The ground beneath me pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat matching my own. I could feel the earth, the air, the life pulsing through every root, every tree, every soul within reach.
"What am I?" I whispered. “What is happening to me?"
Della stepped closer, her expression gentler now. "That’s a question only you can answer, Mira. But you’re not just a wolf. And you’re not just your mother’s daughter."
"What does that mean?" My voice rose, but she only gave me that same unreadable smile.
The clearing was silent, save for the soft crackling of the torches placed around the perimeter and the rustle of leaves dancing in the evening breeze. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw creatures gather, their eyes and undivided attention all on me, and it only made me want to disappear even more.
Della was hovering above me, her voice echoing in my head, probing and intense. “Tell me what you feel, Mira."
It—whatever it was—was starting to overwhelm me. It kept swirling like an over-agigated turnado, threatening to take everything in it's hurl.
"Tell me how you feel, Mirabel.” She pressed.
My nails dug into my palm. "I can't explain. Make it stop. Make it stop, please."
“If we stop now, you'll never discover what's inside you. You have to push, it's not meant to be easy, but you can't give up. Tell me. Tell me how you feel, Mira."
Is this woman listening to me?
“I said make it stop!" I growled angrily, my eyes snapping open.
She took a step back, her expression changing from shock to collected in the twinkle of an eye.
I heard another voice. “Mother, I think we should stop. We don't know what she's capable of. It's dangerous.”
He appeared before me, my vision blurry. Della said, "I'm not in control. She is.”
"Make it stop!” I yelled again, as voices began to echo in my head. I was clearly in pain.
"That's it. I'm putting her to sleep." I heard a voice say, and the next minute, I saw darkness settle.
The shadows shifted at the edge of the clearing, a low whisper curling through the trees, and for a fleeting second, it felt like the forest itself was calling my name.
Mira.
Whatever I was, it was waking up.
***“Mira!"
The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. Not until I opened my eyes, and I saw him.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes, as they met mine. “You're awake. Finally!"
I blinked, trying to adjust to all the light. My head was spinning, doing very little to stop the reeling room.
He walked closer to me, waving a palm over my eyes. “Can you recognize me? It's Luca."
I took him in. He was handsome, his eyes were brown and held this calm, yet tempting gaze. His jaws were fixed, and his body was properly masculine, with chest sculpted to perfection.
He reminded me so much of him.
“Say something, Mira." He tried again.
I sat up, taking in the room. “How long have I been unconscious?" I asked, my voice coming out in a tiny whisper.
“About 24 hours, you have us quite a scare." Luca said. “How do you feel?"
My mind drifted back to the scene right before I passed out. I had never felt that way before, like I was someone else entirely—someone I couldn't recognize.
“What is happening to me?" I asked again.
Luca heaved. I watched him pull a chair, and sit beside me. “I’ll tell you the little I know.” He paused slightly, fixing his eyes on me. "Your mother, and mine built this village. A safe place where creatures like us—who people felt were too much for them—could call home. My mum trusted so much in your mother, they were best friends, yes, but my mum looked up to yours more.”
He paused again. "Like I heard, yours was more powerful, and when she died, she made mine promise that you would cross the lengths she couldn't. So it might seem like my mum was doing too much, but I promise she was just trying to fulfill her promise.”
I swallowed, trying to piece everything I just heard.
"You'll get a more reasonable explanation form Mother, or maybe you can get them for yourself, but first you need to figure out who you really are. Are you ready to do that?”
A deep breath escaped as he added, “It's what your mother would have wanted."
I hesitated, feeling the same feeling from earlier rise all over again. “Fine! Let's try again."
He took me to the same field where Della was waiting. She looked briefly at me, then turned to her son. “Is she ready?"
Luca looked at me. "Are you?”
I nodded. "Let's do this!”
They led me to the center, my feet bare against the cool dirt, eyes closed, sweat glistening on my brow. The air felt heavier here, charged with a kind of energy I couldn’t fully understand—like something ancient was watching.
“Again,” Della’s calm voice carried from the edge of the circle. “Feel, don’t force.”
I exhaled sharply, clenching my fists at my sides. My skin tingled with raw, unstable power, just beneath the surface, too wild to grasp. “I’m trying,” I muttered through gritted teeth. “It’s—there, and then it’s not.”
