Chapter Fifteen – Hazel's POV
I saw my pack and gasped.
Why would he give me a map back here?
The land stretched out in front of me, familiar in a way that made my chest ache. Broken stone. Faded paths. The ghost of a place that used to be home. I walked slowly, my steps hesitant, and Lucien's words echoed in my head.
Don't be surprised at what you find. When you get there, head to the middle and say your name.
I followed the instinct, letting my feet carry me to what I assumed was the center. There, half-hidden beneath dirt and moss, was a metal plate embedded into the ground.
I stared at it.
This has to be it.
The moment I stepped onto it, the world shifted.
Metal screamed as panels snapped open around me. Machine guns rose from hidden gaps I hadn't noticed before, barrels locking into place with brutal precision. Red dots bloomed across my body — chest, arms, legs, throat.
Too many to count.
Too many to dodge.
"Interesting," Helene whispered, amusement curling through her voice.
"Hazel," Flora snapped urgently. "Say your name. Fast."
It took a second to register her words. My heart hammered, but I forced myself to breathe.
"My name is Hazel—Hazel Alice Thorn," I said clearly.
Helene scoffed. "Why would you say your actual name when you're a living prize bag of goodies?"
Really wish you'd shut up, I shot back. I trust Lucien. If he says to say my name, then my name I'll say.
A pause.
Then Helene's voice slid back in, smug. "You like him, don't you?"
"We have a mate already," Flora defended quickly. "She doesn't like him."
"Did I ask you to speak, little wolf?" Helene thundered.
Flora snarled — then whimpered, shrinking back. Helene hummed in satisfaction. "As you can see," she continued lazily, "Hazel didn't refute it."
"I don't like Lucien that way," I snapped. "He's just a friend. And like Flora said — which I appreciate if you stop shutting my wolf up — we have a mate."
"Oh?" Helene purred. "Finally accepting our mate. Awesome."
That did it.
Not our.
Mine.
He's mine.
"Being territorial, are we?" Helene teased. "I thought you didn't—"
The machine guns lowered all at once.
The ground beneath me trembled, stone grinding against stone as the metal plate split open, revealing a staircase descending into darkness. Cool air rushed upward, carrying the scent of earth and age.
An old man emerged.
He looked… familiar.
His face broke into a wide smile, and he tried to rush toward me, but I reached him first.
"Alice?" he said breathlessly. "Is that really you? Wow."
My brain scrambled. Where do I know him from?
"Alpha," he said suddenly, bowing deeply.
My head went blank. I glanced behind me, half-expecting someone else to be there. He chuckled when he saw my confusion.
"I take it you don't remember me," he said gently. "I was a council member. One of the elders of our pack. I'm Elder Harris."
I gasped, stumbling back before surging forward and hugging him tightly.
"Are… are there any more?" I whispered into his shoulder.
He nodded. "Two more elders and I. The Alpha instructed us to evacuate the children here. Everyone eighteen and under. This place was built for situations like that — an underground pack."
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost buckled.
We went inside. Elder Harris insisted I rest before seeing everything. Lucien was there too. He treated me, talked a lot — too much, really — until exhaustion pulled me under.
When I woke up, he was gone.
I ate, then followed Elder Harris around. There were children everywhere. Adults too — survivors like me. I met the other two elders. The place was clean, warm, alive.
For the first time in a long time, I felt… happy.
I was shown to a room, treated again even though my wounds were already fading, and I took a long bath. By the time I finished, evening had settled in.
Restlessness crept in.
I went back up.
I walked through what used to be my house.
Tears streamed down my face. I didn't remember much — just the attack, my mom yelling run. I tried so hard to remember more, but nothing came. Just echoes. Voices without faces.
I wandered toward the forest and sat on a patch of stubborn grass, laying flat and staring at the moon.
I wish I could remember.
Blood. Screams. Fighting. Clear feelings, no images.
I was about to get up when I noticed the wall covered in vines.
It looked just like the one in Caleb's pack.
"Wait…"
I pressed the same hidden mechanism Lucien had.
The wall opened.
I gasped, peering into the tunnel, then stepped inside. I walked for what felt like forever — nearly twenty minutes — until I finally saw a plain door. I almost turned back.
Almost.
The pack felt alive that night — whispering through stone, breathing through torches that burned long after everyone slept.
I moved like a shadow. Silent. Careful. Flora hummed uneasily in my mind.
"You shouldn't be here, Hazel…"
"I know," I whispered, tracing the symbols carved into the archive door. "That's kind of the point."
"Exactly. I love this she-wolf," Helene giggled.
The lock was ancient — but so was I, apparently. The mark on my palm burned faintly, and the latch clicked open like it remembered me.
Cold air rushed out. Old paper. Blood ink. Dust heavy with memory.
Rows of scrolls and records stretched to the ceiling. Obsessive order.
Then I saw it.
White Wolf Legacy: Helena.
Flora went silent.
Too silent.
Helena laughed.
I pulled the file free. The cover bore a crescent claw through a heart.
Helena, blessed by Selene — corrupted by ambition.
The story twisted fast.
Helena. The White Wolf. Alpha Queen. Lightbringer. Until she wasn't.
Oni blood. Dark magic. Control.
And then—
King and Queen Foster.
Her trusted advisors. Guardians after the fall.
"No… no…"
"Hazel," Flora trembled. "Stop. This will hurt you."
"She destroyed my family," I said hoarsely. "I need to know how."
The next page had diagrams. Rituals. Names written in blood.
Hazel Thorn — Red Wolf anomaly.
I stumbled back.
"Flora, what is this?!"
Helene answered, her voice like thunder. "The truth the royals buried."
Visions slammed into me — chains, screams, a man with blood-soaked hands.
He didn't stop her.
He used her.
"She's still feeding him, isn't she?" I whispered.
"Yes."
"So she died for nothing?" My laugh broke. "Perfect."
A bell rang outside.
I closed the file, shaking.
"I'm done running blind," I said.
The door shut behind me.
The truth was awake now.
And it had my name carved into its bones.