The ground wouldn't stop trembling.
A deep, unnatural vibration pulsed beneath their feet, like something massive shifting far below the surface of the world.
Leila couldn't breathe properly.
Born from the seal…
The words echoed in her mind like a curse.
"No…"
She shook her head slowly.
"That's not possible."
Denial
Dominic stepped closer to her, his presence firm.
"You don't have to believe him."
But his voice lacked certainty.
Because he felt it too.
That connection.
That unnatural pull radiating from her power.
The old man watched quietly.
"You already feel the truth."
Leila's eyes snapped to him.
"Then explain it!"
Her voice cracked—not from weakness, but from the weight of everything collapsing around her.
"I grew up in a pack. I had a family. A life."
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
"So how am I suddenly… this?"
The Hidden Past
The old man exhaled slowly.
"Because what you remember…"
A pause.
"…is not the full story."
Leila froze.
Dominic's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Careful."
But the old man continued.
"You were found."
The words hit like a blow.
Leila's heart skipped.
"…Found?"
"Yes."
His gaze softened, just slightly.
"Near the boundary of the ancient seal."
The Night Everything Changed
The air shifted.
The old man's voice lowered, almost as if he were pulling the memory itself into the present.
"There was a night… years ago…"
"The forest trembled like it is now."
"The seal weakened—for the first time in centuries."
Leila's head began to ache.
Fragments.
Images.
Flashes of something she couldn't fully see.
"A child was discovered at the edge of that rupture."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"Alive."
"Unharmed."
"And surrounded by power that no wolf should possess."
The Truth She Can't Escape
Leila staggered back slightly.
"No…"
Dominic caught her again, steadying her.
"That doesn't define you," he said firmly.
But the old man shook his head.
"It defines everything."
Leila's breathing grew uneven.
"Why would the seal… create me?"
"It didn't create you," the old man corrected.
"It released you."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
The Purpose of Her Existence
Leila's voice was barely above a whisper.
"…Why?"
The old man's expression darkened.
"Because the seal was never perfect."
"It weakens over time."
"And when it does…"
He hesitated.
"…it tries to correct itself."
Dominic's jaw clenched.
"You're saying she's some kind of… balance?"
"No," the old man said.
"Something far more dangerous."
The Key and the Door
He stepped closer again.
"The seal requires two things."
"A lock…"
"And a key."
Leila felt her pulse thunder in her ears.
"…And I'm the key."
The old man didn't answer immediately.
But his silence—
Was enough.
Dominic Refuses
"No."
Dominic's voice cut through everything.
Cold.
Final.
"She's not opening anything."
The old man met his gaze evenly.
"You think this is about choice?"
Dominic stepped forward, shadows flickering at his feet.
"I don't care what it's about."
His voice dropped.
"She's not a tool."
Leila looked at him.
Something in her chest tightened.
Even now—
Even after everything—
He still chose her.
The Awakening Within
Suddenly—
Pain shot through her body.
Sharp.
Violent.
She dropped to her knees with a gasp.
"Ah—!"
The First Bloodline surged wildly.
But this time—
It didn't feel like power.
It felt like something calling her.
Pulling her.
From somewhere far away.
Her eyes flickered—
Silver—
Then black—
Then something else entirely.
Marcus stepped back.
"Okay yeah—something is definitely happening!"
The Call From Below
Leila clutched her chest.
"I can hear it…"
Her voice trembled.
Dominic knelt beside her instantly.
"Hear what?"
She looked up at him—
Terrified.
"It's calling me."
The ground trembled again.
Stronger.
Closer.
The old man's expression hardened.
"It's begun."
The First Sign
A deep rumble echoed through the forest—
Then—
A crack.
Not in the ground.
In the air.
Everyone froze.
The space ahead of them distorted—
Like reality itself was splitting open.
Marcus whispered.
"…That's not normal."
Kael wasn't there to explain it.
But they didn't need him.
They could feel it.
Something—
Was trying to break through.
Malachar's Plan Revealed
Leila's eyes widened.
"…This is what he wanted."
Dominic's expression darkened.
"He didn't need to control the beast."
A realization hit.
"He just needed to push you far enough."
The old man nodded grimly.
"To weaken the seal."
Leila's voice shook.
"I did this…"
"No," Dominic said immediately.
"You didn't know."
But the damage—
Was already happening.
The Edge of Collapse
The crack in the air spread slightly.
Dark energy seeped through it—
Cold.
Ancient.
Wrong.
The Alpha Killers reacted instantly, forming a protective line in front of Leila.
For the first time—
They weren't just following.
They were protecting her.
Marcus took a step back.
"…We are way out of our league."
Dominic stood slowly.
Positioning himself between Leila and the growing tear.
"Then we fight anyway."
The Final Truth
The old man's voice was heavy.
"You cannot fight what is coming."
Dominic didn't look back.
"Watch me."
Leila pushed herself up slowly.
Her body still trembling.
Her eyes locked onto the crack in reality.
Because deep inside—
She knew.
That thing—
Was connected to her.
And if it fully broke through—
Nothing would be the same again.
The Beginning of the End
The tear widened.
Just slightly.
But enough.
A shadow moved within it.
Not a wolf.
Not anything natural.
Something else.
Something that should not exist.
Leila's voice dropped to a whisper.
"…What is that?"
The old man answered quietly.
"The reason the First Bloodline was created."
The air shattered again.
And this time—
Something began to come through.