The Ghost Wolf: Hell Sent Her Back | Read Free Preview
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Chapter 1 — Betrayal
Yara's POV:
The second the liquid silver hit my throat, I knew the Veyra family had decided to kill me.
It wasn't the royal court.
It wasn't the rogue wolves.
It wasn't the rebels of the North whose flags I'd torn down myself.
It was my own family.
"Don't break her legs." My dad Reynold Veyra stood by my bed, his silver wolf cane planted firmly on the floor. His voice was cold as ice. "Broken legs are too obvious. People won't buy that she's just sick."
My mom Eleanor Veyra kept her eyes closed, her fingers growing pale and clenched.
"Then lock her wolf spirit inside her," she said. "Break her claw bones and force this silver poison down her. Take away her ability to shift fully. She'll never be able to prove who she is again."
I lay in bed, my body numb and paralyzed from wolfsbane. I couldn't move a single finger.
My wolf spirit was thrashing inside my chest, slamming against my ribs.
Shadowfang. My black wolf.
She was snarling and fighting, desperate to break free from the silver poison binding her.
But she couldn't get out.
The liquid silver burned my throat. I opened my mouth, but all I could let out were broken, breathless noises.
Jayson Veyra walked up to my bed.
My little brother.
Once, he'd sit by the fire, begging me to tell him stories about the North's battles. Once, he'd read every war report I sent home and looked up to the Ghost Wolf like a hero.
Now he grabbed my hand, and there was no sadness in his eyes—only excitement.
"Don't blame me, Yara," he said. "You shouldn't have come back if you cared about our family."
The first claw bone snapped, and sharp pain blinded me.
Shadowfang let out a dying howl inside me.
The second bone broke.
Then the third.
I looked over at Eleanor.
She refused to meet my eyes.
She just whispered, "This is for the family."
For the family.
I'd heard that line so many times before.
Ten years ago, Reynold got hurt badly in a border fight. An enemy Alpha shattered his left leg, leaving him unable to fight ever again. Scared other wolf packs would steal his land, he lied to everyone. He told them his son Alec Veyra was a stronger Alpha than he ever was.
Right after, the royal court ordered Alec to lead the army in the north. If he said no, our family would be called cowards. We'd lose our title, our hunting lands, our territory, and the king's protection.
I was fourteen back then.
My twin brother Alec died the night we were born.
No one in the royal court knew the truth.
Everyone only knew the Veyra twins—a boy and a girl.
People thought the boy never went to royal events because he trained nonstop.
They thought I lived alone in the northern hunting grounds because I was weak and sickly.
So I cut my hair short, bound my chest, and wore a witch's moonstone charm to hide my female Alpha scent.
I put on Alec's leather armor.
I went to fight in the North, living under his name.
And I won. For ten straight years.
At fifteen, I led a hundred wolf riders and burned the rebels' food stores to the ground.
At eighteen, I killed the rogue wolf king's oldest son at Grayclaw Canyon.
At twenty, I took back twelve forts in the North.
At twenty-three, I attacked Frostfang Fortress. I dragged the rebel king to the old cage where the Wolf King was once shamed, and forced him to kill himself next to the chains.
The royal court gave me a name.
The Ghost Wolf.
Twenty-nine fights. Zero losses.
When the war ended, I burned Alec's memorial fire. I let the Ghost Wolf die with the last battle.
I put my dresses back on, covered in old scars, and went home to Veyra Castle.
I thought I could finally just be Yara again.
But when I pushed open the doors, I saw another girl sitting next to Eleanor.
Sienna.
She had blonde hair and wore a white dress, soft and fragile like a cherished rose.
Eleanor held her hand and told every noble who visited, "This is our daughter. The Ghost Wolf's beloved little sister."
That's when I finally realized the truth.
My family didn't want Yara.
They only wanted the Ghost Wolf's fame and victories.
They only wanted a pretty, quiet girl they could show off at court as the hero's sister.
