Chapter 26 Chapter 26

Chapter 26 Chapter 26
My grandmother sank to her knees, tears streaming down her weathered face. "Forgive us," she murmured. "We did not know."
The power surged through me again, and I felt my lips moving without my conscious control. "You hid her heritage from her. You allowed her to believe she was nothing when she carries the oldest magic in her veins." The voice softened slightly, though no less commanding. "But I have watched over her. I have waited for her wolf to awaken, for her power to emerge."
Kyle moved toward me, his expression a mixture of awe and concern. I could feel his emotions through our bond, fear for me, not of me, and a fierce protective instinct that made my heart ache.
"Is she... are you hurting her?" he asked, addressing the entity that had taken control of my voice.
A gentle laugh escaped my lips, though I hadn't willed it. "No, young wolf. I am strengthening her. Preparing her for what must come."
Alpha Williams stepped forward, his head bowed in a gesture of respect I'd never seen him offer anyone. "Great Goddess, we meant no disrespect to your chosen. We did not know..."
"You knew she was of Alpha blood," the voice interrupted. "Yet you allowed her to be treated as less. You let your own sons cause her pain that nearly broke her spirit."
I felt a surge of vindication at these words, though it was quickly followed by confusion. The Goddess herself was defending me? Claiming me as her chosen? It was too much to process.
"The triple bond was my doing," the voice continued, and I felt the Williams brothers' shock pulse through our connection. "These four souls are bound by more than mere chance or compatibility. They are the guardians I have selected to stand against what is coming."
"The Silverclaw pack," Caspian said, understanding dawning in his eyes.
"They are but servants of a greater darkness," my voice replied. "Xavier Silverclaw seeks power he cannot possibly control, magic that was never meant for his kind. His bloodline was corrupted long ago, twisted by forbidden rituals and dark pacts."
As the Goddess spoke through me, I felt memories that weren't mine flooding my consciousness, ancient knowledge of blood magic, of pacts made with entities that existed in the shadows between worlds, of a war that had raged among the first werewolves thousands of years ago.
"The Lancaster bloodline has always stood against this darkness," my voice continued. "Generation after generation, serving as my sword and shield in the mortal realm. Imogen is the last of her line, and in her, the magic runs strongest of all."
I felt the entity's focus shift, turning inward to address me directly within my own mind.
You have suffered greatly, child. You have felt alone, unwanted, broken. But you were never any of those things. The pain you endured was forging you, tempering your spirit like steel in fire.
Tears spilled down my cheeks, though I couldn't tell if they were mine or the Goddess's. The compassion in that inner voice was overwhelming, washing away years of doubt and self-loathing in an instant.
Your wolf waited until you were strong enough to bear the burden of your heritage. The time has come for you to reclaim what was always yours.
The golden light intensified, and I felt something unlocking deep inside me, knowledge, power, memories that seemed to come from countless generations before me. My head throbbed with the sudden influx of information.
The triple bond is rare for a reason. It requires exceptional souls, both the one who bears it and the three who share it. These boys have much to atone for, but their hearts are true. They will stand with you against what comes.
The room had gone completely silent, everyone watching with expressions ranging from fear to awe as I communed with the entity possessing me. I could feel the Williams brothers through our bond, their emotions a tangled mess of confusion, protectiveness, and something deeper that I wasn't ready to name.
When I leave you, the exhaustion will be great. Rest. Recover. The knowledge you need will come to you in dreams. And remember, child, you were never alone. I have been with you always.
The golden light began to fade, retreating back into my body like water flowing into parched earth. I felt the Goddess's presence withdrawing, leaving me hollow and impossibly tired. My knees buckled, and I would have collapsed if Kyle hadn't lunged forward to catch me.
"Imogen?" His voice seemed to come from very far away, though his face was inches from mine. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"
I tried to respond, but my tongue felt too heavy to form words. The room swam around me, faces blurring into indistinct shapes as exhaustion claimed me. The last thing I saw before darkness took me was Kyle's amber eyes, wide with concern and something that looked remarkably like love.
When I woke, I was lying in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by the scent of cedar and something distinctly masculine. My head felt like it had been split open with an axe, and every muscle in my body ached as if I'd run a marathon. Sunlight streamed through tall windows, telling me I'd been unconscious for hours.
I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it as the room spun violently around me. A gentle hand pressed against my shoulder, easing me back down onto the pillows.
"Easy," Kyle's voice murmured beside me. "The Goddess warned us you'd be weak when you woke up."