The night had never felt so still, so unnaturally silent. As if the entire forest was holding its breath, waiting for something to crack the fragile peace.
I sat beside Callum on the edge of our bed, his fingers lightly brushing mine, but even that comfort couldn't still the pounding in my chest. The mark on my back had stopped glowing, yet I could still feel its pulse like a second heartbeat tethered to something dark and distant.
He hadn't said much since I showed him the mark. Only stared at it, then at me, as though trying to fit the broken puzzle pieces together.
"You should sleep," he murmured, voice low and hoarse.
I looked at him, really looked. His blue eyes were stormy and conflicted, shadows beneath them deeper than I'd ever seen. "And dream of fire again? Of him?"
His jaw clenched. "I hate that he got to you. That he touched you."
I reached up, brushing my fingers against his cheek. "He didn't break me, Callum. He tried. But he failed."
"I know," he said, voice rough with emotion. "But the idea of someone branding you like you're his... it drives me insane."
I swallowed hard. "We need to know why. Why me? Why now?"
He exhaled, standing to pace the room. "He's planning something. Marking you wasn't random. Maybe he needed a link. A way into our pack. Into me."
I stood too, the floor cool against my bare feet. "He's watching us. Or someone close to us is feeding him information."
Callum stopped mid-pace. "A spy?"
I nodded slowly. "Kael was a puppet. Someone else is pulling the strings, and they're still here."
Silence settled between us like a heavy fog. Then Callum's eyes narrowed. "I want to speak to Elder Torren. If this Shadow Alpha is using ancient blood magic, he'll know more."
"We can't trust everyone on the council," I warned. "Not after Kael. What if it's someone else?"
He nodded, face tight. "Then we find someone we can trust."
---
At dawn, we met with Lysandra, the seer of the northern coven. She lived beyond the river, where the mist never lifted and the wolves refused to tread.
The moment she saw us, her milky eyes widened. "He has touched you, girl," she rasped, her voice like brittle leaves. "The one who walks in shadow."
I didn't even have to show her the mark.
"He branded me during the ambush," I admitted. "What does it mean?"
Lysandra's gaze flicked to Callum, unreadable. "It means you are the key. The door he needs to open. And the bait he will use."
Callum stepped forward, voice hard. "What does he want?"
She looked at him, and for a moment, her expression softened with something like pity. "You."
He stilled. "Me?"
"Not just you, Alpha," she whispered. "Your blood. Your lineage. The ancient magic in your veins."
"What ancient magic?" I asked, heart pounding.
Lysandra turned to me, eyes glowing faintly. "He doesn't remember. But it's in him still. A legacy buried by time, sealed by oath. He is more than just a wolf. And the Shadow Alpha knows it."
Callum stared at her, shaken. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," she whispered, "that the truth of who you are... might be what destroys you."
---
The ride back to the pack was silent. Callum gripped the reins tightly, his face a mask of conflict.
"Do you believe her?" I finally asked.
He didn't answer right away. Then: "I don't know. I've always felt... different. Even as a child. But my father never spoke of anything like this."
"Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he was trying to protect you."
Callum exhaled. "Or maybe he knew the truth and chose to bury it."
We were almost to the gates when a guard raced toward us, panting. "Alpha! Luna! You need to come quickly."
Callum tensed. "What happened?"
"It's Kael," the guard said breathlessly. "He's dead."
---
We stood over Kael's body in the Shadow Cells, the torchlight casting flickering shadows across the stone walls.
He looked... peaceful. Too peaceful.
"No sign of struggle?" Callum asked.
The healer shook her head. "None. No wounds. No poison in his blood. It's as if he just... stopped."
I stared at him, my gut twisting. "Or someone took his soul."
The healer flinched. "That's forbidden magic."
"So is branding someone with blood runes," I snapped. "We're past the point of rules."
Callum's voice was flat. "Someone silenced him. He knew too much."
He turned to me, eyes fierce. "We're running out of time. Whoever's behind this they're not going to wait much longer."
---
That night, I sat in the library long after Callum had gone to bed. Books on old bloodlines, forbidden spells, and ancient prophecies lay open before me.
I was searching for anything that could explain what Lysandra had said.
Then, something caught my eye an old passage in a forgotten tome, the ink faded but still legible:
The Alpha of Ash and Storm shall rise when the blood moon returns. His blood, the key. His mate, the gate.
My heart skipped.
His mate, the gate...
My breath caught as the pieces began to fall into place.
He wasn't just using me to lure Callum.
I was the gate.
I was the opening.
I was the key to whatever ancient power the Shadow Alpha wanted.
---
I ran to our room, panic clawing at my throat. Callum was asleep, but he stirred when I burst in.
"Rhea?" he mumbled, sitting up.
"We need to go," I said breathlessly. "Now."
He blinked. "What? Why?"
"Because I know what he wants. What he's after. It's not just you. It's us. Our bond. Our child."
His eyes snapped wide open. "What?"
"The prophecy 'His blood, the key. His mate, the gate.' It's not just about you, Callum. He marked me because I'm the access point. And our baby"
I broke off, chest heaving.
"He wants to use our child to complete it. To awaken something."
Callum was already getting dressed. "We leave now. No more waiting. We find him. We end this."
But as he opened the door, a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Leaving so soon, Alpha?"
It was Elder Rowan.
Only his eyes weren't his own.
They glowed red.
And his voice wasn't just his,.
It was layered with something deeper. Darker.
Callum shoved me behind him.
But I could feel it.
This wasn't the real fight.
This... was only the beginning.