THE VOICE WITHIN

The howling wouldn't stop.

One wolf after another joined the chorus until the entire forest seemed to tremble.

I stood frozen beneath the red moon, my hand pressed against my chest.

Something had changed inside me.

I could feel it.

My wolf was no longer whimpering from Marcus's rejection.

She was awake.

Completely awake.

Elena.

I heard her voice clearly for the first time.

Not a distant instinct.

Not a faint whisper.

A voice.

Who are you? I asked silently.

She didn't answer.

Instead, a wave of warmth rushed through my body.

I gasped.

The world around me suddenly became sharper.

I could hear the leaves moving several yards away.

I could smell the pine trees, the river, the wolves surrounding me.

And I could hear something else.

A heartbeat.

Slow.

Powerful.

I looked toward Marcus.

His eyes were still fixed on me.

For the first time since I had met him, the Alpha King looked uncertain.

“Marcus,” one of his guards whispered. “We should leave.”

Marcus didn't move.

“Did you feel that?”

The guard hesitated.

“Yes.”

Marcus's expression darkened.

“Everyone felt it.”

I didn't understand what they were talking about.

Then the Elder stepped forward.

The oldest wolf in the Moonstone Pack.

Her face had gone pale.

She stared at me as if she had seen a ghost.

“No,” she whispered.

I looked at her.

“Elder?”

She took a step backward.

“You…”

Her voice trembled.

“You have her eyes.”

“Whose eyes?”

The Elder didn't answer.

Instead, she looked at Marcus.

The Alpha King's expression immediately hardened.

“Enough.”

“But, Your Majesty—”

“I said enough.”

His voice carried across the ceremony grounds.

Everyone fell silent.

I looked between them.

“What are you hiding?”

Marcus's eyes met mine.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he turned away.

“Take Elena home.”

My anger finally broke through my fear.

“No.”

He stopped.

I stepped forward.

“You rejected me in front of everyone. You humiliated me. The least you can do is tell me what's happening.”

Marcus slowly turned around.

“You don't want the truth.”

“You don't get to decide what I want.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You have no idea what you're asking for.”

“Then tell me.”

The words came out stronger than I expected.

The entire crowd was watching us.

Marcus walked toward me.

One step.

Then another.

Until he stood directly in front of me.

His presence was overwhelming.

But this time, I didn't step back.

His eyes searched mine.

“You should leave this kingdom tonight.”

I frowned.

“Why?”

“Because if you stay…”

He paused.

For the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.

“…they will come for you.”

“Who?”

Marcus didn't answer.

A sudden scream came from the edge of the forest.

Everyone turned.

A guard came running toward us.

“Your Majesty!”

Marcus immediately drew his sword.

“What happened?”

“The northern border…”

The guard was struggling to breathe.

“They crossed the border.”

Marcus's face changed.

“Who?”

The guard looked at me.

His face turned pale.

“The Bloodborn.”

A murmur swept through the crowd.

I'd heard the name before.

Everyone had.

The Bloodborn were ancient wolves who had disappeared decades ago.

At least, that's what I had been told.

“They're attacking the northern villages,” the guard continued. “And they're asking for one person.”

Marcus's gaze slowly moved toward me.

My stomach dropped.

“Who?”

The guard swallowed.

“Elena.”

Silence.

My heart stopped.

Marcus immediately stepped between me and the forest.

“Take her to the palace.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

“Now.”

Two guards approached me.

I pulled away.

“Why do they want me?”

Marcus didn't answer.

“Marcus!”

He finally looked at me.

His expression was colder than before.

But his voice was different.

“Because you're not who you think you are.”

Before I could respond, another howl echoed through the forest.

This one wasn't human.

It was deep.

Ancient.

And terrifying.

My wolf suddenly growled inside me.

They're here.

I felt the hairs rise on my arms.

Then a voice whispered inside my mind.

The same mysterious voice from before.

Do not fear them.

I swallowed.

Who are you?

The answer came immediately.

I am the blood you were forbidden to remember.

My eyes widened.

A sharp pain struck my forehead.

Images flashed through my mind.

A burning castle.

A woman wearing a silver crown.

A wolf with white eyes.

A newborn baby wrapped in black cloth.

And a man kneeling before the woman.

Then everything disappeared.

I stumbled.

Marcus caught my arm.

For one second, we were impossibly close.

His hand tightened around my wrist.

His eyes searched my face.

“What did you see?”

I stared at him.

“How did you know I saw something?”

He released me immediately.

His face became unreadable again.

“I know enough.”

“No,” I whispered. “You don't.”

I looked toward the forest.

The howls were getting closer.

Something inside me was changing.

And somewhere deep within my blood, a truth was beginning to awaken.

Marcus had rejected me because he believed I was a nobody.

But the Bloodborn knew my name.

The Elder knew my blood.

And Marcus…

Marcus was afraid of me.

For the first time that night, I wasn't afraid of what I was becoming.

I was afraid of what would happen when I finally remembered who I truly was.