Chapter 3 A place among strangers
The first days after exile were the hardest.
The forest seemed larger than I remembered, the shadows heavier, the cold sharper. Each step I took felt like walking deeper into a world that didn’t want me. The Blackridge crest was still stitched on the inside of my jacket, a brand of what I had lost. My parents’ faces haunted me every time I closed my eyes.
I was alone.
The scent of blood and smoke from the rogue attack still clung to me, no matter how many times I tried to wash it away in freezing streams. My mind played the scene over and over—the moment the gate guard stepped aside, letting the rogues pour in. The moment my father’s shout turned to a scream. The moment my mother’s blood pooled beneath her, dark and shining in the moonlight.
I told myself I’d survive. I didn’t have a choice.
Days blurred together in hunger and exhaustion until I stumbled into territory that didn’t smell like Blackridge or rogues. It smelled… clean. Crisp mountain air cut through the rot of my memories. The scent markers here were fresh, sharp, and warning enough to make any sensible wolf turn away.
I didn’t turn away.
When the first howl rose in the distance, it was deep and commanding, the kind of sound that told you exactly who was in control here. I stopped, ears pricking. A rustle came from my right, and a dark figure emerged from the undergrowth—a tall man with hair the color of midnight and eyes that reflected the moonlight like molten silver. He moved like a predator who didn’t need to hide what he was.
“State your name,” he demanded.
“Anya Raventhorn,” I said, voice hoarse from days of disuse. “I’m not here to trespass. I’m looking for… a place.”
His eyes narrowed. “Raventhorn? Blackridge?”
I flinched but nodded. His expression didn’t soften.
Two more figures appeared behind him, both armed, their postures tense. I knew I didn’t stand a chance if they decided I was a threat. My wolf bristled inside me, but I kept still.
“What happened?” he asked, voice low.
“I was exiled,” I said. The word still burned my tongue. “My pack… betrayed me. My family was killed.” I forced myself to meet his gaze. “If you’re going to send me away, do it now.”
The man studied me for what felt like a lifetime. Finally, he turned to the others. “Bring her to the Alpha.”
They escorted me through winding forest paths until the trees opened into a settlement lit by lanterns and the flicker of firelight. Wooden lodges stood in a half-circle, their walls sturdy and smoke rising from their chimneys. Wolves moved through the shadows, some in human form, some not, their eyes following me with suspicion.
At the center of it all stood the largest lodge, where a woman waited. She was tall, her silver-streaked hair pulled back in a braid, her posture both regal and battle-ready. The weight of her authority filled the space before she even spoke.
“This is the Alpha,” the man who’d found me said.
The woman’s gaze swept over me like a blade. “You’re far from home, Blackridge girl.”
“I have no home,” I answered.
For a long moment, she didn’t reply. Then she said, “I am Alara of the Stormfang Pack. You crossed into my territory. That makes you my concern. You will tell me everything—why you were exiled, what threat follows you, and whether bringing you here will bring death to my people.”
So I told her. I told her about the rogue attack, the guard who betrayed us, the Alpha who cast me out. I didn’t tell her about the blood moon yet. That was mine to keep.
When I finished, she leaned back in her chair. “You carry grief like a shield, girl. But grief won’t keep you alive here. Loyalty will.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means you can stay—if you prove you’re worth the food you’ll eat and the ground you’ll sleep on. Stormfang doesn’t shelter the weak or the treacherous. You’ll work. You’ll train. And if you betray us, the forest will swallow your bones before dawn.”
Her words should have frightened me. Instead, they felt… steady. Solid. A promise, in their own way.
That night, they gave me a small room in the eastern lodge. The bed was hard, the blanket thin, but it was the first time in days I’d had a roof over my head. I lay awake for hours, listening to the distant howls of the pack. They were strong, their voices carrying a unity I had never realized Blackridge lacked.
The days that followed were a blur of work and wary introductions. Stormfang tested me from the start. They made me haul water from the river, chop wood until my muscles burned, and run patrols through the snow-laden woods. At night, they trained me—sparring matches, tracking drills, and lessons in reading the land.
I learned quickly that Stormfang valued action over words. They didn’t care about my past unless it endangered them. They cared about whether I could keep up. And I did. I had to.
The man who’d first found me introduced himself as Kael, the Beta of Stormfang. He was quiet but watchful, his silver eyes missing nothing. When I faltered in training, he pushed me harder. When I succeeded, he said nothing—but there was a flicker in his gaze, like approval he’d never admit.
One evening, after a long day of patrols, I caught Kael watching me from the training grounds. I wiped sweat from my brow.
“What?” I asked.
“You fight like someone with something to prove,” he said.
“I do,” I replied.
He nodded once, like that was the right answer, and walked away.
It wasn’t instant, but slowly, the suspicion in the pack’s eyes began to fade. They started greeting me by name. Sharing food at the fire. Inviting me to join their hunts. The bond was fragile, but it was there.
Still, I didn’t forget Blackridge. I didn’t forget the guard who’d betrayed us or the Alpha who’d cast me out. The rage inside me didn’t dim—it only coiled tighter, waiting for the right moment. Stormfang was a place to heal, yes. But it was also a place to grow stronger.
One night, after a successful hunt, Alpha Alara sat beside me by the fire.
“You’ve done well,” she said.
“Thank you.”
“But I see the storm in you, Anya Raventhorn. I see where it could take you—to greatness, or to ruin.”
I met her gaze. “I know where it’s taking me.”
Her smile was faint, knowing. “Then I hope your enemies are ready.”
And in that moment, surrounded by wolves who were no longer strangers, I knew one thing for certain—Blackridge hadn’t ended me. It had forged me into something stronger. And one day, I’d prove it.