The Betrayed Wolf of Shadowfen

Chapter 8

Everything changed when the room fell silent.

Sierra had known that the pack gathering would be difficult, but she hadn’t expected it to hit her like this. As she entered the room, a familiar sense of discomfort gripped her. The smell of sweat, the low murmur of voices, the flickering candles casting long shadows, everything was the same as it had always been.

But tonight, the air felt heavier, filled with something she couldn’t name. The gathering was supposed to be a place of unity, where packs came together and shared in their bonds. But tonight, for Sierra, it felt like a trap, a reminder of everything she had lost.

She tried to breathe through it, pushing forward, hoping that the tension building in her chest would ease as she moved deeper into the room. Her steps faltered for just a second, her heart skipping when she saw them.

Rowan.

He was standing by Isolde. Isolde. Her sister. The woman she had trusted above all others, the one who was supposed to have her back. And yet, here she was, standing next to the one person Sierra had been warned to stay away from. Rowan. The heir to Shadowfen. The son of their enemies.

Sierra’s breath hitched as she stopped in her tracks. The world seemed to pause, everything fading into the background except for the sight of the two of them together. Rowan was smiling. Laughing, even. It was a soft, knowing smile, the kind he always wore when he was in control, when everything was going exactly as he wanted. But it wasn’t the smile that cut through Sierra, it was the way he looked at Isolde. His eyes held something else, something too intimate, too warm. Too familiar.

Isolde twirled a lock of her hair, laughing at something Rowan said. Her eyes, wide with that innocent expression that Sierra knew all too well, were directed at him. She leaned in closer to him, the space between them shrinking with every word they exchanged. It was like a dream that Sierra couldn’t wake from, a nightmare that was too real. She could see it, could feel it—the connection. The way they fit together in this unspoken way. Like they had their own world, one that didn’t include her.

“Spending time with the Shadowfen heir, huh?” the voice rang out, light, teasing, like it meant nothing.

Sierra froze.

Her breath caught in her throat like a stone. Her fingers clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms. It had been said like a joke—just a harmless comment from someone passing by—but the words hit her like a blade to the ribs.

Her eyes snapped to Rowan.

Please, she thought. Look at me.

But he didn’t.

He was facing Isolde—laughing. His whole body angled toward her, his mouth curved in a rare smile Sierra had only seen a handful of times. His eyes sparkled, not with danger or heat, but warmth. For Isolde.

Not for her.

Sierra felt her entire body stiffen. “Rowan?” she called, just loud enough for him to hear.

He didn’t even flinch, as if she wasn’t even there.

The sound around her faded. The room, the trees, the voices—it all blurred into a dull hum behind the pounding in her ears.

He always looked at her. Even when he wasn’t supposed to. Even when it was dangerous.

And now? Nothing.

Sierra swallowed hard, blinking against the sting in her eyes. “So that’s it?” she whispered, barely able to hear herself over the roaring silence inside her chest. “You don’t even have the decency to acknowledge me?”

Still, Rowan said nothing.

Isolde giggled.

That sound—her laugh—splintered something inside Sierra.

“I get it now,” she said louder, her voice shaking but clear. “You made your choice.”

Rowan shifted slightly but still didn’t turn. And that—that—was the worst part. Not the laughter. Not the smile. Not even Isolde.

It was the fact that she didn’t even matter enough to warrant a glance.

Sierra stepped back, the air suddenly too tight in her lungs. Her voice cracked as she whispered to herself, “I always knew this would happen… just didn’t think it’d feel like this.”

And then she turned.