Beside Della, Cara stood with her hands clasped, watching me with an odd mixture of awe and unease. Even the young hybrid could sense it—the shifting energy inside me wasn’t normal. It wasn’t just my wolf.
“You’re not trying to call your wolf,” Della said softly, stepping closer. “You’re trying to call yourself. Every part of you.”
My eyes snapped open. “What does that even mean?” Frustration bled into my voice. “I know who I am.”
“No,” Della said gently. “You know who you were told you were.”
My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to argue, to reject the implication, but some part of me knew Della was right. There had always been something—an undercurrent of difference I couldn’t name, even as a pup. My connection to the land, the way I sometimes sensed things before they happened, the strange dreams I dismissed as fantasy. It was all connected, and I'd been too blind to see.
“Try again,” Della instructed. “This time, don’t just look for your wolf. Look for the piece of yourself you’ve been told to forget.”
I swallowed hard, closing my eyes once more. I inhaled, pulling the cool night air into my lungs, letting it settle. This time, I didn’t reach for the silver thread of my wolf’s spirit, the familiar connection I'd always leaned on. Instead, I let go—opening herself to everything.
The earth hummed beneath my feet, the air shifted, and a faint pulse thrummed through my chest.
And then the visions began.
I didn't know what I was expecting, but this was way beyond it.
The first vision came in flashes—fragments of sound and color, the way memory distorts with time.
A woman stood at the edge of a darkened clearing, her silhouette backlit by a dying fire. Her hands clutched a leather-bound book—the same book I had stolen. Her fingers trembled, not with fear, but with urgency. It was my mother.
“Take it,” her voice said, though her face was blurred in the vision. “Take the book, and take this.”
A glint of silver caught the firelight—a ring, intricately carved with ancient runes I couldn’t read. My mother pressed it into the hands of a shadowed figure. “You must hide it. Both of them. They can never find it.”
“Who?” the figure whispered.
“The Council. The Darkborn. Even the Alphas. They’ll all want it. They’ll all want her.” Her mother’s voice shook. “Please—keep her safe.”
The scene shifted. Blood. So much blood. The book lay open, pages fluttering in the wind, stained crimson. My’s childlike scream echoed through the trees, messing with my head.
The vision shattered.
I stumbled back into reality with a sharp cry, falling to my knees in the dirt. My hands braced the ground, fingers digging into the earth as my breath came in ragged gasps.
“Mira!” Della was at my side in seconds, her hands firm on my shoulders. “What did you see?”
I couldn’t speak right away. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else. The image of the ring—silver, ancient, powerful—burned behind my eyelids. “My mother…” my voice cracked. “She gave the book and a ring to someone. She begged them to hide it.”
Della’s face paled slightly, but she hid it well. “What kind of ring?”
I closed her eyes, trying to recall every detail. “Silver… engraved with symbols, ancient ones. I don’t know what they mean.”
Della’s hand trembled against my shoulder. “It’s the Aurora's Seal.”
My gaze snapped to her. “What?”
“The ring isn’t just jewelry,” Della explained, her voice low with reverence. “It’s part of your birthright. Your mother was a Bloodline Guardian, Mira—a wolf born with the ability to awaken and command dormant magic within her bloodline. That ring is the key to unlocking every piece of power sealed within you.”
It took a while for me to process what she had just said, but when I did, all I could ask was, “Why would she hide it?” my voice a whisper.
“Because if the wrong hands got hold of it, they could use you—or your bloodline—for terrible things,” Della said. “Power like that isn’t just rare. It’s dangerous.”
My stomach churned with a mixture of fear and fury. My mother had died for that secret. And all this time, I had been walking around blind to who I really was.
“But if I don’t have it,” I began slowly, piecing it together, “I can’t fully unlock my power.”
Della nodded. “Not safely.”
My throat tightened. “Well, where is it?”
Della’s brow furrowed. “I can try to find it.”
She stepped back, raising her hands. Pale blue light formed between her fingers, swirling like liquid starlight. The spell took only a few moments—a whisper of ancient words, a flicker of intent. Then her eyes flew open, wide with disbelief.
“No,” she whispered.
My stomach clenched. “What?”
Della looked at me, her expression livid. With her next words, the air seemed to leave the clearing all at once.
