After the hunters retreated, Rafe led the pack through a rusted service door hidden behind a concrete pillar. Beyond it lay a narrow staircase spiraling down into darkness. The city noise faded with every step, replaced by a deep, ancient silence.
"This place existed before the city," Mara said as they descended. "Back when this land was nothing but forest and stone."
The staircase opened into a vast chamber carved from rock. Old symbols were etched into the walls—claws, moons, and wolves locked in battle with human figures carrying spears and fire.
Alex felt it immediately.
The mark on his shoulder burned.
Rafe stopped in the center of the chamber. "This is where our history is kept. Not in books—books can burn—but in stone and blood."
Alex stared at the carvings. Scenes of wolves protecting villages. Wolves being hunted. Wolves standing over fallen kings.
"What does this have to do with me?" Alex asked quietly.
Rafe turned to him. "Your mark isn't random. It's a legacy."
Mara stepped closer. "Long ago, before hunters became organized, there were Wardens—werewolves who protected both humans and wolves. They kept balance."
Rafe nodded. "They carried the Old Blood. Stronger. Rarer. Harder to control."
Alex's chest tightened. "You're saying I'm one of them?"
"Not yet," Rafe said. "But you carry their blood. The mark awakens only when the city is close to breaking."
Alex's mind raced. "And the hunters?"
"They were once protected by the Wardens," Mara said. "Until fear turned into hatred. They betrayed us. Learned how to kill us."
Rafe's voice hardened. "Your blood is the reason they hunt so aggressively. If they capture you, they'll either kill you—or worse, use you."
The mark pulsed again, hot and insistent, as if responding to his fear.
Alex backed away. "I didn't ask for this."
"No," Rafe agreed. "But the city did."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Rafe spoke again. "You have a choice. Hide, and live a short life. Or train, learn control, and become what the mark demands."
Alex looked around the chamber. At the scars in the stone. At the weight of history pressing down on him.
He thought of the alley. The hunters. The hunger.
"I won't run," he said.
Mara smiled slightly. "Good. Training starts tomorrow."
A distant rumble shook the chamber.
Rafe's eyes narrowed. "They're moving already."
Alex clenched his fists.
The past had found him.
And it wasn't done collecting its debt.