The moon had already begun its descent when I arrived back at the clinic, the eerie stillness of the night settling in around me like a blanket. The events of the past few hours felt like a blur—fragments of conversations, whispered secrets, and the weight of my father’s disappearance pressing down on my chest. I had spent my whole life pushing away the idea that something extraordinary, something outside of the life I had known, was waiting for me. But now, with the journal in my hands and Luca’s words echoing in my mind, I couldn’t deny it any longer. I was part of something bigger.
I pushed open the clinic door, the familiar scent of antiseptic and dried herbs greeting me. It should have been comforting, but the silence that hung over the place was unnerving. The clinic had always been full of life—dogs barking, cats meowing, and the chatter of patients’ owners filling the air. Now, it felt empty, almost hollow. My father had built this clinic with so much love, and now I was here, alone.
Sitting behind his old desk, I placed the journal carefully in front of me. Its leather cover was worn, the edges fraying from years of use. The symbol burned into it—the crescent moon intersected by claw marks—pulled my attention. It was the same symbol I had seen on my father’s wrist in the few fleeting moments when he had allowed me to glimpse the tattoos hidden beneath his shirts. He had always been evasive when I asked about them, his eyes clouded with something unreadable.
I traced the mark with my fingers, my breath catching in my throat. Everything I thought I knew about my father, about my life, felt like it was falling apart. How had I not known? How could I have been so blind to the truth?
A sudden sound broke my thoughts—the soft click of the back door opening. I jumped, instinctively reaching for the flashlight in the drawer. But before I could move, a figure stepped into the room, their outline barely visible in the dim light.
"Luca?" I breathed, my heart skipping a beat.
His figure solidified as he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming and oddly comforting. The tension in my shoulders seemed to ease just by the sight of him. But the weight of everything—everything I was just beginning to comprehend—pressed down on me again.
"I didn’t expect to see you back so soon," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Luca didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stepped further into the room, his eyes scanning the clinic with a mix of curiosity and wariness. His gaze flickered to the journal on the desk, then back to me. There was something unreadable in his expression, but his eyes—those eyes—seemed to soften when they landed on me.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he finally said, his voice low and cautious. “You didn’t seem too convinced earlier. About everything.”
I nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. The weight of the night’s events was still fresh, the emotions swirling inside me like a storm. “I’m... trying to understand. It’s a lot to take in.”
Luca moved to the chair across from my father’s desk and sat down, his eyes never leaving mine. “It’s not just a lot to take in. It’s life-altering. And I know you don’t want to believe it, but the world you’re walking into now... it doesn’t give you a choice.”
His words hit me like a wave, knocking me back. I had never been good at accepting things I couldn’t control, and this... this was more than I could have ever imagined. I had always thought my father’s disappearance was just that—an accident, maybe even foul play. But this? This was a tangled mess of secrets and prophecies and worlds I didn’t understand.
“You said the prophecy... that it’s about me?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Luca nodded, his gaze unwavering. “It’s about both of us, actually. The Bound Alpha—someone who will bring together the human world and the werewolf world. It’s not just some myth. It’s real, and it’s happening now.”
I felt the air in the room grow heavier, as though the walls themselves were closing in. My pulse quickened, my thoughts racing to make sense of it all. I had always felt different, but this... this was something else entirely.
“But why me? Why now?” I asked, my voice breaking slightly.
“I don’t know,” Luca said, his tone as raw and unfiltered as I’d ever heard it. “But I know it’s not a coincidence that you came back to Cedar Grove. Your father’s involvement with the pack... the prophecy... it was all leading to this. To you.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but the questions kept coming. “What do I do with this? What am I supposed to do with this knowledge?”
Luca leaned forward, his eyes dark with something like regret. “We don’t have all the answers yet, Isla. But I know this much—your father didn’t want you to be involved. He kept you away from the pack, kept you from the truth. He thought he could protect you from all of this. But now...” He trailed off, his jaw tightening. “Now, it’s out of our hands.”
I glanced down at the journal, feeling its weight in my hands. The leather was worn and faded, but the power within it was undeniable. It held the secrets of my father’s life, of this prophecy, and perhaps of my future. A future I wasn’t sure I was ready to face.
“Is there a way out?” I whispered, not even sure I wanted to hear the answer.
Luca was silent for a moment, his gaze searching mine. “You can’t escape it, Isla. None of us can. The prophecy is already in motion. You’re already part of it.”
I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. The fear that had been gnawing at me for days surged again, stronger this time. I wasn’t sure if I could live up to whatever role the prophecy had in store for me, but I knew one thing—there was no going back now.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” I admitted, my voice small, vulnerable.
Luca’s expression softened. “None of us are. But we’ll face it together.”
His words, quiet and full of something that almost felt like reassurance, were the first thing that made me feel less alone since all of this had started. We might not have the answers, but at least we had each other.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, that thought gave me a flicker of hope.
