.
She would have to face Nerya. Not just as a rogue. Not just as the White Wolf.
But as the girl she once loved like a sister.
The girl she left behind.