Shadows with Secrets

Lucy's heart pounded rapidly in her chest as she turned around. She recognized Alpha Karl Bloodmoon with wide eyes. His gaze were focused yet unreadable, and his hand was still firmly on her shoulder.

“This place is off limits to you,”He spoke in a firm yet authoritative tone. He looked directly into her eyes, and she felt a shock of fear and something else.

“I-I was just looking around,”Even after she stammered and backed up a little, his hold remained firm.

Karl looked at her with a calculated and keen eye. His tone was gentle enough to confuse Abit, but he reiterated, "You are not supposed to be here." Without another word, he let off of her shoulder and turned to face the door.

Lucy paused, uncertain whether to run or remain motionless.

“Karl shouted over his shoulder, "Go back to your room," with a note of caution in his voice.

There was no need to repeat it to her. Lucy's heart continued to race as she hurried down the dark hallway. Behind her, the heavy door to the strange room closed , a metallic sound filled the deserted hallways.

Lucy was sitting at the foot of her bed in her new room, with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her parents were still unpacking, moving slowly and gradually , as they attempted to get used to their new place.

“Nina said, "You shouldn't move around like that," without raising her gaze. She sounded tight, worn out from the day's activities.

“I did not mean to mother,” Lucy answered, but she was not thinking about the reprimand. She was unable to get Karl's gaze off of her. It seemed as though he could see something in her eyes that she herself was unaware of.

“I’m telling you, Lucy,”Ian added in an unexpectedly tight tone. "Be cautious when you're around him." Karl and other alphas don't think like us. Their perspectives are different. They demand obedience and commitment.

Lucy traced the new imprint on her arm with her fingertips and nodded absently. A subtle tingling sensation served as an odd reminder of her new role within the Blood Moon Pack. She whispered, more to herself than to her parents, "But he didn't seem dangerous to me.”

Ian snorted. The reason for this is that you haven't witnessed the capabilities of men like him. Avoid giving him an excuse to show you.

But Lucy was not so sure. She had felt something protective in Karl’s tone, hidden beneath all that authority. As though he wanted her out of that room to shield her from something, not to punish her.

The rest of the evening passed in unsettling calm. Nina tried to lighten the situation by discussing the packhouse’s grandeur, but Lucy remained taken in, her head racing with questions she couldn’t discuss.

Lucy woke up in the dark and stared at the ceiling as night fell. Even though her body was worn out, her mind would not stop racing.

And then it happened.

It was unlike anything she had ever experienced—foreign yet oddly familiar, as if it had been waiting inside her all along. Lucy gasped and sat up straight as the sensation swept through her, beginning deep in her chest and spreading outward like a wildfire.

Her breathing quickened. “What... what is this?” she whispered, clutching her chest.

It wasn’t painful, but it was overwhelming, filling her with a power that didn’t belong to her—or at least, she felt it didn’t.

The emotion went as soon as it came, leaving her trembling and puzzled.

A faint knock on the door shocked her. Lucy froze, staring at the handle as it slowly turned. Karl entered the tiny room as the door opened and his presence filled it.

Without waiting for an invitation, he quietly clicked the door shut behind him. His voice was hardly audible above a whisper when he added, "Lucy, you're not what you seem.”

With the previous energy still humming subtly beneath her skin, her heart pounded. "What do you mean by that?”

Karl took a step forward, his azure eyes meeting hers. "I'm not sure why you came to my pack, but it wasn't by accident. You were drawn here by something within yourself.

Lucy backed away and shook her head, pressing herself up against the wall. "I don't understand.”

He paused a few paces away, his eyes growing softer. Understanding is not needed. No, not yet. But you must believe in me.

“Trust you?” she repeated, her voice shaky. “I barely know you.”

“And yet I know you more than you think,” he replied, his tone steady.

Lucy frowned, her confusion deepening. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Karl sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. For the first time, he looked almost... unsure. “It will. Soon.”

She wanted to press him, to demand answers, but the look in his eyes stopped her. It wasn’t just intensity she saw—it was concern.

“Get some rest,” Karl said, his voice softening. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

And just like that, he was gone, leaving Lucy alone with her thoughts and a growing sense that her life was about to change in ways she couldn’t predict.

---

The next morning, Lucy woke to find her parents already gone, presumably exploring the packhouse. She dressed quickly, her mind still tangled in the events of the previous night.

The hallways were bustling with activity, but Lucy kept her head down, avoiding the curious stares of other pack members. She needed answers, and Karl seemed like the only one who could give them.

Finding him proved easier than she expected. He was in the main hall, speaking with a group of his guards. The moment his eyes met hers, he dismissed them with a curt nod.

“You’re up early,” he said as she approached.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Lucy admitted. She hesitated, then added, “You said we’d talk.”

Karl studied her for a moment, then gestured for her to follow him. He led her outside, where the crisp morning air seemed to sharpen everything—the sounds, the scents, the tension between them.

They stopped near a secluded grove, far from the prying eyes of the pack.

“You felt it, didn’t you?” Karl asked, turning to face her.

Lucy hesitated. “Felt what?”

“The power,” he said simply.

Her breath caught. “How did you—”

“I told you, Lucy. You’re not what you seem.”

“But I have not even found my wolf,” she said, her voice rising slightly.

Karl’s lips turned up in a brief smile, though there was no fun in it. “That is because you are not just a wolf.”

The words came at her like a blow. She looked up at him, waiting patiently for him to explain, but he stayed quiet, allowing the weight of his statement to settle over her.

“Then what do you think I am?” she finally asked in a low voice.

Karl stepped closer, his voice low and steady. “That is exactly what we need to know.”

Lucy’s world turned upside. All the things she knew—about herself, her family, her place in the world—suddenly became so confusing. And yet, deep down, she somehow knew Karl’s words were true.

Something inside her was waking up. Something that would change everything.