33.New home

Mia Miller 

The pines swayed as the wind blew, and I watched the Colorado landscape through the glass fogged by snow. Lorenzo slept peacefully in his car seat.

My heart pounded in a way I couldn’t explain. The possibility of being the daughter of a werewolf haunted me. Was everything about me a lie?

Why did my mother do this? Why did my father hide this and carry it with him to the grave? So many unanswered questions made my head throb.

Ethan drove in silence. Between us, the air was heavy. After that night together, something had broken. He was distant, cold. Maybe it was a reflection of the fear we felt, the imminent danger. I knew he was trying to protect me, but the harshness with which he did it hurt deeply.

When the car stopped in Estes Park, I realized we had arrived. The scenery was stunning, but in a way, it was unsettling. I still refused to fully believe that wolves—werewolves—lived here. How could they blend in with humans without being discovered?

I got out of the car with Lorenzo in my arms, and while Ethan grabbed our things, I felt something in the air. It was as if there was an invisible tension, a presence. I looked around, and suddenly, I started noticing what I had ignored before. The eyes. Among the trees, in the shadows of the evening, wolves were watching. They weren’t just wild animals. I knew that now. They were part of something bigger, something I still didn’t fully understand.

Their wolf forms were large, imposing. Some walked calmly, as though they were the true rulers of the land, and I realized how different they were from regular wolves. They moved with a supernatural grace, their eyes glowing with an intelligence that went beyond animal instinct. It was as if they were sizing me up, judging whether I was worthy to be there.

A chill ran through my body. Ethan had said I would be safer in the forest, protected by the pack. But now, under the watchful eyes of those wolves, I wondered if I was really safe. Lorenzo and I were in their territory. They knew it.

“Let’s go,” Ethan called, interrupting my thoughts.

I followed in silence, but the wolves’ eyes continued to follow me. I didn’t know if they were friends or enemies.

The wolves were enormous, their fur shining in the fading light. Some were gray, others brown, but what caught my attention the most was a black wolf, almost the size of a small horse, with golden eyes that seemed to pierce my soul. A shiver ran down my spine, but it wasn’t just fear, it was respect. He was clearly in a position of power there, the leader among them. His ears pricked up, alert to every movement I made, and I wondered if he could feel what I was feeling, this whirlwind of emotions.

Every step I took seemed to be watched, as if they were waiting for me to make a mistake. There was no direct hostility, but caution was present. The black wolf stepped forward, moving slightly closer. He sniffed the air in my direction, and I felt a strange connection. He knew what I was, or what I was destined to be. It made me more nervous. I wasn’t like them. I didn’t feel that part of me that Ethan insisted existed. Yet, under their vigilant gaze, I wondered if I was about to discover it.

“This wolf leads a small part of the pack in my absence. He’s an Omega, below the Alpha and Beta. They’re just evaluating you,” Ethan said, stepping closer. “They know you’re different, but they also know you might be part of this.”

I stepped back, my eyes fixed on the black wolf. Part of me wanted to run, to escape to the comfort of the life I knew. But another part, a part I barely understood, felt a strange attraction to this place, to this pack, as if it was instinctive.

The presence of the wolves made me realize there was no turning back. I was entering a new world, where the rules were different, where beings like me, beings I hadn’t even known existed, lived in secret. I was the daughter of something supernatural, something I had never imagined possible.

As we walked through that place, I felt like a stranger again. But the arrogant Alpha had been right—living here, now, was unfortunately the best decision for our safety.

“You’ll stay here,” he stopped in front of a beautiful house, the largest one of them all. “It was my parents’ house.”

I widened my eyes. He was letting me stay in his parents’ house?

“I’ll be here constantly, it’s just until I can sort things out. In the meantime, Nick will take care of you.”

I nodded and went inside. The house was charming, but I couldn’t feel at home there. It felt like it would never be my place.

I laid Lorenzo down on the couch, and looked at Ethan.

“And if people...”

“Fuck it,” he cut me off. “I’m the Alpha. I provide food, take care of the pack. I’m the biggest among them, no one has the right to tell me anything.”

The authority with which he spoke scared me. He had no limits, no fear of anyone, and I felt compelled to respect that, though I didn’t know why.

Ethan left, leaving me with Nick, the Beta, to sort everything out. There was a feeling that things were about to get more complicated, but I tried to focus on organizing the house, keeping Lorenzo safe. The place was beautiful, yes, but it felt distant, disconnected from everything I knew.

Even surrounded by so many trees and that stunning mountainous scenery, I still felt suffocated by the situation.

As I organized some of Lorenzo’s clothes, a knock on the door made me stop in my tracks, my heart racing instantly.

Who could it be? I was alone with my son, and though Nick was nearby, I couldn’t shake the nervousness that overwhelmed me.

I cautiously opened the door, and there she was: The damn she-wolf, Amber. The hatred in her eyes was unmistakable. Her smile wasn’t friendly—it was more of a warning. I knew she was bothered by my presence, but I didn’t realize how deep this resentment could run.

“If you think you’re going to fit in here, you’re very wrong, human,” she said, her voice dripping with venom. “I’ll make your life a living hell. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

“Who do you think you are, girl?” I confronted her.

Amber’s gaze was cold, calculating. She stepped closer, her eyes half-closed.

“I’ll be the future Luna of this pack. Don’t even think about telling the Alpha anything,” she smiled. “If you do, it will be much worse.”

The she-wolf gave one last look of disdain and left, leaving me alone with a lingering sense of threat in the air. I needed to think, to strengthen myself, but above all, I needed to protect my son. From that moment on, it was clear that the battle wouldn’t just be against the enemies from outside... but against those already among us.

A notification sound pulled me from my thoughts, and I stared at the message on my phone for a long time. Charlotte? My heart skipped a beat, and my mind spun in confusion. Why was she sending me a message now? Months of silence, disappearing without any explanation, and now this?

"We need to talk."

What did she know? Was she involved in all this? Suddenly, everything around me seemed even more suffocating. The presence of the wolves, Amber’s veiled threat, and Ethan’s revelation about who I could be... now my lost friend appeared as if she were a ghost from my past, bringing even more uncertainty.

I shifted on the couch, trying to calm my thoughts, but the tension was building in my shoulders. Lorenzo slept soundly beside me, unaware of the storm of problems swirling around. He was the only thing that made me want to keep going, the only anchor stopping me from losing it completely.

I took a deep breath and finally typed a response:

“Where are you? Why did you disappear?”

The wait felt like an eternity, and each second that passed without an answer only increased my anxiety. It didn’t make sense for her to just show up out of nowhere. Did Charlotte know about the wolves? About Ethan? About me?

My mind raced through all the possibilities as I looked around the house, trying to ignore the threat Amber had made clear before leaving. As if I didn’t already have enough problems, now I had to deal with a sick she-wolf. She certainly wouldn’t make my life easy here, especially knowing Ethan had left me in his parents’ house.

The vibration of my phone brought me back to reality. A new message from Charlotte.

“I’m nearby. We need to meet. There’s something you need to know.”

A chill ran down my spine. Something told me this conversation with Charlotte wasn’t going to be good. And somehow, I knew I wasn’t ready for what was coming.