Chapter 2 | Luca
3791 Words
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Not the dramatic kind, the real kind.”
Three Days Out — On the Road Westbound, Near Duskryn Territory
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Not the dramatic kind, the real kind.” This time I said it out loud.
Cole didn’t react.
Alphi shifted in the back seat. “You’ve said that three times already.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, staring out at the road stretching endlessly ahead. “That’s because it’s still true.”
We had switched drivers an hour ago. Cole now in the passenger seat. Me behind the wheel. Alphi sat in the back, still and quiet. Watching.
The landscape had changed hours ago. The further west we drove, the more the world seemed to thin out. Trees grew darker and denser. The air felt heavier. Like something pressing against your lungs without realising.
Duskryn territory. Not marked, nor announced. But you could definitely feel it.
Alphi leaned forward slightly. “You’re still not telling me what this really is.”
I exhaled slowly. “We are telling you.”
“No,” he said. “You’re not.”
Silence. Cole shifted beside me. This was the moment. The one we had been avoiding.
“Alright,” Cole said finally.
My grip on the wheel tightened slightly.
“You want the truth?” Cole almost dared him.
Alphi didn’t hesitate. “Yes!”
I glanced at Cole. He gave the smallest nod. Permission. Fine.
“You’re not on a mission,” I said.
Alphi went still. “What?”
“We lied,” I added, keeping my voice steady. “There is no mission. If there were a mission, you would be it.”
Silence filled the car. Heavy.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
Cole leaned forward slightly. “We’re taking you home.”
A pause.
“That’s not funny.”
“We’re not joking.”
That landed harder. Alphi frowned.
Alphi gestured with his thumb towards the back window. “I was home.”
“No,” Cole said quietly. “You were not.”
“You already know you were adopted,” I steered the conversation back to the topic. “Josie and Alaric, they’re not your real parents.” My voice calmer now.
Alphi didn’t respond. Though he didn’t deny it either.
“I know that,” he mumbled, his gaze fixed on the floor, a knot tightening in his throat. “They told me.”
That made this easier and harder.
“What they didn’t tell you,” Cole said, “is who you are.”
Alphi frowned. The car felt smaller suddenly. Tighter.
“What does that even mean?” Alphi asked. “And you think you do?”
We didn’t explain right away. Because there was no easy way to say it.
“We don’t think,” I replied. “We know.”
Complete silence.
“You were taken,” Cole finally explained. “Fifteen years ago, from your pack.”
Alphi shook his head slightly. “No.”
“You had another name before this one.”
Another pause.
“He still does,” I muttered.
Cole ignored me.
“You’re not Alphi Varell,” Cole declared. The words felt wrong even as he said them. “You’re Benji Eldernoor.”
The name hung in the air. Unfamiliar. Foreign. Wrong. Yet right.
Benji shook his head immediately. “No, that’s not my name.”
“It was,” Cole said. “Before they took you.”
“They?” Benji questioned, sharper now. “No, it’s not.”
“It is.”
“That’s not possible.”
“It is,” Cole said, his voice steady. “We’ve confirmed it.”
“How?” he demanded.
I hesitated. Because the answer to that question was worse.
“Your scent,” I said.
That got his attention. “You recognised me… by scent?” Benji asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
“No,” Cole said. “That’s how this works.”
Benji leaned back slightly, shaking his head. “No. No, you’re wrong. I would remember something like that.”
“You were three years old.”
That stopped him. Just for a second. “That doesn’t mean I’d forget everything.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” I mumbled.
Silence filled the car again. Thicker this time. Colder.
“Who is ‘they’?” Benji asked.
Cole exhaled slowly.
“We don’t have all the answers yet.” I offered the clearest explanation I could.
“You weren’t alone,” Cole continued. “You had a sister.”
“You still do.” I continued quietly.
The way Luna had left the restaurant yesterday had affected me. I had always had a soft spot for her, but the smell of her tears… All I wanted was to take her in my arms. To take away her sadness, but Cole had been clear. We could only take Benji with us. He had reached the age where he could get his wolf at any moment, and the last thing we wanted was for this to happen in front of the rest. Alpha Darian could guide him much better through this.
“She was taken with you,” I added quickly.
That made Benji look up. “Luna?”
Cole nodded once. “A newborn baby girl, named Viënna.”
Benji’s breathing shifted. “What—”
“That’s not possible,” Benji said.
“It is,” Cole said. “You just don’t remember.”
Benji ran a hand through his hair. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“We know,” I said.
“No, you don’t,” he snapped. “You’re telling me my entire life is a lie.”
I didn’t respond. Because it was.
“And you expect me to just, what? Accept that?”
“No,” Cole said. “We expect you to come and see it for yourself.”
“Where are we even going?”
Cole’s voice dropped slightly. “The House of Eldernoor.”
The name settled heavily. Important. Dangerous.
Benji let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “This is insane.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “We know.”
Silence followed.
The road curved slightly ahead. Too sharply. Too suddenly. And for just a moment, I wasn’t watching it. None of us was.
“Luca—” Cole’s voice snapped.
I looked up. Too late.
Headlights. Too close. Too fast.
“s**t—” I jerked the wheel. The car swerved.
Gravel screeched under the tyres. The edge of the road was gone. Weightlessness. For half a second, everything stopped.
Then there was the impact. The world flipped. Metal twisted. Glass shattered. The car rolled. Once. Twice. And then came the darkness.
Pain came first. Sharp. Blinding.
I forced my eyes open.
Everything was wrong. Upside down. Crushed. Silent.
“Cole—”
No answer.
