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đ Chapter: Shadows in the Bloodline
The morning light painted soft gold across the Crimson Dusk Pack lands. Ivy stood on the training ground beside Jayden, her posture relaxed but alert. Around her, pack warriors moved more respectfully nowânodding or giving her space. After her last visit, no one questioned who she was anymore.
She had earned her place. And yet⌠the shadow still lingered.
Not from the pack.
From something darker.
Someone closer.
"Your aura's heavier than usual," Jayden murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.
Ivy gave a small smile. "My dreams are back. The voice. It's louder now⌠closer."
Jayden's brow furrowed, concern etched in every line. "Did Jake say anything?"
"I'm meeting him after school. He says he remembers moreâabout our parents."
Jayden nodded. "I'll pick up Xander today. Spend some time with him."
She smiled softly. "He'll love that."
---
At the school, the atmosphere had changed.
Jake now walked the halls beside Ivyâtall, silent, a commanding figure no one dared mess with. Students whispered when he passed, most thinking he was some visiting senior or a mysterious new staff member. No one really knew who he was. But Ivy did.
Her brother. Her only real family.
"SoâŚ" Ivy whispered as they leaned against the courtyard railing during lunch, "you were raised by werewolves?"
Jake nodded. "The pack that found me was hidden deep in the woods of Northern Canada. They were rogues once⌠but good people. Their Alpha raised me like his own. Trained me. I rose in the ranks. Eventually, I was made Alpha."
"That's why you have that auraâŚ" she murmured, eyes narrowing. "You feel like Jayden sometimes."
Jake smirked. "Except better-looking."
She snorted. "Debatable."
He turned more serious. "You were only eight when the attack happened. I was eleven. I remember more. Our parents⌠Ivy, they weren't human."
Ivy stiffened.
"They were werewolves. Powerful ones. Alphas. You're not just some hunter orphan who survived. You're their daughter. Born from Luna blood."
"But then whyâŚ" Ivy's voice trembled, "why didn't I change? Why didn't I shift like other wolves?"
"They put a bodysuit on you after the attack. It suppressed your wolf side, your powers. Probably to protect you until you were older. It was⌠experimental. But it worked. Too well."
Ivy was silent.
Jake touched her hand gently. "But now, it's unraveling. Your wolf is waking. That voice in your dreams⌠it's not just memory. It's your wolf. Calling you."
Her heart thudded.
"Who were they, really?" she whispered.
"Our father was Alpha Dominik of the Silverlight Pack. Our mother, Luna Elira. Their bond was powerful⌠too powerful. And their deaths weren't an accident. Someone wanted them gone."
"Who?" Ivy asked.
"I don't know. But I think the same force is coming after you now."
---
Across campus, James stood alone under the willow tree, his eyes distant, darker than they'd ever been.
He gripped the edge of his locker earlier with such strength the metal had bent. The voice in his headâthe one whispering about Ivy, about power, about bloodâwas getting stronger. He didn't tell anyone about the man who'd visited him last night.
A man cloaked in shadows.
"Ivy has awakened," the stranger had said, his voice smooth as oil. "You know her. You know what she's becoming. We need her."
James hadn't responded.
"You are special too, James. Not just her friend. You were chosen."
"Chosen for what?" he had asked.
The man had only smiled, eyes glowing faintly. "For the end."
Now, James felt the pull every time Ivy walked by. Like something inside him shiftedâan old bond turned rotten.
---
Meanwhile, on the far end of the campus, Jake sat quietly on the stone bench near the flower beds. He wasn't alone.
Aslam stood nearby, arms crossed, her emerald eyes studying him.
"You're quiet," she said.
Jake shrugged. "I'm not used to being in cities. Or schools. Or around⌠beautiful women who confuse me."
Aslam blinked, caught off-guard. "Is that a compliment, Alpha?"
He smirked. "It's an admission."
She looked away, biting back a smile. "You're annoying."
"You're stunning."
She gave a soft laugh. "I don't know what this is between us⌠but I feel it."
Jake's voice dropped. "I think you're my mate."
Aslam turned slowly, her expression unreadable.
"Then follow your heart," a voice said from behind.
It was Ivy.
She smiled knowingly. "Trust me, Jake. I fought my own feelings once. Don't make the same mistake."
---
That evening, back at the pack estate, Xander sat between Jayden and Ivy, coloring wolves and dragons in his sketchbook. He held up a drawing.
"This one's Uncle Jake!" he grinned.
Jake chuckled. "Why do I have wings?"
"Because you're the coolest!" Xander beamed.
Jayden grinned. "Uncle Jake, huh?"
Ivy leaned against Jayden's side, watching them. "He's already part of our family."
Aslam smiled faintly, watching from the balcony. "You all have something rare," she murmured.
Jake stood beside her. "A future worth fighting for."
But far away, in an abandoned cathedral beyond the city, the stranger who had spoken to James stood before a flickering portal.
"We found her," one of his hooded acolytes said.
The stranger's smile widened. "Then the prophecy begins."
He stepped forward.
"Let the bloodline awaken fully."
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