Chapter 41
The ruins stood before them, jagged and broken, swallowed by ivy and time.
The towering archway, once carved with precision, was now fractured and cracked, the stones beneath Riley's feet uneven and damp. This place was older than Silverwood, older than the war, older than her own memories.
And yet, she knew it.
She didn't just recognize the shape of the ruins or the symbols etched into the crumbling walls.
She felt them.
Like a ghost of a memory buried deep inside her chest, clawing its way to the surface.
"You've come back."
The whisper wasn't real.
It hadn't come from the trees. It hadn't come from Kieran, or Lena, or the pack standing just behind her.
It had come from the ruins themselves.
And that terrified her more than anything.
Riley swallowed hard, forcing her feet forward, even as the air grew heavier around her.
Every step felt like walking into the past.
Every breath felt like a memory waiting to be unearthed.
Kieran was at her side in an instant, his golden eyes sharp, watchful. "Riley"
"I'm fine," she said, but her voice came out too quiet.
Because she wasn't fine.
None of this was fine.
She could feel something beneath her skin, thrumming like a second heartbeat, pulling her deeper into the ruins.
And the worst part?
She didn't want to fight it.
She wanted to know.
She wanted to remember.
Even if it meant learning the truth she had spent lifetimes running from.
The pack followed her in silence, their footsteps barely making a sound against the damp earth.
They were cautious. Not afraid, but close.
Because they could feel it, too.
The hum in the air.
The way the ruins weren't just a place but a presence.
Somewhere behind her, Lena let out a slow, amused breath. "Well, sweetheart, if you were looking for a bad idea, I think you've found it."
Riley didn't turn around. "You didn't have to come."
Lena chuckled. "And miss this? Not."
Riley exhaled, steadying herself, but it didn't help.
The closer she got, the more everything inside her unraveled.
She wasn't just walking toward the ruins.
She was returning to them.
The past was waiting.
And this time, it wasn't going to let her leave without remembering.
The moment Riley crossed the threshold, the air shifted.
Not physically.
Not with wind, or sound, or anything tangible.
But something inside her snapped open, like a door that had been locked for centuries had just been thrown wide.
She gasped, stumbling forward.
Kieran's hands were on her arms in an instant, steadying her. "Riley!"
She barely heard him.
Because the second she touched the stone
Everything changed.
She wasn't in the ruins anymore.
She was somewhere else.
A throne room, carved from obsidian and silver.
Golden banners hanging from the ceiling, flickering in the torchlight.
And standing before her
A man with golden eyes, watching her with something close to regret.
Her breath caught.
Not Kieran.
Not Tobias.
Someone else.
Someone she should have remembered.
"You don't have to do this," he said, his voice quiet. Pained.
She took a step back, heart pounding. "Who are you?"
The man flinched.
Then, slowly, he exhaled, shaking his head. "You don't remember."
Riley's pulse roared.
She had been here before.
She had stood in front of him before.
And she had trusted him.
Right before he betrayed her.
The vision shattered around her.
She stumbled back into the present, her body shaking, her lungs burning.
Kieran was still holding her, his grip tight, grounding. "Riley, what the hell just happened?"
She couldn't answer.
Because she knew now.
The first betrayal wasn't Tobias.
It wasn't the war.
It wasn't even the pack turning against her.
It was him.
The man in the vision.
The one she had loved once.
The one who had handed her over to the ones who had erased her.
And if he was still out there
If he was still watching
Then her return wasn't just a threat.
It was a challenge.
A slow, sharp breath left her lips.
This war wasn't just about survival anymore.
It was about finishing what had been started.
And this time, she wasn't going to lose.
The realization settled into her bones like fire, slow and consuming.
She had spent so long searching for answers, clawing through half-remembered visions, trying to piece together a past that had been stolen from her.
Now, she finally knew the truth.
She had been betrayed.
Not by Tobias.
Not by the pack.
By someone else.
Someone she had trusted.
Someone she had loved.
