Chapter 4 BURIED SECRETS

LISA'S POV

"Hello, sister."

The words echoed across the square. My dead brother stood there, very much alive, with eyes that held ten years of anger.

"Daniel?" I breathed. "But you died. The rogues—"

"The rogues saved me," he corrected. "After our father left me to die."

Ryan stepped protectively in front of me, but I pushed past him. This was my ghost to face.

"That's not true. Dad searched for you for months. We all did."

Daniel laughed, cold and bitter. "He searched just long enough to look good. Then he declared me dead and moved on. Made you his precious heir."

"I was seven years old," I said. "I mourned you. We had a funeral."

"How touching." His eyes scanned the gathering crowd. Pack members whispered, some old enough to remember him. "And now baby sister is back to claim what's mine."

"I don't want to be Alpha," I said. "I never did."

"Liar." He moved closer, and Ryan growled in warning. Daniel smirked at him. "Ah, the famous Ryan. The mate who wasn't strong enough to fight for you. How romantic."

"Watch your tongue," Ryan warned.

"Or what?" Daniel spread his arms wide. "You'll attack the rightful Alpha heir? I'm the firstborn. The pack is mine by blood."

Elder Catherine emerged from the crowd, her face pale with shock. "Daniel Marcus. This is impossible."

"Nothing's impossible, Elder," Daniel said mockingly. "You should know that better than anyone. After all, you're the one who told my father I was too aggressive to lead. Too dangerous."

"You were violent," Elder Catherine said carefully. "You hurt other pups."

"I was strong," Daniel countered. "But father wanted a gentler heir. So when the rogues attacked that night, he saw an opportunity."

"You're lying," I said, but doubt crept in. Dad had always been calculating, even with his own children.

"Am I?" Daniel pulled something from his pocket. A ring. Our mother's ring, the one she always wore. The one that supposedly disappeared with Daniel's body. "He gave this to the rogues as payment. Told them to take me far away."

"No." But even as I denied it, pieces clicked into place. How quickly Dad had stopped searching. How he'd immediately started training me harder.

"I challenge for the right of succession," Daniel announced formally. "As firstborn, I claim my birthright."

Elder Catherine looked troubled. "You've been gone for ten years. You're not pack anymore."

"Blood is blood," Daniel said. "Unless you're changing the rules now?"

"Lisa already accepted the Trial of Flames," Ryan said. "She can't face two challenges."

"Then she can withdraw from the Trial," Daniel suggested with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Face me instead. Winner takes the Alpha position."

"And if I refuse both?" I asked.

"Then the pack remains weak," Daniel said. "And the rogues I've been keeping at bay will overrun this territory."

The threat hung heavy in the air. Nathan appeared beside me. "You're controlling the rogues?"

"Controlling is a strong word," Daniel said casually. "Let's say I have influence. They listen to me because I'm one of them now. An outcast. Betrayed by family."

My father's voice rang out from behind us. They'd brought him from the medical wing, his wheelchair pushed by a nurse.

"Daniel," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "My son."

"Don't," Daniel's voice turned vicious. "You lost the right to call me that when you sold me to rogues."

"I was protecting the pack," my father said weakly. "You were too violent. Too unpredictable. The things you did to those pups—"

"I was a child!" Daniel roared. "I needed help, not abandonment!"

He had a point. My wolf whined, sensing the pain beneath his anger. Whatever Daniel had become, he'd once been my brother. The one who taught me to climb trees and sneak cookies from the kitchen.

"I'll face you," I said quietly.

"Lisa, no," Ryan grabbed my hand. "You don't know what he's become. What he's capable of now."

"He's my brother," I said simply.

Daniel's expression softened for just a moment. "You always were too soft, little sister. Fine. Tomorrow night. Single combat. No shifting."

"Why no shifting?" Nathan asked suspiciously.

Daniel grinned. "Because I want it to be fair. My wolf has learned things in the wild that would terrify you."

"Tomorrow night then," I agreed.

Daniel turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and sister? Our father isn't dying of natural causes. You might want to ask him about the wolfsbane someone's been slipping into his medication."

He vanished into the darkness, leaving chaos behind. I turned to my father, who looked even paler.

"Is it true?" I demanded. "Any of it?"

He couldn't meet my eyes. That was answer enough.

The crowd dispersed slowly, but Ryan stayed close. "You can't fight him."

"I have to."

"He's been living with rogues for ten years. He'll fight dirty."

"Then teach me to fight dirty too."

Ryan studied my face. "You're serious."

"My family is completely screwed up," I said. "My brother's alive and possibly evil. My father sold his own son and might be being poisoned. And I'm supposedly meant to lead a pack that doesn't even want me. So yes, I'm serious."

"Sophia won't like me training you."

"I don't care what Sophia likes."

He smiled slightly. "Meet me at dawn. We'll start then."

As he walked away, Nathan lingered. "You know Daniel's right about one thing."

"What?"

"Ryan never stopped loving you. The engagement to Sophia is just duty. But you? You're his choice."

"His choice was silence three years ago."

Nathan shook his head. "You didn't see him after you left. He nearly went feral. Destroyed half the training grounds. Father had to use an Alpha command to stop him from following you."

This was news. "An Alpha command?"

"The only one Dad ever used on him." Nathan squeezed my shoulder gently. "Just think about it, okay?"

I stood alone in the square, my world turned upside down. My dead brother was alive. My father was a liar. And my mate still wanted me.

The moon above seemed to mock me with its brightness. In two nights, it would be full. I'd either face the Trial of Flames or fight my brother.

Either way, everything would change.

My wolf stirred restlessly. She sensed something else. Something wrong.

A scent on the wind that didn't belong. Sweet and medicinal.

Wolfsbane.

I followed the scent to the medical wing, to my father's room. The nurse was there, preparing his evening medications.

"Stop," I commanded, using the Alpha tone I didn't know I possessed.

The nurse froze, the syringe in her hand. Her eyes widened in fear.

"Lisa?" My father's weak voice called. "What's wrong?"

I took the syringe, sniffing it carefully. There it was. Wolfsbane, mixed with his normal medications. Enough to kill slowly, making it look like natural decline.

"Who told you to do this?" I asked the nurse.

She shook her head, tears streaming. "I can't... they'll kill me."

"Who?" I pressed.

The window shattered. A figure in black crashed through, knocking me aside. They grabbed the nurse, and before I could react, snapped her neck.

"No!" I lunged forward, but they were already escaping through the window.

I caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the moonlight.

Sophia?