Chapter 5: The Blood We Don’t Choose

“Clara Hale.”

The man’s voice was deep - not loud, but the kind that made the air itself listen.

I froze halfway between fight and flight, the strap of my bag cutting into my shoulder.

“Who’s asking?” I said, because apparently my mouth had no self-preservation instincts.

The four of them stood like a wall - tall, broad, expensive. The front one, gray-eyed and calm in that terrifyingly controlled way, tilted his head slightly. “We are.”

“That’s… not creepy at all,” I said. “You know there are laws about lurking in alleys, right? You look like an Armani ad for restraining orders.”

The corner of his mouth almost twitched - almost. “You haven’t changed.”

“I’m sorry, have we met? Because I think I’d remember four guys who look like they walked off the cover of magazine.”

The tallest one stepped forward, his presence sharp enough to slice air. “Clara Hale… you are our sister.”

The world tilted.

I blinked. “Okay. Nope. Wrong script. I think you’ve confused me with literally anyone else.”

The gray-eyed one - clearly the leader - didn’t flinch. “You were taken from us. Twenty-one years ago.”

“Right,” I said slowly. “And here I thought my biggest mystery was who keeps stealing my yogurt from the fridge.”

They just stared at me. Not joking. Not flinching.

And that’s when I felt it - that pulse. A deep, resonant hum under my skin. My wolf pressed against my ribs, ears pricked, tail down, wary but… recognizing.

It was like standing near a thunderstorm that smelled like home.

My voice came out smaller than I wanted. “You’ve got the wrong person. I’m human. Totally, tragically normal.”

“Are you?” The blond one with ice-blue eyes asked quietly. “Because we can smell the lie.”

My stomach twisted.

They stepped closer, and for the first time, I caught their scents - faint but unmistakable: pine, smoke, wild earth. My wolf surged, nearly taking the reins.

No. No, no, no.

“Back off,” I snapped, taking a step back. “I don’t know who you are or what weird cult thing you’re doing, but this is private property, and I have pepper spray.”

The one with the scar smiled faintly. “That’s cute.”

“Oh, I’m adorable when I’m threatened.”

“Enough,” the leader said. His voice dropped, commanding, ancient. “Clara, please. You are not in danger. You’re just… lost. And it’s time you came home.”

Home.

The word hit harder than it should have.

For years, I’d joked about not belonging anywhere - the foster homes, the small-town stares, the feeling that I didn’t quite fit with the humans around me. That my instincts were sharper, my hearing too good, my temper too quick.

But hearing it now, from four strangers who smelled like the forest after rain… my wolf didn’t argue.

She whispered. "Ours."

I shook my head hard. “No. You don’t get to just show up and declare genetic ownership. That’s not how reality works.”

The scarred one stepped forward. “Reality’s about to get complicated.”

“Well, congratulations,” I snapped. “You found the only broke waitress in town too stubborn to join your werewolf family reunion.”

Their eyes sharpened at that - collective surprise flickering through all four faces.

“You know what you are?” the blond asked.

“I-” I stopped. Crap. “I mean, no. Just.. metaphorically. You know. ‘I’m a lone wolf.’ Ha. Ha-ha.”

The scarred one actually smirked. “You’re terrible at lying.”

“Yeah, it’s part of my charm,” I said, gripping my bag tighter.

The gray-eyed leader sighed softly. For a moment, something almost gentle passed through his expression. “Clara, my name is Kieran Vale. These are your brothers - Damon, Silas, and Rowan. You were born into the Vale Pack. And whether you believe it or not, you’re one of us.”

The name hit like a lightning strike. Vale.

The richest family in the country. The Alphas of Alphas.

I’d read about them in news articles - old money, private jets, corporate empires. A world galaxies away from my cheap apartment and cracked phone screen.

“Right,” I said finally. “And I’m secretly the princess of Mars. Cool story, guys.”

Kieran didn’t move. “You look just like our mother.”

The air thinned. For a heartbeat, my chest ached.

And then my phone buzzed. Cassie.

I grabbed it like a lifeline. “Excuse me, my real family’s calling.”

Before I could answer, Kieran’s hand shot out - not touching, just a silent warning gesture. “Please. Not yet.”

I stared at him. “You think you can just-” But that hum came again. That electric pull that wasn’t fear anymore, but something older, stranger.

The truth pressed in around me, impossible to deny.

And all I could think was :  If they were telling the truth… then everything I knew about myself was a lie.