Chapter 17 Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Chapter 17
Chapter 17

The wolves moved in fast.

Alaric shifted first. Black fur. Green eyes. He stood between me and the pack, growling low.

Vera didn't flinch. She raised her hand. Her wolves stopped.

"Last chance," she said. "Give her up. Walk away. No one gets hurt."

Alaric growled louder.

Vera sighed. "Fine."

Her hand dropped.

The wolves rushed forward.

I grabbed my knife. Useless. Stupid. But I wasn't going to stand there and do nothing.

Alaric took down the first wolf. Then the second. But there were too many. They pulled him down. Pinned him.

Vera walked toward me.

"You're not worth all this trouble," she said. "But family is family."

She reached for me.

A howl cut through the air.

Loud. Close.

Everyone froze.

Another howl. Closer.

Then Corin burst through the trees.

He was in wolf form. Grey fur. Blood on his muzzle. He ran straight for Vera.

She stumbled back. Her wolves scattered.

Corin shifted back. Naked. Breathing hard. He stood between me and Vera.

"Stand down," he said.

Vera's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Corin. Nightcrest warrior. Sent by Alpha Marcus."

"You're lying."

Corin pulled something from around his neck. A chain. A metal token. Marcus's mark.

Vera looked at it. Her face changed.

"Marcus sent you?"

"To protect them. Both of them." Corin looked at her wolves. "Which means if you touch her, you touch Nightcrest. And Marcus doesn't forget."

Vera was quiet for a long moment.

Then she laughed.

"Marcus sends a warrior to protect a soul eater. The world has gone mad."

"Maybe. But here we are."

Vera looked at Alaric. Still in wolf form. Still pinned.

"Let him up," she said.

Her wolves stepped back.

Alaric shifted back. He was bleeding from a cut on his arm. He walked to me. Took my hand.

Vera watched.

"Fine," she said. "You stay. Both of you. But not in my house. Not near my family." She looked at Corin. "There's a cabin at the north edge of the territory. Empty for years. You can have it."

"Thank you," Corin said.

"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it because I don't want a war with Nightcrest." She looked at me. "Keep her away from my cousin."

She walked away. Her wolves followed.

The torches went out.

We were alone in the dark.

\---

The cabin was worse than I expected.

One room. Dirt floor. Holes in the roof. No bed. No hearth. Just four walls and a door that didn't close all the way.

"Home," Alaric said.

"It's shelter," Corin said. "That's more than we had last night."

He wasn't wrong.

I sat down in the corner. Pulled my knees to my chest.

Alaric sat next to me. His arm brushed mine.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No."

"Me neither."

Corin walked outside. Came back with an armful of dry branches. He built a small fire in the center of the room.

The smoke went straight up through the holes in the roof.

"Not bad," he said.

"You have a strange definition of not bad," I said.

He almost smiled.

We sat around the fire. No one talked for a while.

Then Corin said, "Marcus is worried."

"About what?" Alaric asked.

"About who betrayed you. He's been asking questions. No one is talking."

"It could be anyone."

"It could." Corin poked the fire. "But it's probably someone close. Someone who knew about the council. About the plan to send you away."

"Liana's father," I said.

Both of them looked at me.

"Think about it," I said. "He wanted Alaric to mate with his daughter. Marcus said no. Alaric found me. Liana left. Humiliated. Her father angry." I looked at Alaric. "He has access. He knows things. And he has a reason to want me gone."

Alaric was quiet.

"It's possible," Corin said.

"It's more than possible. It makes sense."

Alaric shook his head. "Kael is many things. But a traitor? Selling out his own pack to cultists?"

"People do worse things for love."

Alaric looked at me. His eyes were tired.

"We need proof before we accuse anyone."

"Then we find proof."

\---

The next morning, Vera showed up at the cabin.

She didn't knock. Just walked in.

"I've decided something," she said.

"We're not leaving," Alaric said.

"Didn't ask you to." She looked at me. "There's a healer in this pack. Old woman. Knows things about powers like yours."

My heart stopped. "What kind of things?"

"She used to be part of a sect. Women who studied the old magic. The kind your people come from." Vera crossed her arms. "She wants to meet you."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She doesn't tell me much." Vera looked at Alaric. "You can come with her. Or you can stay here. I don't care."

Alaric stood up. "I'm coming."

"Fine." Vera turned to leave. "Be at the longhouse at noon. Don't be late."

She walked out.

I looked at Alaric.

"This could be a trap."

"It could be. But if there's someone who can help you understand your power..." He took my hand. "We have to try."

"You trust her?"

"I trust that she's scared of my father. That's enough for now."

\---

At noon, we walked to the longhouse.

Vera was waiting outside. She led us through the main hall to a small room in the back.

An old woman sat in a chair by the window. Her hair was white. Her eyes were grey. She looked at me like she already knew me.

"You're Nova," she said.

"Yes."

"I'm Selene." She pointed to the floor in front of her. "Sit."

I sat.

Alaric stood behind me.

Selene looked at him. "You can wait outside."

"No."

"Suit yourself." She looked back at me. "Show me your hands."

I held them out.

She took them. Her skin was cold. Her fingers were thin.

"You carry something in you," she said. "Something that doesn't belong to you."

"Caden's essence."

"Yes." She closed her eyes. "He's angry. Scared. Trapped."

"I know."

"He's also useful."

I frowned. "Useful how?"

Selene opened her eyes.

"He's a key. To a door you don't know exists."

"What door?"

She let go of my hands.

"The door to your past. Your family. Your power." She leaned back. "You're not just a healer, girl. You're not just a taker. You're something the world hasn't seen in a thousand years."

"What?"

Selene smiled.

"The Moon Goddess reborn."