Chapter 28 Ancient Records

Chapter 28 Ancient Records
Clara's POV

"You can't be serious about going down there."
Damon blocks the entrance to the east wing's restricted section. Behind him, a heavy wooden door marked with symbols I don't recognize leads to the pack archives.
"Samuel said something before they took him away. About records from Kael's father's time." I adjust my grip on the flashlight I borrowed. "I need to see what he was talking about."
"Those archives haven't been touched in decades. It's just old pack documents, birth records, territory disputes…"
"And journals from previous Alphas. Including the ones about failed bonding attempts." I meet his eyes. "Samuel's daughter died trying to bond with Kael's father. There might be information down there that could help me understand what went wrong. What I should avoid."
Damon's jaw works. Finally, he steps aside. "Two hours. Then I'm coming down to get you whether you're done or not."
The stairs descend into darkness. My flashlight beam catches dust particles floating in air that hasn't been disturbed in years. The smell of old paper and decay grows stronger with each step.
The archive room is massive, rows of shelves stretching into darkness, filled with boxes, books, and scrolls. Some look centuries old.
I start with the section labeled "Alpha Records - Marcus Arden, 1975-2003." Kael's father.
The first journal I open makes my hands shake. Marcus Arden's handwriting is neat, precise, nothing like Kael's bold strokes.
"Year 12 of my leadership. Elizabeth Thornwood has expressed interest in attempting the bond. Samuel's daughter, intelligent and brave. She knows the risks. I've tried to discourage her, but she insists. Perhaps this time will be different."
I flip forward, looking for more entries about Elizabeth.
"Week 3 with Elizabeth. The bond formed quickly, too quickly. She's already showing signs of instability. Nightmares every night. She says she can feel something eating at her from the inside. Elara claims this is normal, that the curse must be weakened before it can be broken. I'm not so sure."
Further along: "Week 5. Elizabeth attacked one of the younger pack members today. No provocation. She didn't remember doing it afterward. The madness is taking hold faster than with previous attempts. Samuel begs me to end the bond, but Elara insists we're close to a breakthrough."
My blood runs cold at the next entry.
"Week 6. Found Elizabeth's body at the base of western cliff this morning. Samuel is destroyed. He blames me, and he's right to. I pushed too hard, believed too strongly that this time would work. Elara says Elizabeth wasn't strong enough, that we need someone with different qualities. But how many more women must die before I accept that some curses can't be broken?"
I sit back, processing. Elara was involved with Elizabeth's death. Told Marcus to keep going when he wanted to stop.
I keep reading, finding mentions of other attempts I didn't know about. Catherine wasn't Kael's first, she was his third. His father had tried four times before that.
Seven women total. Seven deaths.
Then I find something that stops my heart.
A loose paper falls from between journal pages. It's a letter, sealed with red wax that's been broken. The handwriting is feminine, shaky.
"To the Human Who Survives…
If you're reading this, you've lasted longer than I did. Congratulations. Or condolences. I'm not sure which is appropriate.
My name was Margaret Chen. I bonded with Robert Arden, Kael's grandfather, in 1952. I lasted three months before the curse killed me. But in those three months, I learned things the Ardens don't know about their own curse.
It's not what they think. The curse isn't simply about Arden Alphas never finding love. It's specifically designed to prevent the bloodline from evolving. The original curse-caster, her name was Lydia Thorne, yes, related to your Elder Thorne, didn't just want revenge. She wanted to ensure that Arden wolves stayed bound to old ways, old traditions. She feared what they might become if they successfully bonded with humans and gained new abilities.
The curse kills human mates not because humans are weak, but because the transformation process is being sabotaged. There's a component to the curse that prevents humans from completing the change to wolf. We get stuck halfway, and our bodies tear themselves apart.
But here's what I discovered in my last weeks: the curse has a failsafe. If the transformation happens during a blood moon AND the human enters the ritual with complete understanding of what they're becoming, the sabotage can be bypassed. The key is INFORMED CONSENT. Every woman before was told they were sacrificing themselves to break a curse. None of us understood we were actually supposed to transform and survive.
I'm too weak to attempt the ritual myself. The cancer that started in week eight has spread too far. But maybe you're stronger. Maybe you've lasted long enough to try.
