Chapter 10: The Breaking Point

The world felt like it was spinning around me, like a storm I couldn’t escape. The realization that I was somehow tied to Luca and the Crescent Moon pack hit me harder than anything else had in years. The secrets, the shadows, the pull I had felt since I was a child—it was all starting to make sense in ways I never could’ve imagined. But the truth was more complicated, and darker, than I had ever anticipated.

I walked back to my car in a daze, my thoughts tangled, my body on autopilot. The moon overhead was full and brilliant, its light casting an eerie glow on the trees around me. Everything about this night felt wrong, like we were standing on the edge of something we couldn’t control. And I was just standing there, waiting for the inevitable.

Luca’s presence lingered in my mind, his words echoing in my head. "You’re a part of this now, Isla." His eyes had been so intense, so full of conviction. It felt like they were burning through me, pulling me into a future I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

As I slid into the driver’s seat of my car, I couldn’t help but glance toward the woods where the clearing had been. The air felt thick with something—tension, magic, or maybe just my own fear. I had to admit, part of me wanted to run. To get in my car and leave all of it behind. But I couldn’t. I had already stepped too far into this world. The pull of it was too strong.

I started the engine, the sound of it muffled by the thick fog creeping over the road. My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I drove, the headlights slicing through the darkness. The quiet was oppressive, the kind of silence that presses against your chest, makes you feel like you’re suffocating. It was almost like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

When I pulled into the clinic parking lot, I didn’t see the familiar shadow of my father’s old truck parked in its usual spot. I hadn’t expected it, but the absence of it hit me harder than I’d anticipated. It had been years, and yet the ache of his disappearance hadn’t dulled. Not even close.

I was halfway to the clinic door when the sound of a twig snapping in the distance made me freeze. My breath caught in my throat, my senses suddenly alert, straining to hear anything that might explain the noise. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

A low growl reached my ears, a sound that wasn’t quite human, but not quite animal either. It sent a shiver down my spine, and before I could process what was happening, I spun around, my heart thumping in my chest.

Luca was standing there, just inside the treeline. He wasn’t alone.

Behind him stood a figure I didn’t recognize, a woman with long dark hair, wild and untamed like the night itself. Her eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight, and I could see the sharpness of her features, the way her posture was rigid and predatory. She was watching me with a cool, calculating gaze, her lips curled into a faint, unsettling smile.

Luca’s voice was low, almost a growl, as he stepped closer. “You shouldn’t be here, Isla.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight. “What’s going on, Luca? Who’s she?”

The woman’s eyes flicked toward Luca for a split second, then back to me, her smile widening slightly. “She’s the one, then?” Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but there was an edge to it. “The Bound Alpha. The one who will bring us together, or tear us apart.”

I felt a cold rush of fear. “What are you talking about? Who are you?”

Luca stepped forward, his hand briefly resting on my shoulder, grounding me. “Her name is Elena. She’s one of the rogue wolves—the ones who don’t follow the pack laws. The ones who think the prophecy is a curse.”

Elena’s lips twisted in a mockery of a smile. “The prophecy is a death sentence,” she spat. “The Bound Alpha is nothing but a tool to bring about our destruction. She’s the one who will break us all.”

I couldn’t make sense of her words, the fear in her voice unsettling me in ways I couldn’t explain. “What does that mean?” I asked again, my voice shaking despite myself.

“The rogue wolves believe the prophecy is an omen of disaster,” Luca explained, his voice tense, as though he was holding back something. “They think if the Bound Alpha unites us—wolves and humans—it will destroy everything we’ve built.”

“Elena speaks for the rogues, Isla,” he continued, his grip tightening slightly. “They’ll do anything to stop you from fulfilling your part in the prophecy. They see you as a threat.”

I could feel the weight of his words settling on me, a crushing pressure in my chest. I had barely begun to understand what was happening, and now, it seemed like there were forces working against me that I couldn’t even comprehend.

“Why now?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why are they coming after me now?”

Elena’s laugh was dark, cold, and unforgiving. “Because they know you’re close to discovering the truth,” she said, her voice dripping with malice. “You’re not just a part of this prophecy, Isla. You are its center. The wolves who don’t accept it will do anything to keep it from coming true.”

Luca’s hand dropped from my shoulder, and I saw a flicker of something dangerous in his eyes. “We need to leave. Now.”

But before I could even process his words, Elena was already stepping toward me, her movements too fast, too fluid. She reached out, her hand closing around my wrist with the strength of a vice.

“Not so fast,” she hissed.

Luca moved in a blur, his body blocking mine as he shoved Elena away. His eyes were wild now, the wolf within him clawing at the surface. “You won’t touch her,” he snarled, his voice guttural, like a growl from the deepest part of him.

Elena stood her ground, her own eyes glowing with an eerie, unholy light. “I don’t need to touch her to break her,” she said with a grin that sent ice through my veins. “All I need is to show her what she really is.”

Luca’s voice was sharp, dangerous. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

But it was too late. Elena had already moved again, and I barely had time to brace myself before I felt the surge of cold energy hit me, like an invisible force slamming into my chest. The world around me began to spin, my vision blurring, and I stumbled back, gasping for air.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was Luca’s face, twisted in horror, as he reached out to catch me.