Chapter 66 The prophecy of us
IRIS
I stare at his profile, jaw clenched. My mind reels. “Kill me?” I whisper, barely sure I heard. “Why?”
Darian doesn’t speak immediately. Horns honk behind us. The engine hums. I watch his face in the mirror, troubled, regretful, resolute.
I press my forehead against the cool glass of the window, arms wrapped around myself as if I can protect my own heart. “You’re not serious.”
“You have to take this seriously,” he says finally, voice low but firm.
“I am taking it seriously, Darian,” I bite back. “But you’re not telling me why. None of this makes sense.”
He sighs and rubs his forehead like he’s trying to smooth out a headache that’s been there for years. “It’s not easy to explain.”
“Try,” I whisper.
The silence that follows is thick. The road outside is a blur of trees and light posts, but I don’t see any of it anymore. My world has shrunk down to this moment, this car, this truth he’s about to tell me.
“When I was born,” he begins slowly, “a prophecy surfaced.”
I look at him. His tone isn’t dramatic. He sounds… tired. Worn out.
“They said I would rise in power, stronger than any alpha before me,” he continues. “But with that rise came a curse. A cost.”
I blink. “What kind of cost?”
His throat works around the next words. “They said the blood of the forgotten would rise. That her love, ” He pauses, glancing at me. “would either break the cursed bond or seal its doom.”
I frown. “I don’t… I don’t understand.”
“Nobody did either. Not at the time. For years, no one knew what it meant. Then I met my mate. My first mate.” His voice tightens. “And I… I killed her.”
I nod. He’s explained this part to me before.
I look away. His voice has a rough edge now, like gravel scraping against stone.
“And that’s when the prophecy resurfaced. Stronger this time. The priests, the elders, they all said the Moon Goddess was punishing me.”
My throat is dry. “And how… how is she punishing you?”
His eyes flick toward me. “With you.”
It feels like the air gets sucked out of the car. My heart stutters. “What?”
“You,” he says, more gently now. “You’re the punishment, Iris. That’s what they believe.”
I shake my head slowly, like that will make it stop. “What are you saying?”
He shifts slightly, turning his body more toward me. “You’re not like the others. You weren’t born with your wolf awakened. You didn’t even know what you were. But the night I marked you, you saw me and it triggered something inside you. It woke your dormant gene.”
I’m frozen. My hands tremble in my lap. “So… so I’m some kind of curse?”
“No.” His voice is sharp. “That’s not what I mean. Not to me. But to them? Yes. They think your existence is dangerous.”
“Because of some ancient words?”
“Because of what those words have already caused. My mate died. The Moon Goddess gave me a second bond, one that was supposed to be impossible. But this one comes with consequences.”
“What kind of consequences?”
Darian holds my gaze. “If we fall in love, I die.”
Silence.
Actual, complete silence.
I feel the words slam into my chest like bricks. I can’t breathe for a moment.
My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. Finally, I manage a whisper: “And if we don’t?”
He hesitates. “Then the bond turns hollow. It poisons us both.”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “So… we’re damned either way?”
He doesn’t answer.
I turn my face away, staring out the window as my thoughts swirl. I should feel anger. Or betrayal. Or something. But all I feel is… confusion.
“Why are you telling me now?” I ask quietly.
“Because my father’s done waiting. He sees you as the reason I’ve lost focus, lost control. He thinks killing you will restore everything. Restore me.”
I inhale sharply, pressing my back against the seat like I can disappear into it. “And you? What do you think?”
He doesn’t respond right away. Then: “I think if anything happens to you, I won’t survive it anyway.”
Those words… they’re heavy. Real. I can’t bring myself to look at him. My heart is torn in two.
I’m the reason he’s unraveling. I’m the reason he’s here, carrying a death sentence just by being with me.
But he’s also the reason I’m breathing. Living. Alive in ways I never knew I could be.
“You should’ve let me go,” I whisper. “It would’ve been easier.”
“I can’t,” he replies, and I hear the emotion in his voice. “Even knowing what I know, I can’t.”
I finally turn to him. “So what now?”
“We hide. We run. We do whatever it takes to stay alive… together.”
I bite my lip, hard. “You’ll die.”
“Maybe,” he says softly. “But at least not today.”
The car slows slightly, the sky outside darkening. I fold my arms around myself and stare at the blurred horizon, the weight of fate pressing down on my chest.
Somehow, I am both the key to his ruin… and the only thing keeping him whole.
And I don’t know how to live with that.
The silence in the car stretches out, thick with unspoken thoughts. My fingers twitch in my lap, my heart pounding from the weight of everything Darian has just said. I keep my eyes on the road ahead, even though the view outside barely registers.
Finally, I speak, my voice small but clear.
“Where are we going?”
Darian doesn’t answer immediately. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I don’t know,” he admits, exhaling sharply. “I just knew I had to get you out.”
I turn to look at him, studying the tightness in his shoulders, the tension in his jaw. He looks like someone on the verge of falling apart, but holding on anyway, just barely. For me.
“I wanted to take you somewhere safe,” he continues. “Somewhere they can’t reach you.”
“Safe,” I echo, trying to wrap my mind around the word. Nothing feels safe anymore. Not my room. Not my school. Not even Darian’s presence, despite how fiercely he seems to be fighting for me. “And you don’t have anywhere in mind?”
“No,” he admits, glancing sideways at me. “Everywhere I know, they know too. My father has eyes everywhere, Iris. If I take you somewhere from my world… he’ll find you.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Then, almost before I know it, the words slip out. “My grandfather.”
Darian’s brows lift slightly. “Your grandfather?”
I nod, sitting straighter now, the thought forming quickly in my mind. “He lives on the outskirts of the city. Far. Like, deep in the countryside, beyond the bus routes and city limits. Nobody ever really visits him, he made sure of that. We barely talk unless it’s absolutely necessary, but I trust him.”
“You’re sure?” Darian asks, eyes narrowing. “There’s nothing suspicious about him? No one would think to look for you there?”
I shake my head. “He’s a ghost to most people. No address listed anywhere, no landline. He lives off-grid by choice. My mom used to call him paranoid, but I always thought he just… didn’t want to be found.”
Darian leans back, considering it. Then he nods. “That could work.”
There’s a pause. Then I say, “Tell the driver to take the next left.”
Darian knocks once on the divider between us and the driver, who lowers the tinted screen.
“Next left,” I say. “We’re heading to the south ridge, outside the city.”