Chapter 37 Chapter 37

Chapter 37 Chapter 37

Caspian shook his head. "None of us did. Dad might have suspected something, but he never shared it with us."

"My grandmother kept it from me for six years." The betrayal still stung, sharp and fresh. "Six years of secrets. Six years of pretending we were just ordinary pack members."

"She was trying to protect you," Caspian said, though there was no judgment in his voice. "From what we've learned about Silverclaw, she had good reason to be afraid."

I hugged my knees tighter. "What have you learned?"

Caspian hesitated, and I could feel his internal debate through our bond, whether to burden me with more darkness or shield me from it.

"Don't," I warned. "Don't try to protect me from the truth. I'm tired of being kept in the dark."

He nodded, accepting my decision. "Silverclaw's pack isn't like others. They practice blood magic, rituals forbidden by the Council of Alphas for centuries. Xavier has somehow managed to bind multiple Alphas to his will, which should be impossible."

"The Goddess said his bloodline was corrupted," I remembered. "That they serve some greater darkness."

"There are stories," Caspian said carefully, "ancient ones, about werewolves who made pacts with entities from beyond our world. Beings that offered power in exchange for blood sacrifices."

A chill ran down my spine. "And you think Silverclaw made one of these pacts?"

"It would explain how he controls other Alphas. How did he know exactly where to find you?" Caspian's voice grew quieter. "How he could speak directly into your mind."

The memory of Xavier's voice invading my thoughts made me shudder. "He called me his 'promised mate.' Said the contract was written in blood."

"Blood contracts are binding," Caspian confirmed, his expression grim. "But you broke it. With magic that shouldn't exist anymore."

"Whatever I did back there at the school," I said, running a hand through my hair, "it wasn't conscious. It was like...something took over. Like my body remembered what to do even though my mind had no idea."

Caspian nodded thoughtfully. "The Goddess said the knowledge would come to you in dreams. That the magic runs strongest in your bloodline."

I stared up at the moon, its silvery light bathing the garden in an ethereal glow. "I'm afraid to sleep," I admitted quietly. "Afraid of what I might learn. What if I'm not strong enough for whatever she's chosen me to do?"

"You are," Caspian said with such certainty that I turned to look at him. His amber eyes held mine steadily. "I've watched you survive six years of isolation and cruelty with your spirit intact. You're stronger than any of us."

The simple faith in his voice made my chest tighten. Of all the Williams brothers, Caspian had always been the most distant, the most difficult to read. His cruelty had been different from his brothers', not the active torment Kyle had inflicted or the cutting remarks Asher specialised in, but a cold dismissal that had somehow hurt just as deeply.

“I am starting to think that’s why my pack would shift for the first time alone. To be alone with the Goddess and the last heir broke that I wonder if that was meant to be a test of faith.”

Caspian's eyes widened slightly at my words. "A test of faith," he repeated thoughtfully. "That makes sense. The Lancaster pack has always been closely tied to the Goddess, from what I've been researching."

I rubbed my arms, suddenly cold despite the mild night air. "And I failed the test. I wasn't alone when I shifted."

"Or maybe the test wasn't what you think," Caspian suggested, his voice gentler than I'd ever heard it. "Maybe the test was whether you could accept the bond, accept your heritage, even when it came in a form you weren't expecting."

I considered his words as the moonlight filtered through the branches above us, casting dappled shadows across the garden path. "I wish my parents were here to explain all this. Or that my grandmother had told me sooner."

"She was trying to protect you," Caspian said, though there was no judgment in his voice. "From what I've learned about Xavier Silverclaw, he's been hunting Lancaster wolves for generations."

"Why? What could he possibly want with me besides some twisted notion of ownership?"

Caspian was quiet for a long moment, and I could feel him weighing his words carefully through our bond. "Power," he finally said. "The Lancaster bloodline carries magic that most werewolves have forgotten exists. If he could harness that through a mating bond..."

The thought made me feel ill. "He'd have access to whatever power I have."

"Yes. And from what our father's contacts have discovered, Silverclaw has been absorbing the powers of other Alphas for years. Building his strength."

I shuddered, remembering Xavier's cold eyes. "He's coming back, isn't he?"

"Yes," Caspian said simply. "But we'll be ready."

The "we" settled something inside me, despite all my reservations about the Williams brothers. Whatever was coming, I wouldn't face it alone this time.

We sat in companionable silence for several minutes, both lost in our own thoughts. Unlike his brothers, Caspian didn't try to fill the quiet with apologies or declarations. His presence was steady, calming in a way I hadn't expected.

"I'm meeting Marcus tomorrow," I said suddenly, not sure why I felt compelled to tell him. "For coffee."

I felt a flicker of something through our bond, not jealousy exactly, but a sharp attention. "Chen's a good guy," Caspian said after a moment. "He stood up for you at the meeting today."

"So I heard." I plucked a fallen leaf from the bench beside me, turning it over in my fingers. "I need a friend right now. Someone who doesn't look at me and see a mate or an Alpha heir or the Goddess's chosen."

"Someone who just sees Imogen," Caspian finished for me.

"Exactly." I glanced at him, surprised by his understanding.

Caspian nodded slowly. "That's important. Having someone who knew you before all this happened."