CHAPTER 7

I stayed on that cold floor longer than I wanted to. My body refused to move , my legs felt like jelly, my breathing uneven. But somehow, the silence that followed didn’t feel unbearable. They were all staring at me too, saying nothing, as if waiting for me to gather myself.

I was still trying to process what had just happened , his voice in my head. That shouldn’t have been possible. He couldn’t link me unless he was part of the Awoke Pack, and that was highly unlikely. Which left me with one pressing question.

Who the hell was Lucian?

“You done freaking out now?” he asked after a while, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

I looked up at him even though I was still slumped against the floor.

“I wasn’t freaking out,” I muttered, trying to sound calm.

Lucian chuckled. “Tell that to your weak knees.”

Even in the dim light, I could see the raised brow and the amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Can you stop messing with him already?” Raven cut in sharply, glaring at him.

“Pretty sure he got inside the boy’s head that’s why he freaked out,” Damon added in a low, bored tone.

“Forgive me for wanting to have some fun,” Lucian said, dropping to the floor of his own cell and crossing his legs. “It’s been forever since we had a new face down here. It’s nice not having to see just you two anymore. The prison hardly ever opens this floor for new prisoners , you both know that.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Their eyes turned toward me immediately.

“Who exactly are you all?” I continued. “And what do you mean the prison doesn’t open this floor for new prisoners? I recognize this cell…” I swallowed, trying to push down the shiver that ran through me. “So what are you talking about?”

“The cell is the same,” Damon said unexpectedly, “but the floor isn’t.”

He fell silent after that, as if that sentence explained everything. Thankfully, Raven picked up from there.

“The cells look identical, but the prison moves them between different floors for reasons we can’t explain,” she said softly. “You’re the first other cell to be moved here in almost thirty years.”

My eyes widened.

“I don’t know if you noticed your cell moving,” Raven continued, “but we saw it appear. We were excited to see a new face after so long , but then we got worried when you didn’t move for days.”

Her words clicked a few pieces into place. That explained why I hadn’t sensed anyone else when I was first thrown in here and why they suddenly appeared. But… thirty years?

“How is that even possible?” I thought as i questioned their timeline .

“It’s possible when we don’t age,” Lucian said, his smirk returning.

I glared at him. “Did you just read my mind?”

I was a mess already, emotionally and physically, and the last thing I wanted was someone prying into the chaos in my head.

“You can block him out,” Damon said calmly, his gaze fixed on me. “You just need to focus , steel your mind and push him back when you feel a pull.”

“He can try,” Lucian said with a lazy grin. “But his mind’s a wreck. It’s been that way since he got here.”

He chuckled, and I clenched my fists. I wanted to prove him wrong, but he wasn’t wrong. My thoughts were scattered ,broken.

“You’ve made the boy go quiet,” Raven snapped, shooting Lucian a glare.

“You know what,” Damon said, his tone measured, “how about we start with something simple. What’s your name? Maybe that’ll stop us from calling you ‘boy.’”

“He is a boy,” Lucian started, but one look from Damon shut him up. Raven chuckled quietly and turned back to me.

“What’s your name?” she asked gently. “We’re not asking for any strange reason , just so we have something to call you by.”

I hesitated. Part of me wanted to keep quiet, to stay detached, but it didn’t make much sense to. They’d given me their names, after all.

“I’m Julian,” I finally said, voice hoarse.

Raven smiled faintly. “Nice to meet you, Julian.”

“Welcome to the crew, newbie,” Lucian said, grinning.

I blinked at him. How could they still laugh and smile in a place like this? Then again, thirty years was a long time. Maybe enough time for misery to fade into apathy.

“He literally just told you his name,” Damon said, unimpressed.

“And I’ll still call him what I want,” Lucian replied with a shrug.

Damon turned back to me.

“Most people introduce themselves with their pack or title,” he said. “What’s yours?”

“My pack doesn’t matter here,” I said softly, my chest tightening. “And I’m nobody. No title. No rank.”

“We’re not fools, Julian,” Lucian said, tone suddenly serious. “We can feel the power coming off you, you’re at least a delta or even beta.”

“He’s right,” Damon added, studying me. “You’re a Beta, aren’t you? You’ve buried it deep under your guilt, but it’s there.”

I shook my head slowly.

“I have no title here,” I said. “And I don’t deserve one. I’m just Julian. Forget the rest.”

Raven nodded in understanding, but Damon’s eyes lingered on me a moment longer as if he knew something he wasn’t saying.

“We’ll respect that,” Raven said gently.

I gave her a faint nod.

But the question that had been clawing at my mind finally slipped out before I could stop it.

“How did you get in my head?” I asked, eyes narrowing at Lucian. “The only person I know who could do that is…”

Rex’s face flashed in my mind, and my chest tightened.

“Who are you? Really?”

Lucian tilted his head, the smirk returning.

“Oh, sorry for not doing proper introductions,” he said, his tone mockingly polite. “I’m Lucian, former leader of the Eighth Tribe.”

He said it with pride, his chest straightening slightly.

“I’m a Magyc , Aqua and Terra, to be exact. Though I can tap into other cores if I focus.”

I just stared at him, unsure if I’d heard right.

“A Magyc?”

“Yep,” he said casually. “You probably call us witches or warlocks, but trust me, there are major differences.”

I couldn’t even find words.

“So you’re telling me you’re a mythical supernatural?” I asked quietly, almost afraid to say it too loudly as if the illusion would break.

“I am,” he said simply. “We all are.”

My eyes flicked toward Raven and Damon.

“I’m a shifter,” Raven said, smiling faintly.

“Vampire,” Damon added, his voice calm, detached.

I just stared, my thoughts spinning, my chest tight with disbelief.

There were others. Other beings like Rex, like the ones in that book, other mythical creatures

My eyes moved between them again.

But the question that truly haunted me wasn’t who they were anymore.

It was why I’d been thrown in here with them.