Morning arrived much faster than Alex had hoped. The first rays of sunlight had just started filtering through the windows of the cabin, but he was already awake, his thoughts spinning from the encounter the previous night. The creature that had appeared in the forest was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and its words still echoed in his mind.
"Your lineage... your power..."
Alex couldn't shake the feeling that despite all the training with Gideon, he was only beginning to understand the extent of what he truly was.
Gideon, on the other hand, was already up and moving. The old hunter had spent the entire night flipping through ancient books and reviewing old notes, searching for any clue about what the messenger had revealed.
"Did you find anything?" Alex asked as he got up and stretched. His body was still sore from the previous night's transformation, but at least he could move.
Gideon glanced at him over his cup of coffee, his eyes tired but still sharp. "Not much yet. There are some legends about ancient werewolf lineages, but most of them are stories meant to scare young wolves." He paused, as if doubting his own words. "However, after what we saw last night, I think it's time we reconsider those legends."
Alex slumped into one of the chairs at the small table in the cabin, feeling the weight of everything that was happening. "If what that thing said is true, and my lineage has some kind of power... what does that mean for me?"
Gideon looked at him seriously. "It means you've got a much bigger target on your back than you thought." He took a sip of coffee before continuing. "If there's something special about your blood, something that ties you to an ancient lineage, then it's not just hunters who will be interested in you. Other wolves, other creatures of the supernatural world, might see you as a threat... or a resource."
"A resource..." Alex repeated, his mind struggling to process the possibility that someone might want to use him as a tool or weapon. "But I don't know anything about this power. I can barely control my transformations. How do they expect me to be useful to anyone?"
"That's exactly why you're dangerous." Gideon set his coffee cup on the table, leaning forward. "What you don't understand, others fear. And what others fear, they either want to destroy or control."
Silence fell between them, broken only by the faint crackle of the fire in the fireplace. Alex could feel the truth in Gideon's words, but he could also feel the fear growing inside him. Not only did he have to deal with being a werewolf, but now there was a legacy he hadn't even known he had, and a world of enemies lurking in the shadows.
"So what do we do now?" Alex finally asked.
Gideon sighed, rising from his chair. "We prepare. If there's one thing I've learned in all my years of hunting, it's that preparation is everything. If that messenger showed up, it's only a matter of time before others make their move." He walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out an old, dusty book. "This is a good place to start."
Alex took the book as Gideon handed it to him. The pages were old and fragile, filled with symbols and texts in ancient languages he couldn't understand. "What is this?"
"Stories. Old stories about the first wolves, the first clans, and some... a lot like you." Gideon looked at him with an intensity Alex hadn't seen before. "I don't believe everything in this book, but if there's any truth to what that being said, there could be a clue here."
Alex nodded slowly, opening the first pages of the book. The symbols and texts were incomprehensible, but the illustrations spoke for themselves: giant wolves under the light of the moon, human figures surrounded by beasts, and one image that caught his eye in particular. A wolf with eyes glowing like stars, surrounded by a circle of human figures, all with their hands outstretched toward it.
"What does this mean?" he asked, pointing at the image.
Gideon approached, studying the illustration for a moment before speaking. "It's a depiction of an ancient myth. According to legend, some of the first werewolves weren't just beasts. They were something more... something more powerful. It was said they could control the moon, manipulate the transformations of other wolves, and even dominate humans with their mere presence."
"Control the moon?" Alex frowned, unable to imagine such power. "Is that even possible?"
Gideon shrugged. "In the world we live in, Alex, almost anything is possible. The real question is whether that power still exists, or if it vanished along with those first wolves."
Alex flipped through the pages, trying to absorb everything he was seeing, but his mind kept returning to the messenger's words. "The last of a bloodline... Unleashing something..."
"If what it said is true," Gideon continued, interrupting his thoughts, "you might be the heir to that ancient line. And if that's the case, you might be more dangerous than you realize—even to yourself."
A shiver ran through Alex. Gideon's words sank into his mind like invisible claws. He had spent weeks struggling to control his new nature, to learn how to contain the wolf within him, but now it seemed that was only the beginning of a much larger challenge.
"What if I don't want that power?" he murmured, almost to himself.
Gideon looked at him with a stern but understanding expression. "We don't always get to choose what we are, Alex. But what we can choose is how we face it."
The young wolf closed the book, feeling the weight of his situation more than ever. "So, how do I start facing this?"
Gideon smiled slightly, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "With training, patience, and most of all, staying alert. But first, let's get some rest. We've got a long fight ahead."
Alex nodded, but he knew resting would be the last thing he did that night. There were too many questions, too many mysteries to solve. And though the future seemed darker by the moment, one thing was clear: he couldn't escape his destiny. The wolf within him was awake, and the world around him was starting to revolve around that power he still didn't fully understand.
As night fell and the shadows grew longer, Alex mentally prepared himself for what was to come. He knew the next encounter with hunters or any other creature seeking his lineage wouldn't be so simple. And though he didn't yet fully understand who he was or what he represented, something inside him was beginning to stir. The power that had slept in his blood for generations was starting to awaken.