The night air was thick with tension as the pack gathered around the clearing, their eyes fixed on Isla. The battle had ended, but the aftermath weighed heavily on all of them. Blood still stained the earth, and the scent of the rogue clung to the air like a warning.Luca’s gaze never left Isla, his protective instincts flaring with each breath she took. She had proven herself in battle, but he could see the toll it had taken on her. She was strong, but even the strongest could break under the right pressure.“Isla,” Luca said, his voice low, but with a sense of urgency that pulled her attention. “Are you alright?”She looked at him, her eyes flickering with a mixture of exhaustion and determination. “I will be,” she replied, her voice steady despite the weariness that dripped from her every movement.Astra stepped forward, her eyes calculating as she scanned the clearing. “This victory won’t be enough. The rogues were just pawns. Whoever is behind this will come for you again. They’l
The air crackled with electricity as Isla and the rogue collided, their wolves locked in a struggle for dominance. The sounds of their growls echoed through the clearing, the sharp snap of teeth and the fury of claws slashing at air and flesh. Isla's body moved like it was born for this—quick, precise, and filled with the raw, untapped power that surged through her.But it wasn’t just her wolf's strength that kept her going. No, something else was happening—something deep within her. The bond she felt with the pack, with the moon, was growing stronger with every passing second. It was as if the very force of her destiny was pushing her forward, urging her to fight, to win.She barely registered the rogue's words from moments ago—the warning, the taunting. "The power that runs through your veins." Those words were haunting her, but right now, they were nothing but background noise. She focused on the rogue, on the fight.The rogue's wolf was fast, her movements fluid and calculated. Bu
The night was heavy with the scent of rain. The air felt thick, as though the earth itself was holding its breath. Isla's wolf senses were on high alert, her ears twitching at every sound, every rustle in the underbrush. The pack had slowed their pace as they neared the old mill, moving like shadows through the trees.Luca’s form was a silhouette ahead, his sleek black coat blending with the darkness, his every movement calculated, deliberate. He was the leader, the one guiding them through this. But Isla could feel his tension in the air—he was worried, though he wasn’t showing it.The rogue pack had been elusive, always moving under the cover of night, but now they had cornered themselves at the mill. And with the moon high in the sky, the power of the pack surged beneath Isla’s skin. The energy of the full moon coursed through her, amplifying every instinct, every impulse.She couldn’t ignore the pull—the call of something deeper that seemed to hum in her blood, a connection to the
Isla hadn’t slept much. The moon had been full that night, a silent witness to everything she had come to accept—everything she had to face now. The prophecy, her father’s disappearance, the rogues, and the pack—all of it pressed on her chest, suffocating at times. But the fire in her chest was still burning, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t afraid of it.The morning light had barely touched the horizon when she stepped out of the cabin. The air was crisp, as if the earth itself was bracing for what was to come. The small, secluded clearing at the edge of the woods where she had met Luca felt like another world now—a place where secrets and truths mingled in the shadows of the trees.Luca was already there, waiting. He was standing in front of a group of wolves. A handful of pack members, their expressions stoic, eyes bright and full of intent. They were the ones Luca trusted the most, the ones who had stayed by his side through everything, even when doubts had threat
Isla stared into the darkness beyond the clearing, the trees swaying lightly in the wind. The weight of Luca’s words from the night before echoed in her mind—now, we fight. Together. But what did that really mean? Was she ready to lead? To be the one the prophecy spoke of? Everything had happened so fast, too fast, and the pieces were still falling into place.Astra had gone silent after the meeting, leaving Isla and Luca alone to process the weight of their conversation. But Isla couldn’t shake the feeling that something was brewing in the shadows, something darker than they were ready for. She had felt the same way the night of her father’s disappearance, an unease, a pulling sense that something was terribly wrong.And now, the same feeling clawed at her chest.“I’m not sure I can do this,” she muttered under her breath, staring down at her hands. There was no denying the power that surged through her, the same power she’d felt ever since she could remember. But was that enough? Co
The weight of Luca’s gaze was like a tangible force, pulling Isla into a quiet storm of emotions. Her heart raced, an undeniable pulse thrumming in her veins. This was it. This was the moment everything had been leading to, the confrontation she had been dreading and anticipating all at once. Yet, there was something oddly comforting about Luca’s presence. His intensity, his steadiness, felt like an anchor in a sea of chaos.Astra stepped back, her arms folding across her chest as she observed them both, a quiet smirk tugging at her lips. Her role in this had always been clear: to help Isla understand her place in the world of werewolves, to show her what she had yet to accept. But now, it was Isla’s turn to face the truth on her own terms.Isla took a deep breath, the cool night air filling her lungs as she met Luca’s gaze. There was no turning back now. Everything was on the table.“We need to talk,” Isla repeated, her voice steady, though her mind was racing. “About my father, abou