Chapter 36 Bloom

When I walked out of the school building, the air outside felt just as heavy as it had inside. My argument with Fiona had already spread through the halls, carried by the whispers of students who'd watched everything unfold through classroom windows.

I'd had enough of curious stares and pointless gossip. So I quickened my pace and left the school grounds behind. As I made my way toward the center of town, I watched people moving along the sidewalks.

Shop owners opening their stores. Friends laughing together. A baker carrying heavy sacks of flour. A woman carefully picking fruit from a market stand. Just like Fiona...

The people in this town lived wrapped in blissful ignorance. Everything looked so ordinary. So painfully normal. And yet only a few miles away, deep inside the forest, another world existed. A ruthless world ruled by claws, fangs, and ancient instincts.

The contrast only made my exhaustion worse. One side was filled with people who knew nothing. The other held wolves who seemed determined to claim every piece of my soul. And somehow...

I was trapped between them.

"Bloom!"

A familiar voice called after me. Soft. Warm. I slowed my steps. Dominic caught up a second later, slightly out of breath. His expression carried the same uncertainty as always—afraid of bothering me, yet equally unwilling to leave me alone.

"I promise I won't pressure you."

He lifted both hands slightly in surrender, reminding me he'd taken my warning from the night before seriously.

"I just figured..."

He smiled awkwardly.

"...after everything that happened at school, you could probably use a chance to breathe."

He glanced toward the road leading out of town.

"There's a little café just outside town."

He hesitated.

"Would you... want to grab something to drink?"

His smile softened.

"We don't even have to talk."

"We can just sit there."

The simple kindness in that offer eased the tension I'd been carrying since morning. There were no hidden motives. No attempts to trap me inside his own expectations. I gave him a small nod.

"Okay."

The café sat tucked away on a quiet street. We chose a small wooden table in the corner where hardly anyone would notice us. True to his word...

Dominic never mentioned what had happened outside my cabin. He never brought up soulmates. Or the mysterious bond he believed connected us. Instead, he talked about school projects. About the quiet winters this town used to have. About ordinary people living ordinary lives.

Somehow...

It felt normal. For the first time in what felt like forever, I almost remembered what normal was supposed to feel like. Still...

As he lifted his coffee for another sip, I caught the look in his eyes. He was studying me. Trying to understand the ache buried inside me. Trying to solve a puzzle he couldn't quite piece together. He knew something. Or at least...

He felt something. But he chose silence because he respected the boundaries I'd set. That quiet support gave my soul room to breathe, even if only for a little while. By the time we left the café, the afternoon sky had begun to glow with shades of crimson.

Long shadows stretched across the forest path leading home. I walked the familiar trail alone, my thoughts calmer than they'd been all day. Even so...

That uneasy feeling still lingered beneath my skin, refusing to disappear. The moment my cabin came into view... I stopped. Completely. Unlike the violent confrontation that had taken place there the night before, an entirely different presence filled the air now.

Heavier. Steadier. Noble. Alpha Ronan stood waiting on my front steps. Beside him was Luna Sienna, whose quiet elegance somehow carried a power capable of silencing the entire forest.

The authority surrounding them was overwhelming. Enough to make any ordinary human's knees buckle. But after everything I'd learned... Fear no longer worked on me the way it once had.

"Bloom."

Sienna stepped forward first. Her voice carried both warmth and unmistakable authority.

"We know what happened last night."

Her expression softened.

"We know how much damage Cassian... and the wolf inside him... caused."

She paused.

"We're not here to speak to you as your Alpha and Luna."

A sad smile crossed her face.

"We're here because we genuinely care about you."

Ronan quietly picked up where she left off.

"We never intended to trap you here."

"Or lock you inside a cage."

His blue eyes held mine.

"I can see the distrust."

"The hurt."

"It hurts us too."

He took a slow breath.

"But we still have to ask you one more time."

"Join the pack, Bloom."

Sienna stepped a little closer.

"If you do..."

"You'll finally learn everything."

"Every detail about the legend."

"Every piece of history we've kept hidden."

"You'll see it with your own eyes."

Her voice remained gentle.

"I promise you..."

"If you become one of us, there won't be any more secrets."

"You'll know everything we know."

"And after you've learned the truth..."

"If you still decide you don't want to stay..."

Her eyes softened even further.

"We give you our word."

"You'll be free to leave."

"No one will stop you."

"We value you, Bloom."

"Not because of your power."

"But because we want you to be part of this family."

Their words echoed quietly through the stillness surrounding my cabin. And somehow... Everything finally clicked into place.

The two ancient wolves standing before me were wise enough to understand that they could never force me to stay. If they wanted my trust...

They had to offer me a choice. At that moment, the uncertainty I'd been drowning in finally settled. I had to make a decision. Hiding inside my cabin wasn't a solution. Running from the truth wasn't a solution.

Jumping every time I caught a strange scent in the forest wasn't a solution either. I needed answers. I needed to take control of my own life. But I also knew I couldn't do it alone.

Not while every answer remained locked away behind doors I couldn't open. If the cards were being dealt again... Then I'd play this game by my own rules. I met Ronan's unwavering gaze. Straightening my shoulders, I spoke as clearly as I ever had.

"I'll consider joining."

For a brief moment, relief flickered across both Ronan's and Sienna's faces. But I wasn't finished.

"I have one condition."

My voice never wavered.

"Every piece of information."

"Everything you've hidden about that legend."

"Every page you've locked away in that library..."

"I get access to all of it."

"No more secrets."

"No more lies."

"No more making decisions behind my back."

"If you discover anything new..."

"I'll know immediately."

I held Ronan's gaze.

"And if you hide even one detail from me..."

"I'll walk away."

"For good."

Ronan studied me for a long moment. Then... A faint smile appeared. Not amused. Impressed. I hadn't negotiated like a frightened hybrid. I'd negotiated like someone capable of leading. He gave a slow nod.

"You have my word, Bloom."

"The moment you're bound to the pack..."

"Everything we know..."

"...will become yours."

Beside him, Sienna smiled with unmistakable maternal warmth. They had accepted every one of my conditions. A cold shiver ran through me. I knew there would be no turning back after this. Looking from one of them to the other, I finally asked the question that mattered most.

"So..."

"How does it happen?"

"How does someone become part of the pack?"