Chapter Sixty Three

Chapter Sixty Three
The walk back to my room was a storm of emotions. I prayed I wouldn’t run into anyone because I honestly didn’t think I could keep the mask on anymore.

Dark wolves lived in fear, and yet one pack still chose to accept us. But Mother ruined everything. She still owed me an explanation on how the man she called my father was never her mate. I remember Father telling me how they met. I didn’t care how she had survived all these years or how she had manipulated things to work in our favor. What mattered was that they took us in and defended us against every other white pack, and she repaid them by kidnapping another pack’s son. Another white wolf that truly accepted her for who she was.

I swallowed hard, holding back the tears threatening to spill. What if things would have been different if she hadn’t kidnapped Lucian?

When I finally reached my room, I checked the voice-cancellation runes twice before taking the orb from the drawer. I held it for a moment, feeling its cold weight, before I sat on the bed and let myself sink into the mattress. Tilting my head back, I exhaled slowly, then tapped the orb. It glowed, and her voice filled the room instantly.

“What did you find out? Don’t tell me you failed again,” she barked. I wanted to scream back at her, but I didn’t have the strength for another battle, so I let her rant.

“We’re coming tomorrow from the Glamclaw Pack… with a witch who will halt the grove.”

“Oh, Espy, you’ve done so well.” For the first time, her voice sounded almost sweet, then. “Did you say we? Don’t tell me you’ve joined that foolish dark mate of yours in killing your kind?” Her voice rose to a sharp, accusing pitch.

“Mother… were you friends with Mega? The Blue Moon Luna?” I asked, fingers tightening around the orb as if squeezing it would steady my voice, hoping to find the pieces, maybe the cause of the argument.

“Iris, you are losing focus again,” She snapped.

“Did you kidnap Lucian, her son?” 

“Iris, I have better things to do with my time,” she replied, her voice sharp. 

The glow died instantly before I could ask anything more, and the tears I had been holding back for so long finally spilled over, mingling with the anger bubbling in my chest. I hurled the orb against the wall. It shattered, releasing a spray of bluish dust into the air.

That was it. I was done with her. Done taking orders. Done being a tool.

Goddess, why do you hate me so much? Why?

I forced myself to breathe as I walked into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes with shaking hands. I took a quick shower, letting the cold water hit my face as I scrubbed my skin, trying to steady my breathing. The anger still clung to me like tar. I dried off fast, pulled on clean clothes, and followed Darius’s scent to his room.

I had always carried my pain alone, but this pack made me realize that sharing it with someone could actually ease the weight. A part of me wished I could go to Suzy, but she would ask what was wrong, and I wouldn’t know what to tell her. So I went to Darius. The only good spice the Goddess ever sprinkled into my life.

“How did it go?” Darius asked the moment I stepped into his room. He stood by his wardrobe, half–dressed, his hands frozen on a shirt he hadn’t finished buttoning.

“I’m going with you people,” I answered, sinking onto the chair beside the table. My shoulders slumped, exhausted.

He turned sharply and stepped toward me.

“What? Why?” His brows pulled together, confusion tightening his jaw.

“I requested to go, and it was granted. So I’m going.” I leaned back, arms crossing as if to shield myself.

“You don’t want to be there, Iris,” he muttered, coming closer. His voice dropped. “You don’t want your powers exposed.”

“All I know is that I’m going.” I pushed up from the chair and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor.

“What are you trying to prove to him?” he snapped, taking two quick steps toward me.

“What am I trying to prove?” My voice rose as I stood from the bed, fists clenched at my sides.

He exhaled sharply, then strode across the room and clicked on the noise cancellation. His shoulders were tense, movements stiff with worry.

“Iris,” he uttered quietly, facing me. “The last Forger was killed by his white mate. He loved her so much that he told her his secret, and she told the white wolves. They used it to get to him. That’s why every dark wolf suffers today. And your love for Lucian…” His throat bobbed. “I fear it might be our final doom.”

“Hypocrite,” I scoffed, folding my arms tighter across my chest. “I’m not like you, running after your kind, killing them just to fit into white society. I won’t let any of my kind die. I’m not you.”

“I have never killed my kind. I let them live. And Iris… your power is not strong enough to take down an entire army. Our kind has been hiding for generations. I fear they aren’t strong enough to join the fight.” He ran his fingers over his damp hair, frustration tightening his jaw as he moved a few steps closer. “A witch is coming with us, you know that, right? And she might smell you. I doubt if your white scent can cover you entirely.”

The witch part scared me, but I wasn’t about to back down. I straightened my spine and forced myself to meet his eyes.”

“I want to go,” I shot back, stepping away from him. “And I want to see your faces fall when you realize you’re late.”

“How? What do you mean?” His eyes narrowed, following me as I moved toward the door.

“Just watch and see for yourself tomorrow.” I scoffed and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.