“It’s in Thane’s pack.”
“What?" I blurted out.Luca appeared behind me, his movements so stealthy that I didn't notice him, until he spoke. “Try again, Mother."She glanced at him. “My spell cannot be wrong. But I will nevertheless."She began again, twirling her hands as a blue glowing back formed again. Her concentration was unbreakable, and her lips moving as she muttered inaudible words. After what felt like ages, she stopped, the glow disappearing into thin air.“What did you see?" I asked hurriedly.“It's the same thing." She held my eyes. "The Aurora's seal is in Alpha Thane's territory.”Wow! “That's strange. Don't they know that the seal is there?" Luca asked.His mother shook her head. “I'm guessing they don't. It was hidden very well, I can tell. She must have given it to a very trusted person, because it wasn't me." Something flashed in her voice, but I was too engulfed in my thoughts to fathom what it was.“We have to get the ring before they figure it out!" Della said.I turned to her, feeling
“What is it with that book anyway that the Alpha wants it back so badly. It’s just an ordinary book!” the other said sounding a little cowardly and ignorant.I turned and spared Luca a glance, he was listening to them intently and I figured that’s what I must do too.“Shhh!” the wolf paused, “You don’t spill words like that.” He warned. “That book is a a very important book and contains all the magic spells used in the ancient history of magic. It contains one of the most powerful spell chants and Alexa needs that book as well.” He explained gritting.I wanted to reposition myself and didn’t know when I stepped on a twig. It cracked sound was like a trumpet through the quiet forest. The two wolves stopped talking immediately and listened, their ears straightening and inclining to the direction of the sound One sniffed the air. “I smell her.” He said sniffing some more taking steady but calculative strides towards me.My heart skipped a bit as I was afraid of being caught. I didn’t kn
I exhaled and muttered inaudibly… “They are both death traps anyways.” I lowered my head-guilt tripped. I knew I had won because she had nothing else to say to me.I stood quietly, still weighing my options. I tightened my eyelids and clenched my fist. I didn’t care about me anymore, “I’m going save him!” I said.“Save who?” A baritone voice ransacked my thoughts and I instantly popped my eyes open.“Luca?” I called out, excitement bursting through my nerves the moment I laid my eyes on him, he stood there so casually by the threshold.“Is that how much you were worried about me?” he said.I ignored his sly comment and ran towards him engulfing him in a tight hug. I stayed that way without saying a word. “I was scared that something had happened to you.” I muttered, giving him a gentle squeeze.“If this is the kind of treatment I will be getting then I promise to always get in trouble for your sake all the time.” He jested and I pushed him away playfully, detaching from him.We laughe
I heard the loud voice from where I hid, and I knew it was game over. I had to run.“Get her!" I kicked against the door as hard as I could, bolting through it almost immediately. They were behind me, all four of them. I didn't stop running.The sound of grasses and twigs being trampled upon by our feets echoed through the night. My hands gripped the object in my hand tighter, as I kept running.“Stop!" One of them yelled. "Stop now, and we will let you go freely."Lies!I'm not a fool, and they're all liars. If their Alpha is a liar, then they are too.My heart ached as I thought about the situation that led me here. I had my doubts, but he overrode them, and made me fall in love with him, only to be rejected at the last minute when it actually mattered.Love sucks, but Alpha Thane sucks even more.A harsh voice pulled me out from my little “That book belongs to the pack, you can't take it. You theif!"I held unto it tighter. I'm not a thief! I ignored them as best as I could, putt
“I'm here to announce to everyone that your Alpha has found a mate. She's Alexa, from a pack that was once our rivals, but will now be joined together in this beautiful alliance."I was frozen into place, for over five minutes. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't think.I couldn't breathe.My eyes met his, and for a second, it felt like I had been restored, but only for a second. When I saw that same unusual far-fetched gaze settle in his eyes, I knew it was all over.“Thane…” How could you do this to me?He tore his eyes away from me, and it felt like a part of me was being torn apart. I'm dreaming, right? This isn't real.It can't be!I swallowed, finally finding my feet. Whispers were beginning to rise from every corner of the huge hall, everyone had something to say—their Alpha had found a mate afterall.If I stood there for one more second, I would probably lose my mind, so I turned and walked away. A part of me wished he would stop me, and tell me all of this was jus
