CHAPTER THREE
There was something inside me.
I could feel it now. Pressing against my ribs. Curling up in my spine like a coiled shadow. It wasn't pain exactly—but a pressure. Heavy. Unfamiliar. Like something had always been missing from me and was just now waking up.
I sat on the floor, wrapped in Kael's oversized hoodie—one I'd stolen from a corner shelf the day before. It smelled like him. Sharp pine, smoke, and iron. I hated that I liked it. I hated that his scent made me feel anything but fear.
The mark on my neck pulsed again. That steady thrum. That silent reminder that I belonged to someone who didn't want me.
A soft knock tapped at the door.
I froze.
Knocks weren't allowed.
Only Kael entered. And he never knocked.
The door creaked open slowly. A small figure slipped through, shutting it behind her quickly.
The servant girl.
She hadn't spoken to me before. Always in and out. Fast. Silent.
But this time, she looked nervous. Like she was defying orders just by standing there.
"I—I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know I'm not supposed to… but I had to see if you're okay."
I stared at her, heart thudding.
"I heard rumors. That you haven't eaten. That the Alpha bit you and locked you away. That your scent is… different now."
I blinked slowly.
Her voice trembled. "They say you're cursed. That the bond won't break because something dark is tied to you."
Dark?
She took a step closer. "But I don't believe that."
I tilted my head, curious.
She hesitated, then whispered, "I think you're changing."
I lowered my gaze.
She was right.
But even I didn't understand what was happening.
She pulled something from her apron pocket. A book. Bound in worn leather. She held it out carefully.
"I found this in the old library wing. It talks about ancient bonds. Hidden bloodlines. Muted wolves who weren't really wolves at all." She smiled nervously. "I thought maybe it would help you. Just… don't tell anyone I was here."
I reached for the book slowly.
She pressed it into my palm, then turned and slipped back out before I could thank her.
I clutched the book to my chest and sat by the window, heart racing.
Maybe there was more to me.
Maybe I wasn't just broken.
---
That night, I lit one of the old candles on the nightstand and opened the book.
The pages were yellowed, faded in places, but the language was clear.
"In the days before alphas ruled, before packs were bound by rank, there were bloodlines hidden among the shadows. Wolves born of silence. Wolves cursed by the moon herself. They could not speak, but they heard the stars. They could not shift, but their souls burned brighter than flame."
My fingers trembled as I read.
"These wolves were feared. Not because they were strong—but because they were unchained."
Unchained?
I flipped the page.
There was a sketch.
A woman—small, frail, eyes wide and glowing—standing in the center of a burning forest. Wolves bowed at her feet. Not from submission. From reverence.
My breath caught.
She looked… like me.
I slammed the book shut and pressed it to my chest.
No.
It couldn't be.
I was nothing.
Wasn't I?
---
A violent knock slammed into the door.
I jumped.
Before I could move, Kael stormed in.
His eyes were glowing silver. His shirt was half undone. His breathing ragged.
"Where is it?" he growled.
I stared, confused.
He marched across the room and yanked the hoodie off my shoulders, sniffing the air like a predator.
"You're burning," he muttered. "I can feel it through the mark."
I shrank away from him instinctively.
His gaze sharpened. "What are you hiding?"
I shook my head.
He looked around the room—his nostrils flaring—then stopped at the bed.
His eyes locked on the book.
He snatched it up, flipping it open, skimming the pages. His jaw tensed.
"Where did you get this?"
I didn't answer.
"Who gave this to you?" he barked.
Still silence.
His hand closed into a fist.
"I should punish you," he snapped. "You were told to stay quiet. Stay away. Now you're studying forbidden texts?"
He threw the book onto the floor, pages fluttering.
I bent to pick it up.
He grabbed my wrist before I could.
His voice was low now. Dangerous. "What are you, Arya?"
My name. The first time he'd said it.
It made my heart stutter.
His grip tightened. "I felt your pain last night. Through the bond. You were screaming in your sleep."
I looked at him, pleading.
He wasn't just angry. He was… afraid.
Of me.
"I can't think straight," he muttered, stepping back. "Your scent's in my head. Your emotions in my chest. Every time I close my eyes, you're there."
He rubbed his face. "You're poisoning me."
I picked up the book again and placed it on the nightstand.
He watched me for a long moment. His expression unreadable.
Then he said something I didn't expect.
"Shift."
I froze.
He took a step closer. "Do it now. Show me your wolf."
I shook my head.
"Can't or won't?"
I clenched my fists.
He stared, eyes narrowing. "Then you're useless."
He turned to leave.
But at the door, he paused.
"I have scouts reporting strange activity near the southern border. If you have any secrets… now is the time to speak."
And then he was gone.
---
Later that night, the pressure returned.
Worse this time.
My skin burned. My lungs seized.
I collapsed beside the bed, gasping silently.
And then I saw it.
The mark on my neck—glowing faintly in the mirror across the room.
Silver light.
I crawled to the mirror.
Stared at my reflection.
My eyes were glowing.
Bright white.
Not silver like Kael's. Not gold like warriors.
White.
The color of moonlight.
The color of prophecy.
I reached out to touch the glass.
But before I could, the mirror cracked down the middle.
---