Reynold told me, "Pretending to be Alec is lying to the crown. If anyone finds out, our whole family will be labeled traitors forever."
Eleanor told me, "You've done so much for this family. Just endure this one last thing."
Jayson told me, "Sienna stayed here with Mom and Dad all these years. She's more like a sister to us."
I said nothing.
I let it all happen.
I watched Sienna wear the silver moon medal the crown gave to the Ghost Wolf's family.
I watched her become a candidate to marry the Crown Prince.
I watched her live off my land, my honors, my legacy.
Everything changed when Prince Kaelen of the North came back to the Royal City.
He took one look at Sienna and said, "She's nothing like the Ghost Wolf."
That night, Sienna ran into Eleanor's arms, weeping.
Three days later, Reynold set up a marriage for me.
A sixty-year-old mine owner from the south.
Both his past wives died in strange accidents. He kept three hunting dogs chained right outside his bedroom door.
I refused to marry him.
That's when they gave me a cup of wine.
Eleanor smiled and said, "Drink this, sweet girl. It'll take all your fear away."
I drank it.
Now I lay here, watching my little brother break my last claw bone.
Jayson leaned down and grinned at me.
"Don't worry, Yara. We won't let you die quickly."
Chapter 2 — Second Chance
Yara's POV:
They didn't kill me right away.
They locked me up in a silver cage in the middle of the Royal City.
They charged me with three crimes: being crazy, faking my identity, and dishonoring the Ghost Wolf.
For three days, everyone in the city came to stare at me. Rich nobles, common folk, even the wolf servants.
They threw dirt at me.
They spat at me.
A man threw a black silver coin at the cage bars and yelled, "Liar! Apologize to the Ghost Wolf!"
But I couldn't say I was sorry.
My wolf spirit was trapped tight. My claw bones were broken. Silver poison burned my throat raw.
On the third day at dusk, Jayson rode a white horse into the town square.
He wore the Veyra family's blue and silver formal clothes. He spoke loud enough for the whole crowd to hear.
"This woman is my older sister. She's had mental issues since she was a kid, so our family sent her to a far-off hunting ground outside the city. When the Ghost Wolf died in war, we brought her home. But she went crazy. She started lying and saying she was the Ghost Wolf."
The crowd boiled over with anger.
"She claims she's the real hero of the North!
"She claims Alec was never real!
"She claims the court's great war hero is just a woman!"
Jayson's voice shook perfectly, like he was truly hurt.
"She disrespected my brother. She disrespected our whole empire."
Rocks banged hard against the silver cage.
I leaned on the freezing metal bars and almost laughed out loud.
Alec was never real, of course.
My twin brother died the night he was born.
He never held a sword. He never rode a horse. He never saw snow in the North.
People would rather worship a dead baby boy as a hero than admit a woman won twenty-nine battles.
Far away, I heard loud horse hooves pounding the ground.
I lifted my head with great effort.
Black banners cut through the blowing snow, racing toward the east gate of the Royal City.
Twelve knights in black armor rode in formation.
At the front was a man in a black wolf-skin cloak. His silver hair blew wild in the wind. He looked like a sharp sword that hadn't been drawn, but already dripped with blood.
It was Prince Kaelen.
He'd come for me.
But he was too late.
My vision turned dark.
In my last moments, I didn't beg the Moon Goddess for forgiveness.
I only made one vow in my heart.
If I could live my life over, I would want no family love, no more compromise, no more quiet existence.
I would take back my name.
I would make the Veyras give back everything they stole from me.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
"Yara? Wake up."
I snapped my eyes open.
The carriage rocked back and forth.
A heavy snowstorm raged outside the window.
There were no silver chains on my body.
My throat didn't burn anymore.
All my fingers were fine. My claw bones sat under my skin, warm and thrumming softly.
I pressed my palm to my chest.
Shadowfang woke up inside me.
She let out a low, deep growl.
I was alive.
I was back.
The young maid across from me turned pale with fear.
