Chapter 9 · Names in the Ash

"You want answers," Ella said, slamming a wooden chest onto the table, "then sit down and shut up. Both of you."

Cain leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed, his silence more unsettling than any words could be. The bond between us hummed like a live wire, his unease and my panic intertwining in a dance neither of us could control.

"The massacre sixteen years ago," Ella began, yanking files from the chest, "the one your foster father led, wasn't just a pack purge. It was a hunt for something specific."

My heart tightened, a cold dread seeping into my bones. "What are you talking about?" I asked, though the answer, I feared, was already staring me in the face.

Ella's eyes, filled with a mix of sadness and determination, locked onto mine. "A woman and a child. The real targets. Not the pack."

Cain moved closer, his presence both a comfort and a threat, like a storm cloud on the horizon. "Why now?" he asked, his voice low and controlled, but the bond between us betrayed his calm exterior, revealing a maelstrom of emotions.

"Because," Ella said, her voice steady, "the truth about that night could change everything.