CHAPTER 17 : THE ELDERS WARNING
1398 Words
Liana struggled to breathe as she stepped out of Kael’s office. The words from that hidden file wouldn’t let go—they kept pounding through her head.
The Alpha Destroyer.
Everything around her felt strange and unsteady as she made her way down the hall. The wolves lowered their heads, same as always, but now she saw what hid behind their obedience.
They were afraid.
And for the first time, she understood why.
She pushed through the heavy doors and gulped in the cold air outside. The sky glowed orange over the Silver Crest territory, the sun almost gone, and the trees stretching out long, dark shadows.
But the beauty of it all couldn’t do a thing to calm her. Not tonight.
Kael’s silence said it all.
The prophecy was true. The danger was real. And she was right in the middle of it.
Her wolf felt restless, uneasy.
We need answers.
“Yeah.” The word came out barely louder than a breath.
Kael wouldn’t give her the truth, so she’d have to get it somewhere else.
That left one option—the elders.
Really, it meant one elder: Rowan. If anyone knew everything about the prophecy, it was him.
She wrapped her cloak tighter and headed for the eastern edge of the territory, where the elders’ cabins sat near crumbling temple ruins.
The further she got from the pack’s heart, the quieter things became. Warriors didn’t come out here unless they had to. The air felt heavier among the old stones and winding paths, lanterns barely glowing against the darkness, secrets pressing in from all sides.
By the time she reached Rowan’s door, it was night. Candlelight flickered behind the windows.
She paused, took a shaky breath, then knocked.
Silence.
Then Rowan’s tired voice: “Enter.”
She slipped inside. The cabin smelled of herbs and old parchment. Shelves hugged every wall, stacked with books, scrolls, odd bits of bone and silver. Rowan sat near the fire, draped in gray robes, his hair catching the firelight.
He looked up—and his face hardened.
Not surprise. Fear.
There it was again. Everyone looked at her that way now.
“Liana,” he said, voice low, “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I need answers.”
His expression tightened.
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t be here.”
She stepped in, closing the door. “I found the file in Kael’s office.”
That got his full attention.
“What file?”
“The prophecy records.”
The words seemed to pull all the air out of the little cabin. For a second, Liana saw panic in his eyes.
“He kept notes about me,” she said quietly, “about the Alpha Bloodline.”
Rowan shut his eyes, just for a moment, steeling himself.
“You read them.”
She nodded.
He looked so much older all of a sudden, tired and beat down.
“What is the Alpha Destroyer?”
The fire popped softly while he sat there, silent.
Finally: “A curse.”
She frowned, not sure what he meant.
“A curse born from fear.”
Liana’s confusion only grew.
“I don’t understand.”
He sighed. “No, you don’t.”
He stood slowly, bracing himself against the table, and walked over to one of his shelves. The simple act seemed to wear him out.
“The Alpha Bloodline existed before the packs ruled the continent,” he began, voice soft. “They weren’t ordinary wolves.”
He brought back a faded scroll, untied the silver thread, and rolled it open between them.
“They were stronger than Alphas.”
Liana’s pulse sped up. “Impossible.”
“The Alphas thought so too,” Rowan said.
He turned the scroll to face her—symbols she couldn’t read, but in the middle, a drawing: a woman, wolves kneeling around her.
Liana’s wrist burned under her sleeve. Rowan saw it right away, and his face went even paler.
“That mark—” His voice shook.
She pushed up her sleeve. The mark glowed, silver in the firelight. Rowan took a step back, visibly shaken.
Liana’s stomach dropped.
“What does it mean?”
He looked at her, grief in his voice.
“The Queen has returned.”
Her heart pounded in her chest.
“No.”
“Yes,” Rowan said. He almost looked sorry for her. “The prophecy speaks of one woman from the ancient bloodline. Powerful enough to end Alpha rule forever.”
She felt cold all over.
Break Alpha rule?
“What does that even mean?”
Rowan’s eyes went to the fire. “Alphas have ruled through force for centuries. But the Alpha Bloodline...”
He swallowed.
“They stood above them.”
Her breath grew short.
“You’re saying they controlled Alphas?”
“Not controlled,” he corrected, “overpowered.”
She wanted to back away, wanted to be anywhere else.
“That can’t be possible.”
His look was sharp now. “You woke your wolf years before you should have. You grow stronger every day. Alphas react to you—even Kael can’t fight the need to protect you.”
Liana stilled. She remembered Kael’s wolf, that possessive snarl—Mine.
Rowan saw it on her face.
“He claimed you.”
She didn’t answer, but he understood.
He swore quietly.
“That shouldn’t have happened so soon.”
Fear twisted inside her.
“What’s happening to me?”
Rowan’s hands shook. “The prophecy didn’t just describe the Queen as powerful,” he whispered. “It called her inevitable.”
Lightning flashed outside. Thunder followed a second later, rattling the little room.
Liana tried to steady herself. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
Rowan’s expression nearly broke her.
“Every Queen before you did.”
That silence was heavy. Crushing.
She shook her head. “No.”
“The last Queen almost destroyed everything during the Blood Wars,” Rowan said. His eyes held so much sadness. “Whole packs gone. Thousands dead.”
Liana’s chest ached. “That’s not me.”
“We hope not.”
The words landed like a blow. She looked at her glowing wrist—the mark, brighter now, as if it could hear.
“Why did no one tell me?”
“Because secrets spread,” Rowan said, suddenly urgent. “And as soon as the other Alpha packs know who you are…”
His fear was real now. “They’ll come for you.”
She already knew that much. The attacks—proof enough.
But Rowan looked like there was even worse ahead.
“Kael knows all of this?”
“Yes.”
“And he still rejected me?”
Raw pain crossed Rowan’s face. “That rejection might be the only reason you’re alive.”
Silence again. She looked away, the hurt sharper than she wanted to admit.
Rowan closed the scroll, then suddenly grabbed her wrist. His eyes, wild with panic.
“You need to listen,” he said.
Something in his voice terrified her.
“The prophecy is waking up faster than we expected.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the balance is already shifting,” he said. His grip tightened. “Soon, when your power’s fully awake, every Alpha will have two options.”
She swallowed.
“What options?”
Rowan went pale.
“Kneel…or kill you first.”
A cold shiver ran through her. Rowan let go of her wrist.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“You have to leave Silver Crest.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Tonight, if you can.”
Shock crashed through her.
“I can’t just leave.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No—”
“You don’t understand!” Rowan’s voice rose, fear crackling in the air.
“If the others find out the Queen awakened here—in Kael’s territory—”
He cut himself off, but it was too late. Liana put it together.
“They already know,” she whispered.
His silence was all the confirmation she needed.
He stepped closer, more desperate than before.
“Run, Liana. Before the Alphas come.”
Somewhere beyond the cabin, out in the woods, a wolf howled. It sounded like a warning. And somehow, she knew it was meant for her.
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