The Ones Who Know
1379 Words
“They will come for you now.”
The voice faded.
But the echo stayed.
Lodged somewhere deep in my chest—tight, cold, impossible to ignore.
I stood frozen, my fingers still wrapped around my wrist as the mark pulsed beneath my skin.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
No one answered.
Not immediately.
Which, at this point, was starting to feel like an answer on its own.
My gaze snapped between them.
Kael—tense, controlled, but no longer untouched.
The wolf—still, sharp, watching me like he was trying to piece something together.
“You both heard that this time, right?” I pressed.
“No,” Kael said.
My stomach dropped.
“Of course you didn’t.”
The wolf stepped closer.
“What exactly did it say?”
I swallowed.
“That I’ve awakened… and that they’re coming for me.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Then—
“They’re already here.”
The voice came from the doorway.
Cold.
Smooth.
Feminine.
I turned.
And for a second—
I forgot how to breathe.
Three figures stood at the entrance.
Women.
But not like any I’d ever seen.
They moved like shadows wrapped in silk, their presence filling the room without effort. Long, dark robes brushed the floor, etched with faint, glowing patterns that seemed to shift when you looked too closely.
Witches.
Not guessed.
Not assumed.
Known.
The air itself reacted to them—tightening, bending, humming with something older than anything I’d felt so far.
Kael stepped forward immediately.
“You weren’t invited.”
The woman in the center smiled faintly.
“We don’t require invitations, Vampire King.”
Her eyes flicked to me.
And everything else—
Faded.
The mark burned.
Not painfully.
But intensely.
Like it recognized her.
Like it knew her.
“There she is,” the woman murmured.
My chest tightened.
“She’s stronger than I expected.”
“I didn’t ask for your assessment,” Kael said sharply.
“No,” the woman agreed. “But you’ll hear it anyway.”
The other two witches spread slightly behind her, forming a quiet triangle.
Not aggressive.
But deliberate.
Claiming space.
Claiming presence.
“What do you want?” the wolf asked.
His voice was low.
Guarded.
The lead witch glanced at him briefly.
Then back to me.
“We want her.”
The words dropped like a blade.
“No,” Kael said instantly.
“She doesn’t belong to you,” the witch replied.
“She doesn’t belong to you either.”
The tension snapped tight again.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
But this—
This felt different.
Older.
More calculated.
“We’re not here to fight,” the witch said calmly.
“That’s good,” Kael replied. “Because you won’t win.”
A soft laugh slipped from her lips.
“You still think this is about power.”
Her gaze locked onto mine again.
“It isn’t.”
My throat went dry.
“Then what is it about?”
She tilted her head slightly.
Studying me.
Not like a threat.
Not like a curiosity.
Like a puzzle she already had most of the pieces for.
“It’s about balance,” she said.
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“You will.”
I almost laughed.
Of course I would.
Eventually.
Always eventually.
“I’m getting really tired of hearing that,” I muttered.
Something flickered in her expression.
Not annoyance.
Interest.
“Good,” she said. “That means you’re ready.”
“For what?”
Her gaze dropped to my wrist.
The mark flared again.
Bright.
Alive.
“For the truth.”
My pulse spiked.
“Then tell me.”
A pause.
She stepped closer.
Kael moved instantly.
Blocking her path.
“That’s far enough.”
She didn’t stop.
Not immediately.
But she didn’t push past him either.
She simply… stood there.
Close enough.
Still watching me.
“You’ve already begun to feel it, haven’t you?” she asked softly.
I hesitated.
Then—
“…yes.”
“Good.”
My jaw tightened.
“Can you stop saying that like everything is fine?”
“It’s not fine,” she said calmly.
“It’s inevitable.”
That didn’t help.
At all.
“What am I?” I asked.
No hesitation this time.
No silence.
No delay.
Her answer came clear.
“You are a convergence.”
The word hung in the air.
Unfamiliar.
Heavy.
Confusing.
“A what?”
“A convergence,” she repeated. “A point where multiple forces meet.”
My chest tightened.
“That doesn’t explain anything.”
“It explains everything.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
“Yes, it does.”
The room went still.
Even Kael didn’t interrupt this time.
Even the wolf stayed silent.
Because whatever she was about to say—
It mattered.
“You are not one thing,” she continued.
My breath slowed.
“You are not bound to a single bloodline.”
The mark pulsed.
Hard.
“You are not meant to exist as you are.”
The words from before echoed.
You’re not supposed to exist.
My stomach twisted.
“Then how do I exist?” I asked quietly.
A pause.
Then—
“You were created.”
The word hit like a shockwave.
“What?”
“Not born,” she clarified. “Not naturally.”
My pulse pounded.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is,” she said simply.
“No,” I shook my head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” she replied. “You’ve spent your entire life believing you were something else.”
My chest tightened.
“So what—this is some kind of experiment?”
Her expression didn’t change.
“Not an experiment.”
“Then what?”
Her gaze darkened slightly.
“A design.”
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
My mind raced.
Nothing made sense.
And yet—
Something inside me reacted.
Not denial.
Not fully.
Something deeper.
Something that felt…
familiar.
“No,” I whispered.
But it didn’t sound convincing.
Not even to me.
“You carry traces of multiple realms,” she continued. “Power that should not coexist in one body.”
My breath caught.
“The bond you feel—both of them—should be impossible.”
I glanced at Kael.
Then at the wolf.
Then back at her.
“And yet…”
She gestured slightly toward me.
“Here you are.”
The truth settled slowly.
Piece by piece.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
“I’m not just connected to them,” I said quietly.
“No,” she agreed.
“You’re connected to everything.”
The room went still again.
But this time—
It wasn’t tension.
It was realization.
My chest tightened.
“That’s why they’re coming for me.”
“Yes.”
“Not just the wolves.”
“No.”
“Not just you.”
“No.”
“All of them.”
Her gaze held mine.
Steady.
Certain.
“All of them.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“And what happens when they do?”
A pause.
Then—
“They won’t ask questions.”
The words landed hard.
Cold.
Final.
“They’ll try to control you,” she added. “Or destroy you.”
My breath hitched.
“And you?” I asked.
Her expression softened.
Just slightly.
“We’ll try to understand you.”
I almost laughed.
“That doesn’t sound much better.”
“It’s the only option that keeps you alive.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
I looked down at my hands.
At the faint glow beneath my skin.
At the mark that had started all of this.
And for the first time—
I didn’t just feel overwhelmed.
I felt something else.
Something sharper.
Stronger.
If I was what they said I was—
If I was something no one understood—
Then maybe…
That meant something else too.
I looked up.
Met her gaze.
“And if I don’t want any of you deciding what I am?”
A slow smile spread across her lips.
Dark.
Knowing.
“Then,” she said quietly—
“You’ll have to become strong enough that none of us can.”
- Writer
