A SPECIAL BREED

Everything around her felt like it was closing in her mother’s lies, her shifting reality, the blood that pulsed hot in her veins like it didn’t belong to her anymore.

She needed air, She needed some space.

Without a word, she turned and ran.

“Alina!” Marie called after her.

But the front door was already swinging shut.

---

The wind hit her face like a slap the moment she stepped outside. Her bare feet hit the pavement as she sprinted across the quiet road. The night was still, but something buzzed in her blood like a warning.

Alina didn’t care. She kept moving, deeper into the town’s edge, where the houses grew sparse and the woods loomed darker than ever.

She slowed only when her breath caught in her throat. Her pulse thundered in her ears. Her fingers trembled as she looked around.

She felt it. That strange presence again.

She wasn’t alone.

“Why does this keep happening?” she whispered to herself, “What the hell am I?”

A shadow moved near the tree line.

She turned sharply. Then she saw him.

Lucas.

Standing by the edge of the woods like he had been waiting for her. His silver white hair shimmered under the weak moonlight, and his glowing eyes met hers without hesitation.

He looked even more real than ever before.

Alina stared at him, breathless. “You again…”

Lucas didn’t speak. He just watched her, his expression unreadable.

Alina stepped closer, her voice trembling. “You’ve been following me, Watching me. Coming into my dreams. Who are you?”

Still, he said nothing.

She stepped closer, tears brimming in her eyes not from fear, but from confusion.

“I know what I am,” she whispered. “My mom told me. About my father… Jade. That he was a wolf. That I’m his daughter.”

Lucas’s jaw tightened.

“So I’m asking you now,” Alina continued, her hands shaking. “Do you know him? Do you know my father?”

Lucas’s eyes flickered. pain, recognition, something ancient crossing his face.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I knew him.”

Alina’s heart slammed against her chest. “Then tell me. Where is he? Why hasn’t he come for me?”

Lucas looked down for a moment, the muscles in his jaw tightening. When he spoke, his voice was rough, heavy with things unsaid.

“Your father was the strongest wolf I ever knew. Fierce, Wild and Loyal. He loved your mother more than anything. And when he found out you were coming, he swore he would protect you no matter what.”

“So what happened?” she demanded. “Why did she run? Why am I alone in this?”

Lucas looked up again, stepping closer now, until only a few feet separated them.

“Because your father was cursed, Alina. By his own kind. They feared him because of what he carried in his blood, And when they found out he had created you... a child with human blood, they came for him.”

Alina’s hands clenched. “Is he dead?”

Lucas looked away. “I don’t know. The night your mother ran… he vanished. I searched for him, I tracked every scent trail, followed every whisper through the mountains and across packs. But it was like he disappeared into smoke.”

Tears streamed down Alina’s face now.

“So he didn’t abandon me…”

“No,” Lucas said firmly. “He gave everything to keep you hidden. Your mother left to protect you. And I’ve been watching all this time to make sure the wolves who hunted him didn’t find you.”

Alina stepped back, overwhelmed. “Why me? Why are they still after me?”

Lucas’s eyes darkened.

“Because you’re not just a half-blood, Alina. You’re something new, Something they’ve never seen. You’re the heir to both worlds and if they get their hands on you, they won’t just kill you…”

He stepped closer again, his voice low.

“They’ll use you, To unlock everything they fear. Everything they want to control.”

Alina’s breathing became shallow. “And what about you? Are you one of them?”

Lucas shook his head. “No. I made a vow long ago to your father. And now… I make it to you.”

He reached forward slowly, brushing a strand of hair from her damp forehead.

“I’ll protect you. Even if it means war.”

The wind stilled. The forest hushed.

And for the first time, Alina didn’t feel like she was drowning in a world of secrets.

She felt seen.

She felt safe and that terrified her more than anything.

Because if Lucas was telling the truth…

Then her real fight was only just beginning.

The air around them was thick and silent, full of things unsaid.

Alina stood in front of Lucas, eyes still burning from her tears, Her heart pounding with the weight of everything she had just learned. Her breath formed clouds in the night air, but she barely noticed.

Lucas took a step back, as if he needed distance to keep control.

His voice was low. “You have to stay away from the woods, Alina.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Don’t go near them ever. Especially alone.”

Alina looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Why? That’s where I keep ending up in my dreams. That’s where I’ve seen you. That’s where...”

“That’s where the danger begins.” His words cut through hers, sharp and final. “It’s not just your dreams pulling you in, Alina. The woods are alive. They know who you are now.”

Alina’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

Lucas's glowing eyes locked with hers. “Your bloodline carries a frequency, A pulse that’s awakening. Every time you step near those trees, it sends a signal to the rogues. The exiled, The cursed. To everything that wants to claim you or kill you.”

Alina stepped back slightly, her fingers tightening “Why would they want me?”

“Because you are the impossible,” Lucas said softly. “You’re proof that two bloodlines human and wolf can exist in one body. You are prophecy, threat, and temptation. And to some… you are power incarnate.”

Alina shook her head slowly, the panic crawling up her spine. “But I haven’t done anything, I’m just a girl.”

“Not anymore,” Lucas whispered. “You crossed a threshold the moment you started dreaming of me.”

Alina’s voice trembled. “So what do I do now?”

“Stay in the house. Stay away from the edge, Keep your mother close. And never step into the woods unless I come for you myself.”

She looked up at him, the fear in her eyes suddenly replaced by something else curiosity… maybe even defiance.

“You act like you’re the only one who can protect me.”

Lucas didn’t smile.

“I’m the only one who knows what’s coming.”

Alina felt her throat tighten. “And what is coming?”

He looked out at the woods, eyes narrowing like he could already see it.

“The others. The ones who heard your name whispered in the wind, The ones who hunted your father. And the one…” He turned back to her, voice low. “...who wants to make you his.”

Her heart stilled. “You mean Elwin.”

Lucas flinched at the name.

Alina noticed. “He’s real, isn’t he?”

“He’s more than real,” Lucas said darkly. “He’s watching, Waiting. And if you set foot in those woods again, he won’t wait any longer.”

She swallowed hard. “Then why don’t you stop him?”

“I’m trying,” he said. “But I can’t protect you if you don’t listen.”

Silence fell again, thick and heavy.

Alina stared up at him. “You’re not just doing this for me, are you?”

Lucas looked at her, something unreadable in his expression.

“You look too much like your mother,” he said finally. “And I owe her more than I can ever repay.”

He turned to leave.

“Wait,” she called after him. “How will I know when it’s time?”

He paused. “You’ll feel it.”

“Feel what?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “The shift.”

And with that, Lucas melted back into the darkness, vanishing into the woods that seemed to sigh in his wake.