CHAPTER 25: THE HEARTBEAT BENEATH

CHAPTER 25: THE HEARTBEAT BENEATH

AMBER'S POV

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The sound continued beneath our feet.

It wasn't loud, but somehow I could feel every beat inside my chest.

I looked at Steele.

For the first time since I met him, he looked genuinely unsettled.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Move."

He grabbed my hand.

I didn't argue.

We ran deeper into the forest, but the strange heartbeat followed us.

No matter how far we went, I could still hear it.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It was almost as if whatever was beneath the ground wasn't calling us.

It was calling me.

"Steele!"

I stopped.

He turned toward me.

"I can still hear it."

His jaw tightened.

"I know."

"How?"

"Because I can hear it too."

"Then what is it?"

He stared at me.

"I don't know."

I almost laughed.

"That's the first time you've admitted that."

"This isn't funny."

"I know."

I looked behind us.

The forest was strangely quiet.

No vampires.

No Stan.

No Raven.

Nothing.

"Where are your siblings?"

"They can take care of themselves."

"And us?"

"I can take care of you."

I raised a brow.

"You say that like I need a bodyguard."

"You almost became food for a vampire yesterday."

"I was tied to a chair."

"Exactly."

I rolled my eyes.

"You're impossible."

"And you're reckless."

"At least I'm consistent."

He almost smiled.

Almost.

Then the heartbeat came again.

Thump.

This time, the ground beneath us trembled.

I lost my balance.

Steele caught me around the waist.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

I looked down.

A thin crack had appeared beneath my feet.

My eyes widened.

"Steele..."

The crack slowly spread.

Then another.

And another.

The ground began to split.

Steele pulled me backward.

"Get away!"

A burst of wind exploded from beneath the earth.

Leaves flew everywhere.

Branches snapped.

I covered my face with my arms.

When the wind finally settled, I slowly lowered them.

There was now a large opening in the ground.

And from inside it came a faint blue light.

Steele stared at it.

"What is that?"

I shook my head.

"You tell me."

He didn't answer.

I walked closer.

"Amber, don't."

I ignored him.

Something was pulling me toward it.

I didn't understand why.

I just knew that I had seen that light before.

Not in real life.

In a dream.

A dream from my childhood.

A dream I had forgotten.

I crouched near the opening.

Inside was a narrow stone staircase descending into darkness.

"What is this place?"

Steele looked around.

"This shouldn't be here."

"Why?"

"Because there is no record of anything beneath this forest."

"Maybe whoever built it didn't want anyone to know."

He stared at me.

"You sound excited."

"I am."

"You're insane."

"Maybe."

I stepped onto the first stair.

Steele immediately followed.

"Stay behind me."

"I thought you wanted me to stay away."

"I changed my mind."

"How convenient."

We descended.

The deeper we went, the colder it became.

The strange blue light came from symbols carved into the walls.

I ran my fingers over one of them.

The moment I touched it, a sharp pain shot through my head.

I gasped.

Steele grabbed me.

"What happened?"

"I saw something."

"What?"

"A woman."

His expression changed.

"Anna?"

"No."

I closed my eyes.

"It was my mother."

He became completely still.

"What did you see?"

"She was holding me."

My voice trembled.

"There was fire everywhere. She was crying."

Steele said nothing.

"Then someone came."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

I opened my eyes.

"But my mother said something."

"What?"

I looked at him.

"She said, 'He'll come for her.'"

Steele's face went pale.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

The heartbeat echoed again.

Only this time, it was louder.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

We reached the bottom.

A massive underground chamber opened before us.

In the center was a circular stone platform.

And above it floated a glowing crystal.

My breath caught.

"What the hell..."

Steele stared at it.

"That's impossible."

"You've said that twice tonight."

He didn't respond.

I stepped closer.

The crystal seemed to respond to my presence.

Its light became brighter.

The mark on my neck burned.

Steele grabbed my wrist.

"Don't touch it."

"Why?"

"I don't know what it is."

"Neither do I."

"Exactly."

I looked at the crystal.

"But it knows me."

His eyes narrowed.

"How?"

"I don't know."

The moment I moved closer, the crystal suddenly released a wave of energy.

Steele was thrown backward.

"Steele!"

He hit the stone wall.

I ran toward him.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"You were literally thrown across the room."

"I said I'm fine."

He stood.

Then his eyes moved toward the crystal.

"It's reacting to you."

I looked at my hands.

The veins beneath my skin had begun glowing faintly.

"Steele..."

His eyes widened.

"Don't move."

"Why?"

"Your eyes."

I touched my face.

"What about them?"

"They're changing."

I rushed toward the reflective surface of a nearby stone.

My eyes were no longer their usual color.