Her fingers curled into fists, the weight of the memory pressing against her chest, thick and suffocating.
If he was still out there
If the ones who had erased her were still watching, waiting, waiting for her to remember
Then she had just done exactly what they had feared.
She had woken up.
And this time, she wasn't going to let them take her again.
Kieran's golden eyes searched her face, worry flickering behind them. "Riley, talk to me. What did you see?"
She exhaled sharply, grounding herself, feeling the ruins thrumming beneath her feet.
"A piece of the past," she murmured.
Lena tilted her head, interest flickering in her gaze. "A good piece or a bad one?"
Riley's lips curled, but it wasn't a smile.
"Depends on who you ask."
She turned back toward the ruins, the shadows stretching wide and endless before her.
This wasn't over.
It was only just beginning.
Because whoever he was, wherever he was he would know.
The moment she touched the ruins, the moment the memories returned, the moment she remembered him
He would feel it.
And that meant, for the first time in a long, long time
He was afraid of her now.
And he should be.
Because she wasn't the same girl he had betrayed.
She wasn't the girl who had trusted blindly, who had believed in him, followed him, loved him.
That girl had died.
And the one standing here now, the one who had clawed her way back, the one who had taken back her pack, the one who had shattered the chains of the past was coming for him.
The ruins hummed beneath her feet, pulsing with something old, something alive.
A connection. A link. A warning.
Wherever he was, he had felt it.
He knew she was back.
And now, she knew exactly what she needed to do.
Kieran stepped closer, his breath steady but his body rigid with unease. "Riley, who is he?"
She turned to face him, green eyes burning with something relentless.
"The one who started all of this," she said.
Her voice was calm.
Certain.
Unforgiving.
"And the first one I'm going to end."
The words left her lips like a vow unshaken, absolute, final.
Kieran's breath hitched, just barely, but he didn't look away.
Neither did she.
Because there was no going back now.
She had spent too long trying to understand who she was, too long questioning, doubting, searching.
Now, she knew.
And knowing meant there was only one path left to take.
Lena let out a low whistle from behind them. "Damn, sweetheart. I don't know who this mystery traitor is, but I almost feel bad for him."
Riley's lips curled, but there was no humor in it. Only fire.
"Don't."
Because whoever he was wherever he was
He wasn't just her past anymore.
He was her unfinished war.
And she was going to finish it.
No matter what it took.
The weight of those words settled deep in her chest, but this time, it didn't feel suffocating. It felt like purpose. Like a fire that had been waiting too long to burn, like a storm that had finally gathered enough strength to break.
She had spent too much time being a step behind, too much time reacting instead of acting.
Not anymore.
Now, she was the one moving first.
Now, she was the one hunting.
Kieran's jaw clenched, his golden eyes stormy. "And what happens when you find him?"
Riley met his gaze without hesitation.
"Then I remind him why he should have left me buried."
A flicker of something unreadable passed across Kieran's face worry, frustration, something else she couldn't name.
But he didn't argue.
Because he knew.
Just like Lena knew.
Just like every wolf standing behind her knew.
There was no stopping this now.
She had been erased once.
But this time?
She was the reckoning.
And reckoning didn't hesitate. It didn't ask for permission. It didn't wait for the right moment.
It came like a storm fast, merciless, inevitable.
Riley felt it inside her, the power humming beneath her skin, the certainty settling in her bones like she had been waiting for this moment long before she even knew it existed.
She wasn't afraid of the past anymore.
She was walking straight into it.
Kieran exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his hair, his muscles still coiled tight like he wanted to stop her like he wanted to pull her back from the edge.
But they both knew
She had already stepped over it.
And she wasn't looking back.
Lena smirked, shaking her head. "Well, sweetheart, I hope whoever this bastard is knows what's coming for him."
Riley's lips parted, voice steady, sharp, undeniable.
"He will soon enough."
The wind howled through the ruins, carrying her words into the night.
Somewhere, he would hear them.
Somewhere, he would know.
And for the first time, he would be the one running.