Chapter 3

Esme's POV

The iron gates of the Nightfall Pack stood taller than anything I had ever seen, black steel twisted into shapes that looked like wolves mid-howl. My heart pounded hard against my chest as I walked toward them, every step feeling heavier than the last. The road behind me was quiet now. Shadow Pack was gone and with it, the life I’d known for twenty years.

“Are you sure about this?” I whispered to myself.

No one answered. Of course they didn’t, it was just me. Esme, the rejected omega, the girl who had been treated like trash her whole life and now I was standing in front of the most powerful pack in the region, about to walk into a future I couldn’t even imagine.

The guards at the gate looked at me, their eyes narrowing. “State your name,” one said, his voice sharp.

“Esme,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “I was told… this is where I belong.”

The two guards exchanged a glance. One sniffed the air, then stiffened. “Wait here.”

He disappeared through the gates before I could ask anything else. My palms were sweaty, my throat dry. What if this was a mistake? What if the whisper I’d heard back at Shadow Pack was nothing but a cruel lie?

Minutes passed like hours. Then the gates groaned open, slow and heavy, revealing a wide courtyard lined with stone buildings and tall pine trees. It was beautiful but intimidating. Everything about Nightfall screamed strength and power. Even the air felt heavier here.

“Come,” the other guard said, gesturing for me to follow.

I swallowed hard and stepped through.

It was strange. The second I crossed the boundary, something inside me shifted. It was small, like a breath of fresh air after drowning too long. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt… right. Like this place was calling to something deep inside me.

“Who is that?” a voice asked from across the courtyard.

I turned. Dozens of eyes were already on me, warriors, women, even children peeking out from doorways. Whispers spread quickly.

“Is that her?”

“It can’t be.”

“She looks nothing like them.”

Each word stung, but I kept walking. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t break again.

Then I saw a beautiful young lady. She was standing at the top of the steps leading into the main hall, dressed in an elegant black coat and looking down at me with a smile that wasn’t a smile at all.

“Well, well,” she said loudly, so everyone could hear. “Who do we have here?”

“I…….I’m Esme. I was told that this is my family."

“You think you belong here?” she asked, walking down the steps slowly, her heels clicking on the stone. “This place isn’t for people like you. Go back to where you came from.”

A few people laughed quietly. My chest tightened.

“Selene,” someone warned from behind her, but she ignored it.

She stopped in front of me, so close I could smell her perfume and it smelled quite expensive and sharp. “You see those men?” she said, pointing behind her. “Xavier, Soren, Lucian, Dorian.” She said, pointing at them one by one. “They’re my brothers, the only family I am aware of. And you…..” her eyes swept over me with disgust, “.....you’ll never be one of us. I, Selene Delvin, am very sure that you missed your way.”

Something shifted in the crowd. It was a tension I didn’t understand. Because the four men she had just pointed at… were walking toward me and they weren’t looking at Selene.

They were looking at me.

The tallest one, Xavier reached us first. He was broad-shouldered, dressed in a black coat that screamed authority. His dark hair was slicked back, his silver eyes sharp as they locked on mine. He stopped just a foot away, inhaled once, and froze.

“Impossible,” he breathed.

The second man stepped up beside him. Blond, calm, and composed, but I could see the shock flicker across his face too. He inhaled deeply, just like the first… and his eyes softened.

“It’s her,” he whispered.

Selene’s smile faltered. “What are you…..”

The third one came next. Lucian, I guessed, had all the charm and sharp edges. He stared at me for a long second, then let out a shaky laugh. “I can’t believe it. After all these years…”

The fourth was probably the youngest, his dark brown eyes intense and unreadable. He didn’t speak. He just stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the power rolling off him, and said quietly, “Blood recognizes blood.”

My breath caught.

Xavier turned to Selene slowly. “You’re wrong,” he said, his voice calm but firm. “She’s not an outsider.”

“What are you talking about?” Selene demanded, her face pale now. “I’m your sister. Not her.”

Xavier’s eyes snapped back to me, and something in his expression changed, like he’d been waiting for this moment his entire life. “No,” he said, his voice carrying across the courtyard. “She is our sister.”

The courtyard erupted in whispers.

“She’s their sister?”

“Is that possible?”

“I thought Selene….”

Selene’s face twisted. “No! That’s not true. It’s not possible!”

Soren stepped forward then, his voice calm but firm. “We’d know our blood anywhere, Selene. This isn’t a mistake.”

Lucian gave me a small, almost disbelieving smile. “Welcome home.”

My throat tightened. No one had ever used the word ‘home’ for me before.

Selene shook her head, backing away as if she could escape the truth. “No… no, you’re making a mistake!”

But Dorian stepped in front of me, his stance protective and final. “We don’t make mistakes about blood,” he said coldly. “She’s one of us and from this day on, anyone who lays a hand on her answers to us.”

The silence that followed was thick and heavy. Selene’s jaw clenched, but she said nothing. She just turned and stormed back into the hall.

I stood there, frozen, trying to process what had just happened. My heart was pounding, my hands trembling. Everything felt unreal.

“Are you all right?” Soren asked gently, stepping closer.

“I… I don’t know,” I admitted.

Xavier placed a firm hand on my shoulder. “You’re safe now,” he said. “We’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “How did you know?”

Lucian chuckled softly. “A wolf always knows its pack. But blood… blood is stronger. The moment we saw you, it was like something clicked into place.”

“It’s more than that,” Soren added. “Your scent, your aura, it’s unmistakable. It matches ours perfectly.”

Dorian nodded once. “And there’s something else. Power. It’s faint now, but it’s there.”

I stared at them, completely overwhelmed. “Come inside,” Xavier said gently. “We’ll explain everything.”

I followed them up the steps, still dazed. The hall was massive, chandeliers hung from the ceiling, banners lined the walls, and everywhere I looked, people were staring.

“Your name?” Xavier whispered to me.

“Esme,” I said with a smile.

“This is Esme,” Xavier announced once we reached the center of the hall. “Our sister. The rightful daughter of this pack.”

Xavier led me toward a raised platform at the end of the hall. “You were stolen from us,” he said, his voice steady. “Switched at birth. We searched everywhere, but the trail went cold.”

“And now,” Soren added, “you’re home.”

A breathless messenger stumbled inside, bowing quickly. “Alpha Xavier,” he gasped. “Urgent news!”

Xavier’s expression hardened. “Speak.”

“It’s another pack. We haven’t detected the exact pack,” the messenger said, his voice shaking. “They’ve crossed the border. They’re moving toward Nightfall territory.”

The room went silent.

I looked from one brother to the next, my heart racing again. “What’s happening?”

Xavier didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me for a while before finally saying, “It seems your arrival has stirred more than just memories.”