The night air was thick with the scent of the forest, damp leaves clinging to the ground beneath my boots. The moon had just started its climb across the sky, casting long shadows through the trees, but I wasn't interested in the beauty of the night. Not now.
Aria walked ahead of me, her movements almost too quiet, too calculated for someone who claimed not to care. After the intense meeting earlier, when Tobias had revealed the hidden history of the packs and our bloodline, everything had changed. My world—my identity—had shifted. I was no longer just a werewolf, no longer just the Alpha of my pack. I was something more, something I wasn't sure I wanted to be.
And now, I had questions.
"I still don't understand," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. "If my father knew all this, why wouldn't he tell me? Why keep everything hidden?"
Aria didn't look back, but her voice carried through the silence like a blade. "Maybe he thought you weren't ready. Or maybe… he didn't trust you with the truth."
I stopped in my tracks, her words hitting me harder than I expected. "He didn't trust me? My own father?"
Aria finally turned, her pale eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "You're asking the wrong questions, Kael. This isn't about trust. It's about survival. Your father made choices—hard ones. The kind you can't understand until you've faced what he faced."
I clenched my fists, trying to suppress the anger bubbling beneath the surface. I had spent my entire life idolizing my father, following in his footsteps, trying to live up to his legacy. But now… now it felt like everything had been a lie.
"Then what was he hiding?" I demanded. "What was so dangerous that he had to keep it from me?"
Aria sighed, stepping closer, her voice softening slightly. "There are forces at play here, Kael. Forces older than you can imagine. Your father was trying to protect you from them. But now, those forces have their eyes on you."
I swallowed hard, my mind racing. The man I had seen—the one controlling the hybrids—he was part of this, wasn't he? He had been watching me, testing me. And I had no idea why.
"Who is he?" I asked, my voice raw. "The man who's after me. What does he want?"
Aria's gaze flickered, a shadow crossing her face. "He's more than just a man. He's one of the Old Ones, Kael. A pureblood. Like you."
The ground seemed to shift beneath my feet, and I struggled to find my balance. "A pureblood? But I thought they were just a myth."
Aria shook her head slowly. "They're real. And they've been hiding in the shadows for centuries, waiting for the right moment to strike. Your bloodline is connected to them in ways you don't yet understand. And that's why he's after you."
I stared at her, disbelief swirling in my mind. "So, what? He wants to recruit me? Turn me into one of his minions?"
Aria's lips twisted into a humorless smile. "He doesn't want to recruit you, Kael. He wants to control you. To use your power for his own gain."
My heart pounded in my chest as the weight of her words sank in. I had always known there were threats to the pack—rival alphas, rogue wolves, even humans who hunted us for sport. But this… this was something different. Something darker.
"And if I don't let him?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Aria's smile faded, replaced by a cold, hard edge. "Then he'll destroy everything you care about. One by one."
---
We reached the clearing just as the moon reached its zenith, bathing the forest in a pale, ghostly light. The wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it the faint scent of something… wrong. Something unnatural.
Tobias was waiting for us, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his expression grim. "You're late," he said, his voice low.
"We had to take the long way," Aria replied curtly, not even looking at him as she brushed past.
I stepped into the clearing, the air feeling heavy around me. "What is this place?" I asked, my gaze sweeping over the trees. There was something about this spot that felt different, like the very earth beneath my feet was watching, waiting.
"This is where it all began," Tobias said quietly, his eyes fixed on a single stone at the center of the clearing. "Your father… he made his stand here."
I approached the stone, my heart hammering in my chest. The markings on it were old, ancient even, etched deep into the surface. Symbols I didn't recognize, but that seemed to pulse with a strange, otherworldly energy.
"What does this have to do with me?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
Tobias sighed, stepping closer. "Everything, Kael. This stone marks the spot where the last battle between the purebloods and the werewolves took place. Your father… he was the last one to face them. And now, it's your turn."
I stared at the stone, a sense of dread creeping up my spine. "But why me? I'm not—"
"You are," Tobias interrupted, his voice firm. "You're the Alpha now. And whether you like it or not, you're connected to them. To the Old Ones. Your bloodline is the key to their power."
I shook my head, backing away from the stone. "No. I'm not like them. I'm not some ancient monster."
Tobias stepped in front of me, his eyes burning with intensity. "You're not a monster, Kael. But you are more than just a wolf. And if you don't learn to control that power, they will control you."
The weight of his words settled over me like a heavy cloak, suffocating, inescapable. I didn't want this. I didn't ask for any of it. But deep down, I knew he was right. There was something inside me—something powerful, something dangerous. And if I didn't find a way to master it, it would destroy me.
Or worse… it would destroy everyone I cared about.
---
Hours passed in silence as I sat alone in the clearing, the stone looming over me like a silent sentinel. Aria and Tobias had left me to my thoughts, giving me space to process everything I had learned. But no matter how much I tried to make sense of it, the pieces just wouldn't fit.
How could my father have kept all this from me? How could he have carried the weight of this secret, knowing what it meant for me, for the pack? I had always trusted him, believed in him. But now, it felt like that trust had been built on a foundation of lies.
The wind stirred the leaves around me, and I closed my eyes, letting the cool air wash over my face. I needed answers. I needed to understand what was happening to me, what I was becoming.
And there was only one person who could give me those answers.
I stood, my resolve hardening with each passing second. It was time to confront the one person who had been pulling the strings from the shadows. The one who had watched me, tested me, hunted me.
It was time to face the Old One.