Shadowheart Choice Parents Novels & Stories

But the heir’s stare was steady, unyielding. “My mother was of the Shadowblood line,” he said at last. “I inherited… this.” He gestured vaguely to the darkness curling at his boots. “I didn’t know what it meant until the Creed found me.” “And now?” she asked. “Now I know they’ll never stop coming.” A knock at the door broke the moment. One of the scouts stepped in, snow melting from his cloak. “My lady. You need to hear this.” The heir straightened. “Speak.”

I snarled in disgust. “This is not a choice. It’s a must.” “Well, shit. Either you kill me or leave me alone, but I’m not doing it. I have a mate. He’s the only one with whom I’m willing to have baby wolves. You and your kind can go to hell. All of you.” “He’s a werewolf, the son who murdered your father. And you haven’t avenged his death either. You have two choices here, Shadow. Come to your kind, or it’s the end of your pack.”

I plead, and she looks into my eyes, searching for any hesitation, but when she doesn’t, she drops my hands and moves away. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” My excitement is swiftly wiped away by her next words. “The shadow god is an abomination. He was never supposed to be born. He’s the product of an unholy ritual, an anomaly.”

Kai pressed his forehead to his sister’s, their twin bond flaring bright as he pushed his light toward her. The family formed a circle around her, voices trembling as they poured love into her, anchoring her. The pressure in the air shifted. Aria’s lips trembled. A faint, broken whisper slipped out. “Mom… Dad… love…” Nyx cried out in relief and kissed her face over and over. “That’s it, baby. Mommy’s here. I’m so proud of you.” But Thorne’s expression didn’t change. If anything, it grew darker. “It has started,” he said. “The shadow has tasted her voice. If we don’t stop it, it will come back for the rest of her soul.”

I try to ask. The shadows step closer. One of them lowers its head toward me, its silver eyes locking onto mine. When it looks at me, I feel exposed, like every secret in my soul has been stripped bare. “You cannot run,” the voice continues. “You were chosen before you were born.” My heart slams painfully against my chest. “Why me?” The darkness cracks. The moon explodes into light above me, blinding and overwhelming, and the four wolves lift their heads as one. “Because you carry what was lost,” the voice says. “And what was sealed.”

“No one would be stupid enough to break in here and face Antonio’s rebellious heir alone. No witnesses around means an easy kill for you.” I stayed silent after that. Because deep down, we both knew he was right. Father’s men will surely be too scared to come after me inside my own house. There were no cameras here, no witnesses, and no innocent boy to protect while I gave them the taste of their medicine. I suddenly remembered Nick’s words from the other day. “Are you involved with loan sharks or some kind of gang?” A laugh escaped my lips. “Loan shark?” I muttered under my breath before taking a sip from the soda. “That kid really is something.”

“Then stay with me. Not because of the alliance or your mother’s safety. Stay because you want to.” “I do want to,” I whispered. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. “Even if the whole world calls us monsters. Even if we have to keep running forever. I choose you, Darius Blackthorn.” A soft sound escaped him, something between relief and wonder. He pressed another kiss to my lips, gentler this time, then to my forehead, my temple, the corner of my mouth. His hand stroked slow circles on my back as I settled against his uninjured side, careful not to jostle his wounds.

The statement shook the void. The Keeper closed its eyes. The First Wolf growled. The original Aria looked devastated, and suddenly I understood. The Shadow was not merely born from destruction. It had inherited something. Something from the original Aria. Something that connected them forever. The Shadow turned toward me. “And through her” Its gaze intensified. “I am connected to you.” The realization crashed into me. Not a daughter by blood. Not a daughter by birth. A daughter by inheritance. A daughter through the fractured soul of the original Aria. The Shadow smiled.

“You. Always you.” “Even if it means your pack suffers? Even if it means losing allies, political isolation, everything your father warned you about?” His hesitation was answer enough. “You can’t promise that,” I said softly. “Because you don’t know. You want to choose me, but when you’re standing in front of your pack, with your father’s expectations and your uncle’s death haunting you, you’ll do what you think is right for Shadowpine.” “That’s not true.”

"It's strange, isn't it? How different everything feels now compared to a month ago." "Yeah. Strange but good." We talked for a while about her plans, her job, the life she was going back to. And then she said something that surprised me. "I'm glad you and Evelyn are working things out." "We're not... we're just figuring out how to co-parent without hating each other." "It's more than that, Anthony. I've seen the way you look at her now. It's different." "Different how?" "Like you're actually seeing her. Not the version of her you built in your head, but the real person." Sylvia reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "Don't run from it. Whatever it is you're feeling, don't run just b