Her name was Luanne.
I'd bought her from slave traders on the northern road three weeks before.
In my past life, she came back to Veyra Castle with me. Then she disappeared after they locked me up.
This time, I wasn't gonna let her die in all the chaos.
"Where are we?" I asked.
Luanne held her bag tight to her chest.
"We're one hour away from the north gate. The Veyras must know we're coming. They should be waiting for us at the gate."
No. They weren't waiting for me.
Just like last time, the Veyras were holding a private gathering tonight.
They planned to introduce Sienna to Lady Cassian, the most powerful widowed noblewoman in the king's court.
They'd tell everyone Sienna was the Ghost Wolf's little sister.
Before I even stepped foot in the city, they'd plant their lies in every noble's ear.
I pulled back the curtain.
Snowy wind cut into the carriage, sharp as blades on my skin.
"Stop the carriage."
Luanne stared at me, shocked. "Right now?"
"Right now."
The carriage came to a stop.
I stepped out into the snow.
Far off in the storm, the black walls of the Royal City loomed faintly.
I grabbed the blood-stained flag from the carriage.
The Ghost Wolf's war flag.
It wasn't some dead man's keepsake anymore.
It wasn't a trophy I'd carried home for someone else.
This was the highest honor from the North battlefields.
By old wolf military rules, if a war leader died far from home, their blood family had to carry their war flag along the Moon Path and finish the flag vigil ritual. Only then would their name be added to the Hero Hall.
I never finished that ritual in my last life.
This time, I'd let the whole city watch me come back with the Ghost Wolf's flag in my hands.
"Luanne," I said. "Take the carriage to the north gate and wait for me. Don't go into the city. Don't tell anyone you're from the Veyra family."
"What about you?"
I slung the war flag over my shoulders.
The blood-stained fabric flapped in the wind, like a dead black bird coming back to life.
"I'm walking the Moon Path."
Luanne's face went white with terror.
"That ritual is only for family of the dead. No one survives walking it in a blizzard."
I smiled softly.
"I've already died once."
I walked barefoot into the deep snow.
Every three steps, I stopped, pressed the flag to my chest, and whispered the old war oath.
"I return with blood.
"The moon is my witness.
"I take back what's mine, with tooth and claw."
The storm swallowed my quiet words.
But I knew it wouldn't be long before the whole city heard me.
Chapter 3 — The Regent's Carriage
Yara's POV:
I walked through the snow for forty-three minutes straight.
My bare feet went totally numb. I couldn't feel my ankles or anything below them at all.
Snow soaked into the war flag, making it heavier and heavier. My shoulders burned with the weight.
But I couldn't stop.
The Moon Path wasn't just a regular path.
It was an old ritual.
Only the hero's own blood family could bring a war flag back to the Royal City.
The person carrying the flag couldn't ride a horse, take a carriage, or let anyone help them walk.
Every three steps, you had to stop, press the flag to your chest, and speak the old oath to the Moon Goddess and the fallen soldiers.
I didn't know this ritual could work in my favor in my past life.
But I knew it now.
Finally, I saw a carriage stuck in the snow right next to the stone bridge.
No family crest on it.
No guards or servants lined up outside.
It was a plain black carriage with half-closed curtains, just like any normal noble's ride.
But I knew exactly who was inside.
Lyraelle—the regent.
The Wolf King's aunt.
Twenty years ago, she ruled the kingdom as regent for seven years. She put down three noble rebellions all on her own, and most of the old court nobles still stood by her side.
I'd helped push her carriage out of the snow in this exact spot in my last life, and I never knew who she was back then.
I wouldn't make that mistake again.
I took three steps forward.
I stopped and pressed the war flag tight against my chest.
"I return with blood."
Three more steps.
"The moon is my witness."
Three more steps.
My left knee gave out.
I didn't fight the fall. I let myself sink down into the snow.
The war flag slid off my shoulders and laid flat on the white snow.
