Chapter 31 Bloom

Alpha Ronan’s final words drifted through the garden with the cool evening wind. The fire crackling between us cast sharp shadows across his face, revealing the gravity in his expression and the uncertainty buried in his eyes.

I didn’t move. I kept my spine straight and held his gaze. I didn’t care how heavy the truth might be. I had no intention of breaking beneath it. Ronan drew in a deep breath and leaned back in his chair before speaking in that rough, weathered voice of his.

“There’s an ancient legend about hybrids buried in some of this town’s oldest records, Bloom,” he said, choosing each word carefully. “A legend no one dares to speak of openly.”

He paused.

“It’s known as the Rebirth… or what wolves call the second-chance bond.”

The fire cracked between us.

“You already know that bonds are sacred in our world. But according to this legend, when a wolf’s human dies, the wolf is sometimes granted a second chance in this life.”

My fingers slowly curled at my sides.

“A wolf can only reunite with its human’s soul by bonding with a hybrid.”

Every word seemed to harden the air around us. I could hear Cassian breathing tensely beside me. The scent of blueberries and juniper thickened with his unease, but I never looked away from Ronan.

“The most dangerous part of the legend is what happens if the bond is completed,” Ronan continued, lowering his voice. “A hybrid’s human side is already exceptionally strong by nature. When that strength merges with a wolf, it doubles.”

His expression darkened.

“And because that wolf is living a second life, it awakens inside the hybrid with every memory, every instinct, every ounce of experience and savagery it carried before.”

He swallowed before casting a brief glance toward Cassian.

“The result would be a hybrid more powerful than any known Alpha. A force that could become destructive… even impossible to control.”

A chill moved beneath my skin. Ronan clasped his hands together.

“Even before gaining a wolf, the hybrid may sense the wolf destined to become part of her. She may feel drawn to it without understanding why.”

His eyes remained fixed on mine.

“And the wolf’s mate may feel the same overwhelming, inexplicable pull toward the hybrid.”

His voice grew quieter.

“Because the wolf’s soul has already chosen her.”

For several seconds, no one spoke.

“But as we told you before,” Ronan continued, “this is nothing more than an ancient legend.”

He leaned forward slightly.

“There has never been a confirmed case of a bond like this in recorded wolf history. Not one.”

His expression was solemn.

“We don’t know whether any of it is true. We’re still searching through old libraries and historical records for answers.”

His explanation caused an earthquake inside my mind. Still, I fought to keep my face cold and unreadable. As something deep inside me began to fracture, the veil covering years of half-truths slowly lifted. I thought of my father.

All those comforting things he had told me about being a hybrid… The way he had tried to raise me as normally as possible despite the emptiness where my wolf should have been…

He must have known about the legend too. He had hidden it from me to protect me. I could see that now. But the worst disappointment -the sharpest wave of anger- was directed at the high-ranking wolves sitting in front of me.

This pack hadn’t invited me into their home simply because they wanted to protect me. They hadn’t offered me a family out of kindness alone. If the legend was true…

If this transformation ever happened…

Then they wanted to keep me close so they could protect the town, their power, and their unshakable order. They had brought me into the pack house because they saw me as a threat.

A weapon.

A bomb that might explode at any moment. They wanted me within reach so they could keep me under control.

The fragile trust growing inside me shattered into pure hurt. I had actually believed I was beginning to find a family. That realization hurt more than I wanted to admit. At the same time, another wave of confusion rose inside me. The dreams.

For nights, I had been pulled toward a voice I didn’t recognize. I had run through unfamiliar forests. I had witnessed the memories, pain, and savagery of a wolf that wasn’t mine. Unless…

My thoughts tangled around everything Ronan had just said about soulmates. Dominic’s words from the café echoed in my mind. That wild part of me -the part I can feel but can never reach- only fights those locked doors when you’re near.

Could the wolf trapped inside Dominic truly be meant for me, just as he claimed? Was that why I felt drawn to him? But then my attention shifted to the man standing beside me. Cassian.

His possessiveness when he had pinned me against the tree. His jealousy in the cafeteria, violent enough to make it seem like he would burn the entire world down. Axel’s furious growls that seemed to echo somewhere inside me.

Was Axel losing control around me because of the attraction described in the legend?

Which one was real? Which one was only an illusion? I couldn’t tell anymore.

Axel was dangerously close to the surface now. Cassian looked at me with deep regret, almost as if he were the one in pain.

He stepped closer, trying to erase the space between us, and leaned toward me with his massive frame.

“Bloom, listen to me.”

The usual aggression in his voice had disappeared. Now, he sounded desperate to make me understand.

“We didn’t hide this from you. We already told you we would explain everything when the time was right.”

“That’s your excuse?”

My voice cracked despite my attempt to control it.

“You said you would tell me when there was enough trust.”

I stared at him.

“You trusted me enough to invite me into your pack, but when it came to sharing this legend, you stayed silent.”

My anger surged.

“You had plenty of chances to tell me.”

My eyes burned.

“And you chose not to.”

I lowered my gaze, fighting to keep the tears from falling.

“You only saw me as a weapon.”

“That isn’t true.”

Cassian’s response came immediately.

“We didn’t do this because we were afraid of you or because we saw you as something to use.”

His voice softened.

“We kept it from you because you’re genuinely in danger.”

He stepped closer.

“If the other packs—or the rogues outside our territory—learned about the possibility of this seal and the power inside you, they wouldn’t let you live freely for a single second.”

His jaw tightened.

“They would hunt you.”

“Or lock you away and use you.”

He hesitated.

“And if the legend isn’t true… if none of this is real… we didn’t want to give you false hope only to destroy it later.”

I slowly turned toward him.

The moment Cassian saw the expression in my eyes, the rest of his words died on his lips.

I looked around the table. At Luna Sienna. At Alpha Ronan. And finally, into Cassian’s blue eyes. The walls inside me had never been thicker. Every fragile bridge we had built between us had collapsed.

“Don’t talk to me about trust or protection.”

My voice was so flat and clear that no one in the garden could doubt the finality behind it.

“You wanted to control me.”

I held Ronan’s gaze.

“If this legend is true, then you wanted to keep that destructive power close.”

“You wanted to manipulate it for your own benefit.”

My eyes shifted back to Cassian.

“In your own words, you let me believe I was free while you had already locked me inside this place.”

My chest tightened. “You lied to me.”

Cassian tried to take a step toward me. I raised one hand, stopping him before he could come any closer. “I can’t stay here tonight.”

I never looked away from him. “Not beneath the shadow of these lies.”

Then I turned my back on them. I left the suffocating garden without waiting for anyone to respond, leaving the stunned faces behind me. My pace quickened as I headed toward my cabin.

With every step, I made myself a promise. I would uncover the truth about this town in my own way. I wouldn’t rely on any of them again. The storm was no longer inside me. Now…

It was right behind me.