Chapter 12: Unraveling Threads

The night felt endless.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so tangled, so stretched thin. Every thought, every breath seemed to lead back to the same conclusion: nothing made sense anymore. I was standing on the edge of something much bigger than myself. Something dangerous, something powerful. And Luca, despite his insistence that he was trying to protect me, couldn’t shelter me from the truth forever.

I sat in the small room that had once been my father's office, the same familiar walls now feeling colder than I remembered. The journal rested on the desk in front of me, the mark on its cover—still sharp, still unsettling—burned into my mind.

The whispers from my dreams had become louder, clearer. It wasn’t just a random string of words. It was a language, one that tugged at something deep inside me. The more I heard it, the more familiar it felt, as if it was a part of me. A part of my bloodline. But why? Why hadn’t I known about it until now?

I rubbed my temples, trying to force the thoughts into something coherent. I couldn’t keep running from this. My father’s disappearance, the pack, the prophecy... Luca.

I stood, unable to sit still, and paced the room. I had questions—so many questions. About my father, about the mark on the journal, about the prophecy. But most of all, I had to understand why Luca had been so determined to keep me away from this world. Why did he think I couldn’t handle the truth? Was it really just because of the danger? Or was there something more?

My fingers brushed the journal again, and a shiver ran down my spine. There had to be something inside it that would make sense of all of this, something that would connect the dots. I opened it carefully, feeling the weight of the pages as I flipped through them. The writing was in that same strange language from my dreams, but beneath it, in the margins, were hastily scribbled notes in my father’s handwriting. The ink was smudged, almost as though he had been rushed when writing them, as if he had known something was coming.

I read the first note aloud, the words sounding foreign on my tongue. “The Bound Alpha will find their strength in the darkness, and only in uniting the two will the balance be restored.” I frowned at the words. Strength in the darkness? Balance restored?

Something about it stirred a memory, a vague recollection of a conversation with my father when I was younger. He’d talked about protecting something important, but he’d never gone into detail. He’d always been so careful with his words, so guarded. But now, I had no choice but to follow the trail he’d left behind.

The sound of the door opening behind me made me freeze. I turned around, startled, and saw Luca standing in the doorway. His dark eyes locked onto mine, unreadable as ever.

“Isla,” he said quietly, stepping into the room. “You’re still here.”

“I had to look through this,” I replied, my voice a little firmer than I felt. “I had to understand what he left behind.”

Luca’s gaze flickered to the journal, his jaw tightening. “You shouldn’t be doing this alone.”

I felt a surge of frustration. “I’m not alone, Luca. Not anymore. This… this is my life now. And I need to know what happened to my father. I need to know why he left me this—why he never told me any of this before.”

Luca took a step toward me, his movements slow and deliberate. “I know you’re angry,” he said, his voice soft. “And I know you want answers. But the truth is dangerous, Isla. More dangerous than you realize.”

“I’m not afraid of the truth,” I shot back, surprised by the fierceness in my own voice. “What I’m afraid of is the lies. The things you’ve been keeping from me.”

Luca’s eyes softened, the edge of frustration giving way to something else—something more vulnerable. “You think I’m keeping things from you because I want to. But it’s not that simple. I’m trying to protect you.”

“From what? From me?” I shook my head. “You don’t get to decide what I can or can’t handle. I can handle the truth, Luca. I need to know what happened to my father. I need to know what this—” I gestured to the journal, “—all of this means.”

Luca hesitated, his gaze flickering between the journal and me. “I don’t want to put you in danger. You don’t understand how deep this runs. The prophecy, the pack—it’s all connected to you now, Isla. And it’s bigger than just you and me.”

“I don’t care how big it is. I don’t care what you think you’re protecting me from,” I said, my voice steady but the anxiety creeping in at the edges. “I have a right to know the truth. You can’t keep me in the dark forever.”

Luca’s face hardened for a moment, then, with a long, drawn-out breath, he exhaled. “You’re right. You deserve the truth.”

His words, finally spoken, hung in the air between us, heavy and potent. For a moment, neither of us moved. Then, without another word, he reached forward, carefully taking the journal from my hands. His touch was gentle, almost reverent, as he opened it to the first page, where my father’s notes were scrawled in that familiar handwriting.

Luca’s eyes scanned the words, his brow furrowing as if piecing together something he’d been avoiding for years. Then, with a deep sigh, he met my gaze.

“The truth is… it’s dangerous, Isla,” he said, his voice almost too quiet to hear. “And it’s not just about us. It’s about everything—the pack, the prophecy, your father’s disappearance. It’s all tangled together, and it’s all coming to a head.”

I swallowed hard, feeling a rush of emotions. Fear. Anger. Curiosity.

“Then help me untangle it,” I said softly. “We’ll figure it out together.”

Luca’s eyes softened, just for a moment, before he nodded slowly. “Together.”

As I stared at him, the weight of the world suddenly didn’t seem so unbearable. Maybe it wasn’t just fate that had brought us together. Maybe it was something more. And whatever it was, I had no intention of running from it—not anymore.