The crackling sound of fire was the first thing I heard, the scent of herbs and charred wood heavy in the air.The room was dim, the flickering orange light casting shifting shadows along stone walls carved with symbols — ancient ones, some I recognized from the very book I’d risked my life to steal.I bolted upright, pain lancing through my shoulder.“You’re awake.”The voice was deep, but not unkind. A man stepped from the shadows, his face partially obscured by a hood. His scent was unfamiliar — neither part of Thane’s pack nor any of the neighboring clans. Rogue, maybe?“Who are you?” My voice came out hoarse, raw from breathing in too much smoke.He crossed his arms above the other. “Your saviour?"My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Those guys didn't seem willing to take it easy on you. A thank you would be nice at this point." He said.The air seemed to hum between us. “I know you saved me, thank you. But that won't stop me from asking who the hell are you?" I said, my voice coming
"Alpha Thane,” the Head Chief's voice echoed in the huge meeting room which suddenly seemed too small. "Our librarian here, Ms Mira, claims that you are her mate— that you have been all along— and you two had a secret relationship going on already. By any chance, is any of this true?"I stood in the center of the room, my palms clammy at my sides, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it. The council, ten in total, sat in a semi-circle, their faces expectant, their eyes shifting between me and the man I thought was mine.Thane sat directly across from me, his broad shoulders hunched slightly, fingers digging into the armrest of his chair. Beside him, too close for comfort, sat her — Alexa, the witch with the serpent’s smile.I raised my chin, just a little. My eyes found Thane’s, and for a fleeting moment, I saw it — hesitation, doubt, and underneath all of it, guilt. The silence stretched too long, and each second felt like a knife carving into my chest.The Head
I exhaled and muttered inaudibly… “They are both death traps anyways.” I lowered my head-guilt tripped. I knew I had won because she had nothing else to say to me.I stood quietly, still weighing my options. I tightened my eyelids and clenched my fist. I didn’t care about me anymore, “I’m going save him!” I said.“Save who?” A baritone voice ransacked my thoughts and I instantly popped my eyes open.“Luca?” I called out, excitement bursting through my nerves the moment I laid my eyes on him, he stood there so casually by the threshold.“Is that how much you were worried about me?” he said.I ignored his sly comment and ran towards him engulfing him in a tight hug. I stayed that way without saying a word. “I was scared that something had happened to you.” I muttered, giving him a gentle squeeze.“If this is the kind of treatment I will be getting then I promise to always get in trouble for your sake all the time.” He jested and I pushed him away playfully, detaching from him.We laughe
“What is it with that book anyway that the Alpha wants it back so badly. It’s just an ordinary book!” the other said sounding a little cowardly and ignorant.I turned and spared Luca a glance, he was listening to them intently and I figured that’s what I must do too.“Shhh!” the wolf paused, “You don’t spill words like that.” He warned. “That book is a a very important book and contains all the magic spells used in the ancient history of magic. It contains one of the most powerful spell chants and Alexa needs that book as well.” He explained gritting.I wanted to reposition myself and didn’t know when I stepped on a twig. It cracked sound was like a trumpet through the quiet forest. The two wolves stopped talking immediately and listened, their ears straightening and inclining to the direction of the sound One sniffed the air. “I smell her.” He said sniffing some more taking steady but calculative strides towards me.My heart skipped a bit as I was afraid of being caught. I didn’t kn
“What?" I blurted out.Luca appeared behind me, his movements so stealthy that I didn't notice him, until he spoke. “Try again, Mother."She glanced at him. “My spell cannot be wrong. But I will nevertheless."She began again, twirling her hands as a blue glowing back formed again. Her concentration was unbreakable, and her lips moving as she muttered inaudible words. After what felt like ages, she stopped, the glow disappearing into thin air.“What did you see?" I asked hurriedly.“It's the same thing." She held my eyes. "The Aurora's seal is in Alpha Thane's territory.”Wow! “That's strange. Don't they know that the seal is there?" Luca asked.His mother shook her head. “I'm guessing they don't. It was hidden very well, I can tell. She must have given it to a very trusted person, because it wasn't me." Something flashed in her voice, but I was too engulfed in my thoughts to fathom what it was.“We have to get the ring before they figure it out!" Della said.I turned to her, feeling
