Chapter 173 Dead Men's Signals

Chapter 173 Unburdening
Lyra POV
 
The dawn's rays seeped through the curtains. I stretched languidly, my body pleasantly sore from last night's passion. Gabriel's side of the bed was empty and cool. A note on his pillow caught my attention: "Gone to contact the Council about scheduling an emergency meeting. Rest well, my Luna."
 
I touched the mark on my neck, feeling the raised skin where Gabriel's teeth had claimed me twice as my wolf purred contentedly within me: "He's ours now. Truly ours."
 
With Gabriel gone to handle the Council, this was my chance to finally speak with Isabella. There were truths she deserved to know. About our family, about our past, about the white wolf legacy that had shaped both our destinies.
 
I reached out through our pack link: "Isabella? Are you awake?"
 
Her response came quickly: "Yes. I'm in the medical center."
 
"I need to speak with you. It's important."
 
There was a brief pause. "Okay."
 
I dressed quickly in comfortable jeans and a soft sweater, then made my way to the medical center. My heart pounded with nervous energy. This conversation was long overdue.
 
---
 
When I entered Isabella's room, I found her sitting up in bed.
 
"Good morning," I said.
 
Isabella gestured for me to sit in the chair beside her bed. "The doctors say my injuries are almost completely healed, and I may be discharged tomorrow." Her green eyes, so like my own, studied me carefully. "What did you want to talk about?"
 
I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. "I'm going to tell you the truth about our family."
 
Isabella's eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing, waiting for me to continue.
 
"The white wolf legacy," I began, "isn't just a random genetic trait. It's passed down through the female line of our family. Being born with the ability to shift into a white wolf is extremely rare—most who possess the gene need to undergo a rebirth to activate it."
 
"A rebirth?" Isabella asked.
 
I nodded. "It's a dangerous ritual. Our father was obsessed with the white wolf power. That obsession is what led him to send you away when you were born, to kill our mother, and to create an elaborate lie to keep me in the dark."
 
Isabella gasped. "He killed our mother?"
 
"Yes. And then he manipulated everyone in our pack to maintain the fiction that she had died in childbirth." I paused, remembering the painful revelations. "Even Jason was deceived. Father implanted false memories in him. Jason died still believing those lies."
 
Pain flashed across Isabella's face at the mention of our brother. "Jason..."
 
Shame washed over me as I continued, "And there's something you should know. I... I killed Jason. On the day of the blood magic, after he told me about our family, he started convulsing. I wanted to save him, to learn more. I administered the dose. But it was too much for him..."
 
Isabella reached out and took my hand, her touch surprisingly comforting. "Why didn't I ever manifest the white wolf traits? I drank that potion with wolfsbane—wasn't that a form of rebirth?"
 
I thought back to what Ethan had told me. "Rebirth requires specific runes to be carved into certain parts of the body. The wolfsbane potion you drank might have triggered something in your white wolf bloodline, but instead of activating it, the power was consumed fighting off the poison to save you. The white wolf essence might have been what kept you alive, but at the cost of depleting it entirely."
 
Isabella nodded slowly, absorbing this information. "I won't try to activate it through rebirth, if that's what you're worried about. I've had enough brushes with death."
 
"Good," I said, relieved. "I couldn't bear to lose you again."
 
"I just wish Jason could have known the truth," Isabella said softly. "He deserved better than to die believing father's lies."
 
I squeezed her hand. "Jason may have been misled, but he protected us both in his own way. He saved your life."
 
Isabella's eyes welled with tears. "He did. And I'll always honor his sacrifice." She wiped her eyes and gave me a watery smile. "We're survivors, you and I. Despite everything father did, we both escaped his influence. He sent me away thinking he could control me, but it actually freed me from his manipulation. And you, though raised in his lies, found your way to the truth and your own redemption after the pack was destroyed."
 
I smiled, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. "And it seems I've finally found where I truly belong..."
 
Isabella's eyes narrowed as she examined me more closely, her gaze fixing on my neck. "Oh my goddess," she gasped, "you marked him!"
 
Heat rushed to my cheeks as I nodded, unable to suppress my smile. "Last night."
 
Isabella squealed with delight, looking more like an excited teenager than a woman who had endured severe injuries in battle. "Tell me everything! Was it amazing? I bet it was amazing."
 
I laughed, relieved by her enthusiastic response. "It was... beyond words. The mate bond feels complete now, stronger than I ever imagined possible."
 
"I'm so happy for you," Isabella said, genuine joy lighting up her face. "Gabriel deserves someone special, and so do you."
 
"Thank you," I said, touched by her sincerity. "That means a lot, especially coming from you."
 
We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, two sisters who had found their way back to each other against impossible odds. For the first time, I felt truly at peace with our shared past and hopeful about our future.
 
The moment was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. Alistair poked his head in, his expression apologetic.
 
"Sorry to interrupt, Luna," he said with a respectful nod to me. "Alpha Gabriel has returned and requests your presence in the pack hall. The Council has agreed to an emergency meeting tomorrow."
 
I nodded, squeezing Isabella's hand one last time before rising. "I'll be right there."
 
"Go," Isabella urged with a smile. "Your Alpha needs you."