Chapter 9

AURORA'S POV:

I don’t go downstairs the next morning.

I stay curled on the edge of my bed with my knees pulled to my chest and my arms wrapped around them like a cage. I haven’t cried, not yet, but my head feels like it’s been crying all night. Heavy. Foggy. On the verge.

There’s a knock at my door.

It's soft and gentle.

"Kaia?" Ezra’s voice.

I don’t answer.

"Okay. I’m just gonna leave this here." A pause. "It’s cinnamon toast. You liked that, right?"

The plate clinks softly as he sets it on the floor. Then silence.

I wait until I hear his footsteps fade before I crawl over and open the door just a crack. The plate is still warm. The toast is perfectly golden. It even smells like childhood, like something I was never allowed to want.

I take a bite, chew slowly. It tastes like guilt.

****

When I finally drag myself downstairs, Rowan is already waiting at the bottom, leaning against the railing like he’s been there for hours.

"We need to talk."

I groan. "If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that this week-"

"Kaia," he says, firm now. "Sit."

I cross my arms but sit anyway, mostly because I’m too tired to argue.

Lucien walks in from the back porch. His eyes are shadowed, arms crossed. Ezra drops onto the couch with a sigh, rubbing his face like this whole thing is wearing him down too.

Rowan paces.

"I know you’re confused. And scared. I would be too."

What should I do then? Give you hugs and kisses?

"That’s generous of you," I mutter.

He ignores it.

"But the truth is, Kaia… we haven’t been honest with you. We should’ve told you more. Sooner."

My eyes suddenly clear up and I sit upright and stare directly at him.

"No shit, Sherlock," I snap. "You think?""

Lucien finally speaks. "You’ve seen things already, haven’t you? Heard them. Felt them."

I flinch.

The growls in the woods. The gold in my eyes. The dream that felt like more than a dream.

"Something’s happening to me," I whisper.

Suddenly, I feel the tiredness start to wear down on my again

Rowan kneels in front of me. "You’re not crazy."

"Could’ve fooled me."

"You’re not human, Kaia. Not fully."

I go very still. These keep trying to convince me that I'm not loosing my mind. That's probably because they are the ones loosing it...

"You’re Velen. It’s a rare bloodline. Werewolf by nature, but… more."

"More what?"

"More connected to instincts. To prophecy. To ancient power." His voice is low. Almost reverent. "It’s why Axel and Kai are drawn to you. Why your wolf is waking up so violently."

"My… wolf?"

I feel like I’m falling. Like I’m trying to hold onto words that are slipping through my fingers. This whole talk keeps getting more ridiculous by the minute.

"You’re transforming, Kaia. Not just physically. Emotionally. Mentally. It’s going to hurt. You’ll have instincts you can’t explain. Anger. Fear. Attraction. The Velen blood amplifies everything."

I can’t breathe. This is too much. Too fast.

"This is insane," I mutter. "You’re saying I’m a werewolf with super-charged emotions and a target on my back because two boys who barely know me are obsessed with me?"

Lucien chuckles darkly. "Sounds about right."

"Hold on," His chuckle dies, "What do you mean by boys? You have mates now? Who are they?" He stands up in a threatening stance which makes me flinch.

Ezra swats him.

"We will get back to that later. We need to let her process this first, okay?"

Lucien visibly relaxes and sits back down.

Rowan sighs and rises. "We should’ve told you from day one. I wanted to. But there are people, packs who’d kill to keep you from discovering who you really are. You’re not safe out there if you don’t understand what you are."

"I never was safe and somehow you all thought constantly lying to me was the way?"

That silence again.

My words hang in the air like a slap.

I rise slowly. "You say you want to protect me. Then stop lying to me. Stop keeping secrets."

I walk past them and head for the door. I need air.

But just before I open it, Rowan says something that freezes my hand on the doorknob.

"Your birthday is in three days, isn’t it?"

"…Yeah?"

"Then you don’t have much time."

I turn back.

"What happens in three days?"

He doesn’t answer. None of them do. As usual. What was I really expecting?

Their eyes just follow me as I walk outside, like I might not come back the same.

****

At school, things are worse than yesterday. If that’s even possible.

I’m twitchy, hyper-aware of every sound and shadow. My vision feels sharper, my hearing more sensitive. I can hear someone whispering across the hallway. I can smell the mint gum Kai is chewing even though he’s a dozen feet away.

I try to focus in math, but numbers blur. Then I blink and see something etched on the desk.

It wasn’t there a second ago. Symbols. Carved deep. Fresh.

I lean closer and for a flash of a moment, I know what they mean.

They’re calling me. Welcoming me.

"Kaia," Kai says beside me, touching my wrist. "Don’t read that."

He can see it?

I jerk away.

"You saw it too," I breathe.

He nods. "They’re trying to lure you."

"Who is?"

His jaw tightens. "You’ll find out soon enough."

****

The day passes like a fever dream. By the time I get home, the sunset is bleeding across the sky, staining the trees orange-red like fire licking the horizon.

Inside, Ezra is waiting in my room, sitting on my windowsill like he owns the place.

"You scared me," I say flatly.

He shrugs. "I’m charming like that."

"You could knock."

"I did. You were blasting music." He’s holding something in his lap.

"What’s that?"

He tosses it to me. It is in a small black box.

"What is this, a proposal?"

"Open it." I lift the lid.

Inside is a necklace. A slender silver chain with a tiny charm in the shape of a wolf’s fang. It pulses faintly warm in my hand. "What is this?"

"It’ll help. With the nightmares. With the shifting."

My throat dries. "Shifting?"

He stands. "You asked for the truth. I won't sugercoat anything. Here it is: your body’s preparing for the first change. You might resist it. But it’s coming."

"When?"

"Soon. That’s what the necklace is for. It’ll anchor your mind so you don’t lose control."

I stare at the fang. It’s beautiful and terrifying. Just like this life.

"Thanks," I murmur.

He leans down and presses a kiss to the top of my head.

"You’re not alone anymore, Kaia. Even when it feels like you are. We are here. I am here, anytime."

Then he leaves.

*****

That night, I fall asleep with the necklace around my neck and the window open.

The wind whispers through the trees like it’s calling me.

And in the distance? I swear I hear it again.

The howling.

But this time… it sounds like it’s calling my name.