Dust and Secret

Rose's POV

The next morning, I woke before dawn. The hum was quiet but present, a steady pulse beneath my skin. I dressed quickly and made my way to the great hall.

Aiden was already there, standing by the fire. He looked up when I entered.

"Ready?" he asked.

"For what?"

"To find answers." He gestured to the door. "There's an archive. Old records. Scrolls. Things my father collected. If there's anything about the Old Moon bloodline, it'll be there."

I followed him through the fortress. Down winding stairs. Through corridors I'd never seen. The air grew cooler. Damp. The torches on the walls flickered.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The lower levels. The oldest part of the fortress." He paused at a heavy wooden door. "This was built before my grandfather's time. Before the River Wolves were even a pack."

He pushed the door open. Dust swirled in the torchlight.

The room was huge. Filled with shelves. Books and scrolls stacked everywhere. Ancient. Forgotten.

"Your father collected all of this?" I asked.

"He was obsessed with history. The old bloodlines. The wars." Aiden walked deeper into the room. "He believed the past held the answers to the future."

"Did he find any?"

"I don't know. He died before he could tell me." Aiden stopped at a table covered in scrolls. "But I've been going through his notes. Piece by piece."

I joined him at the table. The scrolls were old. The ink faded. Some of them were written in a language I didn't recognize.

"What does this say?" I asked, pointing to one.

Aiden glanced at it. "Old Wolf. The language of the ancient packs. My father taught me a little."

"Can you read it?"

"Some. Not all." He unrolled the scroll carefully. "This one is about the Old Moon line. Their origins. Their power."

"Does it mention my mother?"

"Not directly. But it mentions the prophecy." He traced the faded words with his finger. "It says the Old Moon blood will rise again. A wolf born of the last line. A wolf who will unite or destroy."

"Unite or destroy?"

"It doesn't say which." Aiden looked at me. "That part was left out."

I felt a chill run down my spine. "So I could be either. Savior or destroyer."

"Yes." His voice was quiet. "That's what the prophecy says."

I stared at the scroll. At the faded words. At the weight of what they meant.

"How do I know which one I'll be?" I asked.

"I don't think it's predetermined. I think it's about choices. The choices you make." He met my eyes. "And I believe you'll make the right ones."

His faith in me was overwhelming. I didn't know if I deserved it. But I wanted to.

"What else is in here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"A lot. Records of old wars. Alliances. Betrayals." He gestured around the room. "My father spent his whole life collecting this. Trying to understand why the packs kept fighting."

"Did he find an answer?"

"I think he did." Aiden picked up another scroll. "But he never got to share it."

I looked at the shelves. The dust. The forgotten knowledge.

"Can I stay here? Look through some of these?"

"You can stay as long as you want." He paused. "I'll be in my study if you need me."

He walked away, leaving me alone with the past.

---

Rose's POV

I spent hours in the archive. Reading. Searching. The dust made me sneeze. The words blurred together. But I kept going.

There was so much I didn't know. So much about my bloodline. My mother. The prophecy.

I found a scroll that mentioned the Old Moon line's connection to the earth. To nature. It said they could feel the land. Heal it. Protect it.

That explained the humming. The connection I felt to the river. The forest. The soil beneath my feet.

Another scroll spoke of a war. An ancient war between the Old Moon wolves and another bloodline. The Shadow Wolves. Wolves who fed on fear. Who wanted to control everything.

I'd never heard of them. But the name made my blood run cold.

The scroll said the Old Moon wolves won the war. But they paid a price. Their numbers dwindled. Their power faded. Until only my mother was left.

I set the scroll down. My hands were shaking.

Shadow Wolves. I needed to ask Aiden about them. Needed to understand what they were. What they wanted.

But something told me this wasn't over. The Shadow Wolves hadn't disappeared. They were just waiting.

---

Edwin's POV

I found Rose in the archive. She was sitting on the floor, surrounded by scrolls. Her face was pale. Her hands trembling.

"Rose? You okay?"

She looked up. Her eyes were wide. "Edwin. I found something."

"What?"

She handed me a scroll. "Shadow Wolves. I've never heard of them. Have you?"

I read the scroll quickly. My stomach dropped. "I've heard whispers. Stories. Nothing confirmed."

"Tell me."

"Old legends. Wolves who could control fear. Feed on it. They were supposed to be wiped out. But some say they survived." I met her eyes. "They say they're the reason the Old Moon line was targeted."

"Because they wanted the power gone?"

"Yes." I sat beside her. "Rose, this is big. If the Shadow Wolves are still out there, they could be connected to Ethan. To Silver Creek. To everything."

"Which means the prophecy is even more important than I thought."

"Yes."

We sat in silence. The weight of everything pressing down on us.

"What do we do?" she asked finally.

"We keep looking. Keep learning. We arm ourselves with knowledge." I reached over, taking her hand. "And we don't give up."

She looked at me. Her eyes were full of fear. But there was determination there too.

"Thanks, Edwin."

"Always."

---

Rose's POV

I left the archive as the sun was setting. My mind was spinning. So much information. So much to process.

I walked to the river. Sat on my rock. Watched the water move past.

Shadow Wolves. Ancient wars. A prophecy that could go either way.

The hum pulsed beneath my skin. Stronger now. Like it was reacting to what I'd learned.

"Find the truth," my mother had said.

I was finding it. Piece by piece. Scroll by scroll.

But the more I found, the more I realized how much I still didn't know.

A shadow fell over me. I looked up.

Aiden. Standing on the bank. Watching me.

"You found something," he said.

"Yes." I told him about the Shadow Wolves. About the ancient war. About everything.

He listened without interrupting. When I finished, he was quiet for a long moment.

"I've heard those legends," he said finally. "I never knew if they were true."

"They feel true. The hum reacted when I read about them."

Aiden nodded slowly. "Then we need to be careful. If the Shadow Wolves are still out there, they might be watching us."

"Watching me?"

"Yes." He sat beside me on the rock. "You're the last of the Old Moon line. You're the key to the prophecy. If they wanted to destroy your bloodline, they'd want to destroy you."

I felt the fear rise. But I pushed it down. "Then I need to be ready."

"You will be. I'll make sure of that." He looked at me. His eyes were intense. "Whatever comes, Rose. I'll protect you."

I wanted to believe that. I wanted to trust that.

But the truth was, no one could protect me from destiny.

I had to face it myself.