Chapter 24
I received an unknown message early in the morning. I had no idea who sent it but i opened it checking out the content.
The shadowborn doesn’t send letters, they rather send warnings with actions.
Nathan is missing. Last seen near the west gorge. Blood at the scene. Pack warriors dispatched. Come quickly.
There was no signature. No name.
Just a smear of dried blood at the corner.
I stared at it for a long time.
Kael stirred behind me. “What is it?”
I didn’t answer.
He sat up slowly, groaning. “Your mark’s glowing.”
“I know.”
He looked at the letter in my hand. “What happened?”
I held it out and he read it.
Then looked at me.
“You think it’s real?”
“I don’t know.”
“And if it is?”
I folded the paper. “Then he’s in danger.”
“And if it’s not?” Kael’s voice was harder now. “What if it’s a trap?”
I didn’t speak.
He rose to his feet and walked over, stopping in front of me.
“You said you wouldn’t run toward them again. Not alone.”
“This isn’t about them,” I said quietly. “It’s about Nathan.”
“You owe him nothing.”
My voice broke slightly. “I know.”
He stared at me, his jaw tight. “Do you still care?”
“I don’t know if I care about him,” I whispered. “But I care about the part of me that still hopes he
turns out better than Damien.”
Kael said nothing.
“I raised him,” I murmured. “Even when he hated me. Even when I hated myself. I can’t walk away -not if he’s really bleeding out somewhere.”
I stood up and Kael blocked me.
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“Let me come.”
“No. You’re still recovering.”
“Then wait. Let me heal, and we go together.”
“There might not be time.”
“Then I’ll keep up,” he growled.
I shook my head. “You won’t.”
His voice lowered. “You could die.”
“I’ve already done that once.”
Kael grabbed my arms looking into my eyes. “I’m coming with you. I can handle myself better than you think so don’t refuse.”
I sighed in defeat.
Kael was still adamant So i let him come with me.
knew this was stupid. I knew it could be a trap. But I also knew the blood of a boy I raised might be drying in the dirt somewhere.
And I couldn’t ignore that.
moved fast through the underbrush, the message clutched tight in my hand. The closer I got to :he gorge, the more my instincts screamed at me to turn back.
But I didn’t.
Because if I didn’t go-and something happened to Nathan-I’d never forgive myself.
When I reached the edge of the gorge, the sky had turned gray.
crouched low, scanning the clearing.
There was No wolves, No Nathan.
took a step forward-and that’s when I saw it.
A piece of blue cloth snagged on a tree branch.
rushed toward it, my heart hammering.
t was Nathan’s blanket.
The one he screamed for.
The one I used to wrap him in when his nightmares clawed him awake.
I reached out to grab it-
And a burst of silver smoke exploded from the tree line, surrounding me in seconds. My lungs burned. My legs buckled. I stumbled backward, coughing hard.
Too late, I realized the truth.
There was no Nathan, it was a trap.
A figure stepped through the smoke, Damien.
“Hello, Alice,” he said smoothly.
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What was he doing here?
“I thought you might fall for it,” he continued. “Mother instincts and all that.”
I steadied myself, my fists clenched. “What do you want?”
He stepped closer. “The Council wants you gone. The Shadowborn want you alive. And I…”
He smiled faintly.
“I want both.”
“You’re a coward,” I spat.
“Maybe,” he said. “But I’m not the one walking into traps alone.”
My mark flared.
I could feel the pull again-like the Shadowborn were near.
“You gave me up once,” I said quietly. “Don’t think I forgot.”
“I didn’t ask you to come back,” he replied, voice calm. “But you did. And now that you’ve made yourself everyone’s problem, I’m offering a solution.”
‘And what’s that?”
He took a scroll from his coat and dropped it at my feet.
‘The Council’s decree. You’re to be ‘contained.’ Pain-free, if you cooperate. Publicly, you disappear. Privately, you’re turned over to the ones who know what to do with you.”
‘And if I refuse?”
He looked at me like I was a broken glass on his table.
‘I’ll make it look like you killed Nathan.”
scoffed in disbelief, “Your own child?”
‘I’m not killing him, just doing everything to make sure you cooperate.”
growled andreached for the pendant at my neck and let it glow.
He noticed the shift in air and took a step back.
‘Alice,” he warned, “Don’t.”
But I was already done listening.
‘You played me,” I said. “You played him. And you let a child be the excuse.”
‘I did what I had to,” he said.
“No,” I whispered. “You did what cowards always do. You chose power over love. You chose control over truth. And now… you’re going to see what that costs.”
He raised a hand, signaling his hidden guards.
I raised mine too.
And everything shattered.
The ground beneath me cracked. The trees burst into flame. The air rippled with heat as the mark on my palm surged.
Chapter 24
4:19 pm & D
The ground beneath me cracked. The trees burst into flame. The air rippled with heat as the mark on my palm surged.
One by one, they dropped to their knees, screaming, blinded by the light.
Damien fell back, scrambling. “What are you?!”
I stepped forward slowly.
“Everything you’re afraid of” I said.
“And everything you’ll never control again.”
“She’s not a wolf. She’s evil. Everyone fall back.” Damien screamed.
4:19 pm & DO