Don't trust the witch. Elara is descended from Lydia Thorne's bloodline. She's been guiding bonding attempts for generations, always ensuring they fail just enough to keep the curse alive but giving enough hope that Ardens keep trying.
The blood moon is your only chance. But you have to go in knowing you're not sacrificing yourself, you're becoming something new. Something that scares the Thorne bloodline so much they've spent generations preventing it.
Good luck. You're going to need it.
Margaret Chen March 15, 1952"
My hands shake so badly I almost drop the letter. Margaret figured it out. Seventy years ago, she understood what was really happening.
And Elara has been sabotaging every attempt since.
I dig through more boxes frantically, looking for anything else about Margaret or the Thorne family. I find a death certificate, Margaret died March 18, 1952, three days after writing that letter.
Then I find a small leather journal hidden behind a box of territory maps. The cover is unmarked, but inside, the handwriting matches Margaret's letter.
"January 1952 - Robert is convinced this bonding will work. He's so hopeful it breaks my heart. But I've been researching the curse independently, and what I've found terrifies me.
The Thorne family has been involved in every bonding attempt for five generations. Always offering help. Always providing guidance through their witch bloodline. And every attempt fails in a similar way, the human begins transforming, then the transformation stalls and reverses, killing them slowly.
It's too consistent to be coincidence."
I flip through pages of Margaret's research. She documented everything, conversations with Elara, ritual preparations, the physical changes she experienced. And her growing suspicion that Elara was lying about the process.
"February 10, 1952 - Elara gave me a 'stabilizing' potion today. Within hours, I felt worse. The transformation that had been progressing smoothly suddenly reversed. My bones ache like they're trying to shift but can't. When I confronted her, she claimed this was normal. But I've been reading the old texts she doesn't know I have access to. This isn't normal. This is sabotage.
The Thorne bloodline is ensuring the curse never breaks because if it does, something they fear will happen. I think it has to do with what a successfully transformed human-wolf hybrid would become. Powers beyond normal wolves. Maybe even the ability to break other curses.
They can't allow that. So they keep the Ardens hoping, suffering, but never succeeding."
The final entry is dated March 14, 1952.
"I'm dying. The 'medicine' Elara has been giving me is poison, slow-acting, masked as treatment. By the time I realized, it was too late. The cancer is her creation, not the curse's.
I've hidden this journal and written a letter for whoever comes next. Robert will grieve, probably try again with another human woman. The cycle will continue. Unless someone finally figures out what the Thornes are doing and stops them.
The blood moon is the key. It has to be done without Elara's involvement, without her potions or guidance. The human must transform naturally, guided only by their bond with the Arden Alpha.
I wish I'd figured this out sooner. I wish I could be the one to break this cycle. But that honor will fall to someone else.
To whoever reads this: Don't let them poison you. Don't trust the witch. And don't go into that ritual thinking you're sacrificing yourself. You're not dying, you're being reborn. Remember that."
I clutch the journal to my chest, mind racing. Everything Elara has told us is a lie. The medicine she's been giving me, it's not slowing the transformation, it's poisoning me just like she poisoned Margaret.
How many women has she killed while pretending to help?
I need to tell Kael. Need to show him this journal, Margaret's letter, all of it.
But as I stand to leave, I hear footsteps on the stairs. Too many footsteps. And they're not Damon's careful tread.
I kill my flashlight and duck behind a shelf, clutching Margaret's journal.
Voices echo in the stairwell.
"...told you, the human is snooping where she shouldn't." That's Helena's voice. "She found the restricted section."
"Then we remove the evidence before she finds something that matters." I don't recognize this second voice… male, older.
"What if she's already found it? The Chen woman's journal could ruin everything."
My heart pounds. They know about Margaret's journal. Which means they know what it says.
"Then we ensure she doesn't leave this room alive. Make it look like an accident. Structurally unsound ceiling, tragic collapse. These old archives are dangerous, after all."
They're going to kill me.
I look around desperately for another exit, but there's only the stairs they're coming down. The room is a dead end.
I'm trapped with evidence that proves the Thorne family has been murdering Arden mates for generations.
And they know I know.