The black-and-silver wolf mark, the star patterns of the North, the old dried red bloodstains—all of it was clear to see.
The carriage door opened right away.
A female steward in a long gray cloak rushed down and knelt beside me.
"She's still breathing."
A woman's voice came from inside the carriage.
It was soft, but everyone went quiet instantly.
"Bring her in. Bring the flag too. Don't let it get dirty."
They lifted me up and carried me into the warm carriage.
They wrapped thick blankets around me and held a cup of hot wine to my lips.
I kept my eyes closed.
I made myself look half-frozen and half-unconscious.
My breath was shallow, my hands shook, and my lips twitched faintly.
"The Ghost Wolf..."
I heard the steward whisper, "My lady, she's wearing old modified army leg wrappings. This is the Ghost Wolf's personal war flag. She's not just some liar."
Lyraelle stayed quiet for a moment.
Then she asked, "Who is she?"
Luanne's voice came from outside, sounding like she was crying.
"This is Yara Veyra, the oldest daughter of the Veyra family. She's the Ghost Wolf's twin sister."
Lyraelle went still.
"The Veyras didn't send anyone to get her?"
"She didn't want to bother her family," Luanne said, just like I'd told her. "She said Duke Reynold and Lady Eleanor are still grieving their son. She didn't want to add to their pain."
The carriage turned dead silent.
Lyraelle repeated the words quietly. "Add to their pain."
Her voice sounded gentle, but sharp, like a blade's edge dragging across bone.
"Why did she keep the flag vigil?"
"She said the Ghost Wolf's family has to bring his war flag back themselves. Otherwise, his name can't be officially added to the Hero Hall."
I could hear Lyraelle's breathing shift.
Of course she knew this old army rule.
No one in the court had truly followed it for years. These nobles only honored the dead with fancy parties, speeches, silver cups, and empty words.
But I'd walked the whole path through a brutal snowstorm.
She might not like me.
But she couldn't deny what I'd done.
"Send men to check the northern road," Lyraelle ordered. "Check every station and guard post. I need to know where she came from, who saw her, and if she really came from the northern border."
The steward agreed and left quickly.
I kept my eyes closed and waited.
Twenty minutes later, I heard horse hooves outside, followed by quiet whispers.
Lyraelle listened to the report and stayed silent for a long while.
Finally, she spoke. "She walked all the way from Frost Gate?"
"Yes, my lady. Guards at three different outposts saw her. She only had one maid and the war flag with her. No Veyra guards at all."
Another heavy silence fell over the carriage.
This time, I could feel clear anger in the air.
I opened my eyes right on time.
The woman in front of me looked around fifty. Her silver-gray hair was pulled back tight. She wore no fancy jewelry, only a black moon brooch to hold her cloak closed.
She wasn't traditionally pretty.
But the way she looked at you made you want to bow your head.
"My lady?" My voice was rough and dry, like I'd just been pulled out of freezing ice.
Lyraelle's eyes locked on mine.
"You know who I am?"
"I've seen your portrait," I said softly. "Back in the North camp. The Ghost Wolf said you're one of the only people in court who truly understands wars."
It wasn't a lie.
I'd really said that once.
Though back then, I'd actually said, "Lyraelle's one of the only old wolves in court who still has sense."
A faint emotion flashed in her eyes.
"Does your family know you're back today?"
I lowered my gaze.
"They knew I'd come back sooner or later."
It was true, but it wasn't the answer she wanted.
Lyraelle saw straight through me.
She turned to the coachman at once. "Drive to Veyra Castle."
The steward looked surprised. "My lady, should we go to your estate first? She needs a healer."
"No." Lyraelle's voice turned cold. "If a Veyra girl can stand a full flag vigil through a blizzard, the Veyras need to see her right now."
She looked back at me.
"I'll take you home myself."
I bowed my head and rested a hand on the war flag.
"Thank you, my lady."
Shadowfang let out a quiet laugh inside my chest.
I'd just unlocked the first step of my revenge.
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