Chapter 16 The Pulse That Couldn’t Be Denied
Evra's POV
I woke up with an uneasy feeling in my chest.
Not pain. Not soreness.
More like… something was moving slowly inside my body, following a certain rhythm. Too steady to be a coincidence.
I sat up on the edge of the bed, my feet touching the cold stone floor. Mornings were usually the calmest time. My blood rarely reacted before I was fully awake. But today was different.
There was a pulse.
Not a surge of heat like before. Not the burning sensation that made me want to scream or push everyone away. This pulse was quiet. Consistent. As if something was knocking from inside my ribcage, asking for attention.
I pressed my palm to my chest.
The pulse didn’t stop.
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. My body felt alert. As if every inch of my skin was listening to something I couldn’t fully hear.
Footsteps sounded outside the room.
I knew it was Magnus even before the door opened.
Not because of his aura—but because there was no pressure at all.
That was strange.
Usually, his presence was impossible to miss. The air shifted. The room seemed to shrink by a few inches, forcing me to be aware of who was approaching. But this time, there was nothing. No dominance. No push that made my blood react defensively.
The door opened.
Magnus stepped inside without his Alpha coat. Without weapons. Even without the hard expression he usually wore.
He closed the door behind him.
“You’re awake,” he said.
I nodded, still focused on the strange sensation inside my body.
He took two steps closer, then stopped. The distance between us was close enough for conversation, but far enough not to trigger anything. And that was strange too—because normally, this distance would make my blood react.
Now it didn’t.
The pulse in my chest actually… adjusted.
I tensed.
Magnus watched me with a gaze far too sharp for someone pretending to be relaxed. His eyes missed nothing, not even the smallest change in my breathing.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
What was I supposed to say?
That my body felt different? That something was moving gently inside my blood without pain? That his presence didn’t trigger resistance, but instead felt… synchronized?
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
That answer was honest.
Magnus didn’t push. He simply nodded once, then—without warning—took one step closer.
My instincts went on alert. My body froze, waiting.
Nothing happened.
No attack. No rejection.
Instead, there was a strange sensation, like… something inside me was watching Magnus. Not with anger. Not with fear.
With judgment.
I felt the pulse shift slightly. Not faster. Not stronger. Just… aligned.
I swallowed.
Magnus stopped again, closer this time. I could smell him—wet forest, metal, and something I couldn’t explain. Usually, that scent alone was enough to make my blood restless.
Now it wasn’t.
Again and again, today kept being strange.
“You feel it,” Magnus said quietly. Not a question.
I looked at him. “Feel what?”
He didn’t answer right away. His gaze dropped briefly to my chest—not inappropriately, but like someone trying to read something invisible.
“You’re not reacting,” he said finally. “You usually pull away.”
“I don’t know why,” I said quickly. “I’m not doing anything.”
And that was true. I wasn’t trying to control anything. I didn’t even know what there was to control.
Magnus let out a slow breath. He lifted his hand, stopping just inches from my arm. Not touching. Just close enough to test something.
The pulse stayed steady.
I didn’t step back.
That was my first mistake.
As the space between us narrowed even more, something in my head felt like it… opened.
Not dizziness. Not pain. Just the sensation of falling without moving.
The room around me faded too fast. And I saw something.
Shattered ground. A gray sky. The smell of blood so real it almost made me sick. I was standing somewhere that wasn’t this room. Not the castle. Not anywhere I knew.
And Magnus was there.
Alone.
His clothes were torn. Dried blood marked his skin. In his hand, he held something darkly gleaming—like a crown I had never seen before, yet somehow knew was wrong.
No pack surrounded him.
No enemies remained.
Just him.
And his gaze was empty.
I jolted back, my breath breaking.
The room snapped back into place around me. My legs weakened, and I had to grab the back of a chair to keep from falling.
Magnus moved instantly. Too fast.
“Evra.” His hand nearly touched my shoulder, then stopped in midair, like he remembered something at the last second. “What happened?”
I was gasping, my heart racing out of control.
“I—I don’t know,” I said, and for the first time, my voice truly shook. “It was… it was like—”
I stopped.
How could I explain something I didn’t understand myself?
“What did I just see?” I whispered, more to myself than to him.
Magnus studied my face. His jaw tightened slightly—not in anger, but focus.
“You saw something that wasn’t here?” he guessed.
I nodded.
“What was it?” he asked.
I shook my head hard. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before. This has never happened.”
That was true too.
I had never seen anything that clearly. Not a dream. Not a fragment. Not blurry. Not broken.
Complete.
Magnus stepped back once. He crossed his arms over his chest, his expression closed, but I could feel his mind working.
“It happened when I got closer,” he said quietly. Not to me. To himself.
I lifted my head. “Did you… did you do something?”
He looked at me immediately. “No.”
The answer was fast. Firm. And somehow, I believed him.
“Then this really is coming from my body,” I murmured.
Or more precisely—something inside me.
The pulse was still there. Steady. As if it didn’t care that I had just panicked.
Magnus looked at me for a long moment. Then he said, “I won’t come any closer today.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You’re not ready for the changes that are happening slowly,” he continued. “And I don’t understand what’s going on. That means I shouldn’t force it.”
That… wasn’t the answer I expected.
I watched him closely, searching for manipulation or hidden intent. But all I saw was restraint held under tight control.
“I want to know,” he said, meeting my eyes directly. “But not while you’re afraid.”
I swallowed.
“If it happens again,” he continued, “you need to tell me. Whatever you see. Whatever changes. No matter how small.”
I hesitated. Then finally nodded.
Magnus turned toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle.
“Evra.”
“Yes?”
“Whatever it is,” he said without looking back, “I’m sure it’s not a coincidence.”
The door closed behind him.
I stood alone in the room, which suddenly felt too large.
The pulse inside my body slowly softened, but didn’t disappear completely. Like a second heart that had just learned how to beat.
And for the first time since I was dragged into this world, my fear was no longer about what Magnus might do to me.
It was about what I had just seen.
Because whatever that was… I knew one thing.
It had never happened before.
And that meant… something inside me was changing.