They were glowing gold.

My heart stopped.

"No."

Steele approached slowly.

"Amber."

"I'm not a werewolf."

"I know."

"Then why are my eyes gold?"

"I don't know."

"Stop saying that!"

My voice echoed through the chamber.

I turned toward him.

"What am I?"

He didn't answer.

I walked toward him.

"You told me the First Wolf blood is inside me."

"Yes."

"And now this thing is reacting to me."

"Yes."

"So tell me what that makes me."

Steele stared at me.

Then he finally spoke.

"It makes you dangerous."

I laughed bitterly.

"To whom?"

"Everyone."

Before I could respond, a voice echoed through the chamber.

"Not everyone."

We turned.

A figure stood at the entrance.

The woman from the forest.

The one who claimed to know my mother.

She slowly stepped into the chamber.

Steele immediately moved in front of me.

"How did you find us?"

She smiled.

"You didn't find this place."

Her eyes moved to me.

"It found her."

I stared at her.

"Who are you?"

She stopped a few feet away.

"My name is Elena."

The name meant nothing to me.

"You knew my mother."

"I did."

"Then tell me what happened to her."

Elena's expression softened.

"Your mother was trying to protect you."

"From whom?"

"The First Blood."

I frowned.

"But you said I carry it."

"You do."

"Then why would she protect me from it?"

Elena looked at Steele.

"Because she knew what would happen if the blood awakened."

Steele's voice was cold.

"Tell us."

Elena looked at him.

"Your mother knew the prophecy."

"What prophecy?" I asked.

"The prophecy of the Blood-Born."

My stomach tightened.

"What is that?"

Elena walked toward the crystal.

"This blood has existed since the beginning of our kind. It belonged to the first creature capable of crossing the boundaries between species."

"Werewolf?"

"Vampire?"

"Neither."

She looked at me.

"Something older."

The crystal suddenly pulsed.

I felt a strange warmth spreading through my body.

"Why me?"

"Because your mother was one of the last people who could carry it."

I shook my head.

"That doesn't make sense."

"It will."

Elena reached into her coat and pulled out an old photograph.

She handed it to me.

My fingers trembled.

The photograph showed my mother.

But she wasn't alone.

Beside her stood Elena.

And beside them...

was Steele.

I stared at the picture.

Then at him.

"You knew my mother."

Steele didn't answer.

"You knew her."

"I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it mattered."

My anger rose.

"Didn't matter?"

I shoved the photograph against his chest.

"That's my mother!"

"I know."

"You knew her before the plane crash."

"Yes."

"And you never told me."

"I was trying to protect you."

"Everyone keeps saying that!"

My voice cracked.

"Everyone keeps protecting me from the truth instead of telling me what happened."

Steele lowered his gaze.

"I promised her."

I froze.

"What?"

He looked at me.

"Your mother made me promise that if anything happened to her, I would keep you away from this world."

My eyes burned.

"What did she say?"

His voice became quieter.

"She told me you were the only thing she had left."

I couldn't breathe.

My mother.

After twenty-two years of believing she had died helplessly...

she had been trying to protect me until the very end.

"Then why did you save me from the plane?"

Steele looked away.

"Because I remembered her."

A tear slipped down my cheek.

I wiped it immediately.

I hated crying.

But this time, I couldn't stop.

"Did she know Anna?"

Steele went silent.

I immediately noticed.

"She did, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Anna and your mother knew each other."

My heart raced.

"Then why do I have Anna's face?"

Elena answered before Steele could.

"Because Anna wasn't simply another woman."

I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

Elena's eyes moved toward the glowing crystal.

"Anna was the last person who carried the Blood-Born before you."

Everything inside me stopped.

"What?"

Steele looked at Elena sharply.

"You weren't supposed to tell her."

"She deserves to know."

I looked between them.

"You're saying Anna had this blood?"

"Yes."

"Then why did she die?"

Elena's expression darkened.

"She didn't."

The room became silent.

My breath caught.

"That's impossible."

Elena shook her head.

"Anna survived."

Steele stepped forward.

"Elena."

She looked at him.

"She survived the crash."

My eyes widened.

"Where is she?"

Elena stared directly at me.

"She's been searching for you too."

Suddenly, the crystal exploded with light.

The entire chamber shook.

And from somewhere behind us came a familiar voice.

A woman's voice.

Soft.

Broken.

Yet unmistakably familiar.

"Amber."

I froze.

Steele turned around.

His eyes widened.

I slowly looked toward the entrance.

A woman stood there.

Long dark hair.

Pale skin.

Golden eyes.

And a face I had seen every night in my dreams.

The face that had haunted the memories of everyone who knew her.

Anna.

She smiled sadly.

"You're finally awake."