The ground beneath me pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat matching my own. I could feel the earth, the air, the life pulsing through every root, every tree, every soul within reach."What am I?" I whispered. “What is happening to me?" Della stepped closer, her expression gentler now. "That’s a question only you can answer, Mira. But you’re not just a wolf. And you’re not just your mother’s daughter.""What does that mean?" My voice rose, but she only gave me that same unreadable smile.The clearing was silent, save for the soft crackling of the torches placed around the perimeter and the rustle of leaves dancing in the evening breeze. Through the corner of my eyes, I saw creatures gather, their eyes and undivided attention all on me, and it only made me want to disappear even more.Della was hovering above me, her voice echoing in my head, probing and intense. “Tell me what you feel, Mira."It—whatever it was—was starting to overwhelm me. It kept swirling like an over-agigated turnado,
"Alpha Thane,” the Head Chief's voice echoed in the huge meeting room which suddenly seemed too small. "Our librarian here, Ms Mira, claims that you are her mate— that you have been all along— and you two had a secret relationship going on already. By any chance, is any of this true?"I stood in the center of the room, my palms clammy at my sides, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it. The council, ten in total, sat in a semi-circle, their faces expectant, their eyes shifting between me and the man I thought was mine.Thane sat directly across from me, his broad shoulders hunched slightly, fingers digging into the armrest of his chair. Beside him, too close for comfort, sat her — Alexa, the witch with the serpent’s smile.I raised my chin, just a little. My eyes found Thane’s, and for a fleeting moment, I saw it — hesitation, doubt, and underneath all of it, guilt. The silence stretched too long, and each second felt like a knife carving into my chest.The Head
The crackling sound of fire was the first thing I heard, the scent of herbs and charred wood heavy in the air.The room was dim, the flickering orange light casting shifting shadows along stone walls carved with symbols — ancient ones, some I recognized from the very book I’d risked my life to steal.I bolted upright, pain lancing through my shoulder.“You’re awake.”The voice was deep, but not unkind. A man stepped from the shadows, his face partially obscured by a hood. His scent was unfamiliar — neither part of Thane’s pack nor any of the neighboring clans. Rogue, maybe?“Who are you?” My voice came out hoarse, raw from breathing in too much smoke.He crossed his arms above the other. “Your saviour?"My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Those guys didn't seem willing to take it easy on you. A thank you would be nice at this point." He said.The air seemed to hum between us. “I know you saved me, thank you. But that won't stop me from asking who the hell are you?" I said, my voice coming
“I'm here to announce to everyone that your Alpha has found a mate. She's Alexa, from a pack that was once our rivals, but will now be joined together in this beautiful alliance."I was frozen into place, for over five minutes. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't think.I couldn't breathe.My eyes met his, and for a second, it felt like I had been restored, but only for a second. When I saw that same unusual far-fetched gaze settle in his eyes, I knew it was all over.“Thane…” How could you do this to me?He tore his eyes away from me, and it felt like a part of me was being torn apart. I'm dreaming, right? This isn't real.It can't be!I swallowed, finally finding my feet. Whispers were beginning to rise from every corner of the huge hall, everyone had something to say—their Alpha had found a mate afterall.If I stood there for one more second, I would probably lose my mind, so I turned and walked away. A part of me wished he would stop me, and tell me all of this was jus
I heard the loud voice from where I hid, and I knew it was game over. I had to run.“Get her!" I kicked against the door as hard as I could, bolting through it almost immediately. They were behind me, all four of them. I didn't stop running.The sound of grasses and twigs being trampled upon by our feets echoed through the night. My hands gripped the object in my hand tighter, as I kept running.“Stop!" One of them yelled. "Stop now, and we will let you go freely."Lies!I'm not a fool, and they're all liars. If their Alpha is a liar, then they are too.My heart ached as I thought about the situation that led me here. I had my doubts, but he overrode them, and made me fall in love with him, only to be rejected at the last minute when it actually mattered.Love sucks, but Alpha Thane sucks even more.A harsh voice pulled me out from my little “That book belongs to the pack, you can't take it. You theif!"I held unto it tighter. I'm not a thief! I ignored them as best as I could, putt