Chapter 33
1140 Words
Welcome Home
Hailey
"Welcome home, Silvermoon."
The words settle over the courtyard like a spell.
For a moment, nobody moves.
Nobody speaks.
Even the rain seems quieter somehow, falling in soft sheets across the ancient stone while Alpha Theron's gaze remains fixed steadily on mine.
Home.
The word shouldn't affect me.
It shouldn't mean anything.
Not after Ironclaw.
Not after standing in the middle of a pack I had spent my entire life trying to belong to only to discover how easily they could turn against me.
And yet
it hurts.
Because some stubborn, foolish part of me still wants a home.
Still wants somewhere to belong.
The realization tightens painfully around my heart.
Alpha Theron studies me for several long moments, as though he can see every thought moving behind my eyes.
Then his expression softens.
Not with pity.
With understanding.
"You look exactly like her."
My breath catches.
My mother.
He means my mother.
Before I can speak, before I can ask the thousand questions suddenly fighting for space inside my head, Alpha Theron steps forward and gestures toward the fortress behind him.
"Come inside."
The request is simple.
The reaction is not.
The bond immediately tightens around me.
Protective.
Alert.
All four brothers move closer without realizing they are doing it.
Lila rolls her eyes dramatically.
"Oh, for Moon's sake."
"What?" Zane asks.
"You all do that thing."
"We don't do a thing."
"You absolutely do."
She points directly at me.
"The human shield formation."
To my horror, she is right.
Kael stands slightly ahead of me.
Rider remains close enough that our shoulders nearly touch.
Asher positions himself at my other side.
And Zane has somehow ended up directly behind me.
The realization makes heat creep into my cheeks.
Lila looks delighted.
The brothers look completely unapologetic.
Traitors, all four of them.
Absolute traitors.
Alpha Theron
The moment Hailey steps through the entrance of the fortress, the old magic awakens.
Most wolves don't notice.
They wouldn't.
The power woven into these walls is ancient, subtle, older than modern packs and older than most of the histories still remembered.
But I feel it.
And so does she.
Her steps slow.
Her eyes widen slightly.
Good.
The fortress recognizes her.
For centuries this place has waited.
Guarded.
Protected.
Prepared.
And now, at last, the final heir has returned.
Hailey
The interior of the fortress steals the breath from my lungs.
I had been inside before.
Dozens of times.
Yet somehow it feels like I am seeing it for the very first time.
Massive stone columns rise toward vaulted ceilings covered in carvings I never noticed before. Silver lanterns illuminate ancient murals stretching across entire walls, depicting wolves standing beneath moons, kingdoms rising and falling, battles, prophecies, and symbols I now recognize instantly.
The ancient clans.
Everywhere I look, pieces of history surround me.
Not hidden.
Waiting.
Waiting for someone capable of understanding them.
My footsteps slow as we enter the central hall.
A mural dominates the far wall.
Four wolves stand around a fifth figure.
A white wolf.
My pulse stumbles.
Selene goes completely still inside me.
The white wolf is enormous, her fur glowing beneath a silver moon while the four wolves surrounding her bow their heads.
Recognition crashes through me.
I've seen this before.
In the visions.
In the ruins.
In Selene's memories.
"This place was Silvermoon," I whisper.
The entire room falls silent.
Alpha Theron looks at me carefully.
"Part of it."
I turn toward him.
"What does that mean?"
The Alpha folds his hands behind his back.
"Before the Great Sundering fractured the kingdoms, this valley served as one of the southern strongholds loyal to the Silvermoon bloodline."
A chill races down my spine.
"The fortress existed before Bloodmoon?"
"Long before."
I stare around the hall again.
Everything looks different now.
Every carving.
Every symbol.
Every stone.
I had spent years walking through a piece of my own history without ever realizing it.
Kael
Fenrir watches her carefully.
Not because she is in danger.
Because she is overwhelmed.
The fortress is responding to her.
The old magic buried beneath the mountain has remained dormant for generations.
Now it stirs every time she walks past.
The walls know her.
The mountain knows her.
And deep down, I think she knows it too.
Her gaze moves slowly across the murals, lingering on details she could never have understood before Selene awakened.
She belongs here.
The realization settles heavily inside me.
Not because of the prophecy.
Not because of destiny.
Because this place feels less lonely with her standing inside it.
Hailey
My attention catches on another mural.
This one is different.
Smaller.
More personal.
Five figures stand together beneath a full moon.
Four warriors.
One woman.
My stomach tightens.
The resemblance is impossible to miss.
The warriors bear the symbols of the four clans.
And the woman standing among them wears a silver crown.
"The guardians."
The words leave my mouth before I realize I am speaking.
Alpha Theron nods.
"The first guardians."
I stare at the image.
At the way the four men stand around her.
Protecting her.
Watching her.
Loving her.
The similarities are impossible to ignore.
Slowly, I turn toward the brothers.
They know it too.
The silence confirms it.
"You knew," I say softly.
Not accusing.
Just... understanding.
Kael answers first.
"We were taught the stories growing up."
My pulse quickens.
"All of them?"
"Most of them."
A humorless laugh escapes me.
"Apparently everyone knows more about my life than I do."
Regret flashes briefly across their faces.
Not guilt.
Regret.
Asher steps forward slightly.
"We knew the prophecy spoke about the return of the Silvermoon heir."
I cross my arms.
"And none of you thought that might be important information to share?"
"It sounded insane," Zane says.
"Fair."
"It still sounds insane."
Also fair.
Despite myself, the corner of my mouth twitches.
The bond immediately lights up with relief.
Gods.
These men are impossible.
Alpha Theron
There it is.
The smile.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
The brothers react to it instantly.
Interesting.
The bond is growing faster than expected.
Much faster.
Which means time is running shorter than I hoped.
The Veil will already know she has awakened.
And once the witches begin moving openly
everything changes.
My expression darkens slightly.
Unfortunately, Hailey notices.
Sharp girl.
"What is it?"
The room stills.
I look at her for several moments before answering.
Because once this truth is spoken aloud, there is no taking it back.
"The witches are not searching for you anymore."
The warmth in the room disappears instantly.
Every instinct inside me sharpens.
"What do you mean?"
Alpha Theron's silver eyes hold mine steadily.
"They found you."
Silence crashes through the hall.
Cold.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then he speaks the words that make my blood run cold.
"And now they're coming."
- Writer
