Chapter 91 her past
The night air hit me like a shock of ice as we crashed through the window and landed in a crouch on the damp earth below. My wolf burned under my skin, demanding I shift, demanding I fight, but there was no time.
Lena tugged my arm. “This way!” she whispered urgently.
The scent of foreign wolves thickened, their presence pressing down on me like a vice. We weren’t just being watched—we were surrounded.
A low growl echoed from the treeline, followed by another. Shadows moved between the trees, silent, predatory. I could feel their power, different from any pack wolf I’d ever encountered. These weren’t ordinary werewolves.
“They’re not just Elders,” I murmured. “They brought Enforcers.”
Lena’s grip on my wrist tightened. “Then we can’t let them catch us.”
We bolted.
The moment our feet hit the forest floor, the hunt began.
A deafening howl split the night, the sound of it vibrating in my bones. Then came the thundering of paws against the earth. The Enforcers had shifted, closing in with impossible speed.
Lena suddenly veered left, and I followed without thinking. The trees blurred past us as we ran, the scent of damp leaves and overturned earth flooding my senses.
A snarl erupted behind us. Too close.
I whipped around just in time to see a massive black wolf lunging straight for Lena.
My instincts took over.
I pivoted mid-step, my claws extending as I met the wolf head-on. We collided in a violent clash of teeth and claws, rolling across the dirt. Pain flared through my shoulder as fangs sank into my flesh, but I didn’t stop. I slammed my knee into the wolf’s ribs and wrenched free, sending him sprawling.
“Elias, come on!” Lena shouted.
I barely had time to get my feet under me before we were running again. Blood dripped down my arm, but I ignored it.
Ahead, the forest sloped downward. A river.
Lena skidded to a stop at the edge of the bank. “Jump!”
Before I could argue, she leaped.
I didn’t hesitate. The moment my feet left the ground, another wolf burst from the trees behind me, snapping at my heels. But it was too late.
The freezing water swallowed me whole.
I surfaced with a gasp, the current dragging me forward. Lena swam ahead of me, eyes wide with urgency. “Let it take us downstream!”
I kicked hard, letting the river pull me, the sounds of growls and snapping jaws fading behind us.
For now, we had escaped.
But the Elders weren’t done hunting us.
And something told me this was only the beginning.
The current was relentless, pulling us farther from the battle we had barely escaped. My lungs burned as I fought to keep my head above the icy water, my limbs screaming in protest. Lena swam ahead with practiced ease, her expression tense but determined.
We couldn’t stop. Not yet.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours before the river finally began to slow. The trees along the bank thickened, shrouding us in darkness. I spotted a fallen tree extending over the water and angled toward it, catching a low-hanging branch to drag myself onto the shore. My muscles trembled as I hauled myself up, collapsing onto my back, my chest heaving.
Lena climbed out beside me, just as breathless. Water dripped from her clothes, silver strands of her hair plastered to her face. She didn’t speak for a long moment, just stared back at the way we had come, her eyes scanning the trees.
“They’ll follow us,” I rasped.
She nodded. “They always do.”
I clenched my jaw, rolling onto my knees. My shoulder throbbed where the Enforcer had bitten me, but the wound was already closing. Still, it didn’t stop the frustration boiling inside me.
I wasn’t supposed to be running.
I was an Alpha heir. My entire life had been built on strength, on standing my ground no matter the cost. And yet, here I was—fleeing like a rogue. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Lena must have sensed my thoughts because she exhaled softly. “I know this isn’t easy for you.”
I turned to face her, my blood still running hot. “This isn’t just about being easy, Lena. They came for us. For me. They won’t stop until they have what they want.”
Her gaze hardened. “Then we make sure they never get it.”
I let out a sharp breath, raking a hand through my soaked hair. “And how do we do that? You said it yourself—Eclipse-born wolves are rare. If the Elders have been hunting them down for years, then what makes us any different?”
She hesitated, shifting on her feet. “Because we’re stronger.”
I frowned. “Stronger how?”
Instead of answering, she reached out and pressed her palm against my chest.
A pulse of heat surged through me.
It wasn’t painful—not exactly. It was more like fire spreading through my veins, igniting something deep inside me that had been dormant for too long. My wolf roared in my head, not in warning this time, but in recognition.
The same power I had felt in my vision.
The same power that had nearly consumed me.
Lena’s eyes burned silver as she pulled her hand away. “You feel it, don’t you? Your power is waking up, Elias. The visions, the fire—it’s not just happening. It’s because you’re ready.”
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs.
If she was right, if this power inside me was truly mine to wield… then maybe running wasn’t our only option.
Maybe we could fight back.
Lena watched me carefully, waiting for my response.
I exhaled slowly. “Then teach me.”
Lena’s expression didn’t change, but I caught the flicker of something in her silver-lit gaze—relief. Like she had been waiting for me to say those words.
She stepped back, tilting her head toward the thick forest beyond the riverbank. “Not here. We need to keep moving.”
I glanced at the trees, my senses stretching out. The wind carried no immediate threats, but that wouldn’t last. The Enforcers were relentless. If we stayed in one place too long, they would find us.
Nodding, I pushed to my feet, ignoring the soreness in my muscles. Lena took the lead, weaving through the underbrush with practiced ease. I followed, my wolf still uneasy, still restless. The power inside me hadn’t faded since she touched me. It simmered beneath my skin, coiled tight, waiting.
After what felt like an hour of trekking through the dense woods, Lena finally slowed near a rocky outcrop. A narrow cave mouth was hidden between jagged stones, just large enough for us to slip inside.
“This will work,” she murmured, stepping in first. I followed, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. The cave wasn’t deep, but it was enough to shield us for the night.
Lena turned to me. “Before we start, you need to understand something.”
I crossed my arms, waiting.
“Your power isn’t something you can control through sheer will alone,” she said. “It’s tied to your emotions, your instincts. The more you resist it, the more unstable it becomes.”
A muscle ticked in my jaw. “So, what? I just let it take over?”
“No.” She stepped closer. “You learn to wield it, to shape it. But first, you have to face what’s inside you.”
Something in her tone made my wolf stir. “What does that mean?”
She hesitated. Then, before I could react, she lifted her hand and pressed her fingers against my forehead.
A rush of heat exploded through my body.
The cave vanished.
I was falling.
Then—
Fire.
It roared around me, scorching everything in its path. Shadows twisted within the flames, faceless figures reaching for me, whispering in a language I didn’t understand.
What is this?
The heat burned, but it didn’t consume me. Instead, it sank into my skin, into my bones, like it belonged to me.
A voice echoed through the fire.
"Elias."
I turned sharply, my pulse hammering. The flames shifted, parting just enough to reveal a figure standing in the distance.
Tall. Cloaked in darkness.
But his eyes—his eyes burned with the same silver light I had seen in Lena’s.
He stepped forward.
"You are not ready."
The fire surged, swallowing me whole.
And then—
I gasped, snapping back to reality.
The cave.
Lena stood before me, her expression unreadable.
I staggered, gripping the wall for balance. My body still burned with the remnants of that vision, my skin tingling like embers still clung to me.
“What the hell was that?” I rasped.
Lena exhaled, her gaze dark. “Your past.”
My stomach twisted. “That was not my past.”
“No,” she admitted. “But it’s the part of you that’s been buried. The part that’s waking up.”
I clenched my fists, trying to steady myself. “The man in the fire. Who was he?”
Lena hesitated, then spoke the words that sent a chill through my blood.
“The first Eclipse-born.”