“Benji—”
A sound. Not a voice. A scream.
I turned and saw it. His leg was trapped. Crushed beneath twisted metal. Blood. Too much.
“Don’t move,” I said immediately, already trying to pull myself free.
“I can’t—” he choked.
I saw it. The angle. The damage. And I knew. This wasn’t something a human body just walked away from.
“Cole!” I shouted.
A groan answered. Alive. Good.
“Get him out,” I snapped.
Cole moved instantly. No hesitation. No fear. Just action.
We worked fast. Too fast. Not fast enough.
The metal wouldn’t give.
Benji’s breathing was breaking.
“I can’t feel it—” he panicked.
That was worse. So much worse.
“Stay with me,” I said.
But I could already feel it; this had gone wrong. Terribly wrong. And this was only the beginning.
The sound came first. Engines. Low and heavy. Too many.
My head snapped up. “Cole.”
“I hear it.”
Of course he did.
Headlights cut through the darkness above them, sharp beams slicing across the edge of the cliff.
The car. The one that had run us off the road. It hadn’t left. Of course, it hadn’t.
“Get him up,” Cole said.
I didn’t hesitate. Shifting my grip, lifting Benji carefully, too carefully for the damage already done.
Benji barely reacted. That was worse. Way worse.
“Stay with me,” I muttered.
No response.
The engines grew louder. Doors slammed. Voices carried. Not ours. Duskryn.
My jaw tightened. “Of all places…”
“Move,” Cole snapped.
We didn’t have time to argue. Not now. Not like this.
I adjusted my hold, forcing myself to ignore the blood, the weight, the way Benji’s body felt too still. Too light.
“Hey—!” The voice echoed down from above. Sharp. Alert.
“Down there!”
I froze for half a second.
“They saw us.”
Cole swore under his breath. “Figures.”
More voices. Closer now. Movement along the ridge.
“They’re coming down,” Cole said.
I nodded once. “Good.”
Cole blinked. “…Good?”
I didn’t look at him. “We need help.”
That wouldn’t sit right with him. Not here. Not with them.
“They’re Duskryn,” Cole said low.
“I know.”
“That’s no help.”
“It is tonight.”
Cole didn’t like that answer. Didn’t like any of this. But when he looked down at Benji, pale. Barely breathing… He knew we didn’t have a choice.
Footsteps crunched against loose stone as figures moved down toward them, controlled and fast. Too organised for coincidence. Too calm for an accident.
Three. No—four.
One stepped forward. Tall. Still. Taking in everything at a single glance.
“What happened?” he asked.
Cole answered before I could. “Lost control.”
A lie. A bad one. But it was all we had.
The man’s gaze flicked briefly to the wreckage. Then to Benji. And something shifted. “Get him up,” he said immediately. “Now.” No hesitation. No questions. That, that was worse.
I tightened his grip slightly. “You got a medic?” I asked.
The man’s eyes flicked back to me. “We do.”
“Close?” Cole asked.
A pause.
“Close enough.”
Cole didn’t like that either, but again, we didn’t have a choice. If Benji didn’t get medical help soon, we would deliver him in a coffin to Alpha Darian.
“Move,” I said.
And this time, Cole didn’t argue. Because whatever this was, whatever we had just crashed ourselves into, it didn’t matter. Not right now. Right now, Benji was dying.
And Duskryn was the only thing standing between him and that outcome.
I didn’t like this. Not the place. Not the people. Not the way, none of them asked the right questions. But Benji’s blood was still soaking through my hands. So, I moved. We all did.
They took him from me the moment we reached the top of the ridge. Not roughly. Not carelessly. Efficient. That bothered me more than anything.
“Inside,” one of them said.
No names. No introductions. Just movement.
I followed anyway. Because I wasn’t letting him out of my sight. Not now. Not after this.
The building wasn’t what I expected. Too clean. Too quiet.
Like everything inside, it had already decided how this was going to end.
“Here.”
They laid him down on a narrow table under harsh white light.
And suddenly, everything was too visible.
The blood. The damage. The truth.
I swallowed hard. “Stay with me,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure he could hear me anymore.
A woman stepped forward, calm and focused. “Move.”
I didn’t. Not immediately.
Her eyes snapped to mine. “If you want him alive, you move.”
That did it. I stepped back. Barely.
Cole didn’t say anything. He stood just behind me, still, watching everything like he was trying to memorise it. Or control it. Or maybe both.
Hands moved quickly. Voices low. Precise. “He’s losing too much blood.”
“I can see that.”
“No response below the knee.”
I felt something drop in my chest. No.
“We don’t have time,” the woman said.
I looked at her. “What do you mean?”
She didn’t hesitate. “If we don’t take it now, he dies.”
The room fell still. Just for a second.
“No,” I said. Too fast. Too sharp.
Her gaze flicked to me. “You want to try another option?” she asked.
I didn’t answer. Because there wasn’t one. I knew that. I just didn’t want it to be this.
Cole stepped forward. “When?”
The woman didn’t even look at him. “Now.”
That was it. No buildup. No warning. Just now. I looked at Benji. His face had gone pale. Too pale.
“Hey,” I said, stepping closer again, despite everything. “You’re staying with me, alright?”
No response.
“You’re not doing this alone,” I added quietly. That was a lie. Because he was. And there was nothing I could do to change that.
“Hold him.”
The words cut through everything. Hands moved again. Firm. Controlled.
I stepped back. Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t let them do it. And if I didn’t let them, he wouldn’t survive.
So, there I stood watching. Not everything. Not all of it. But enough. Enough to know when it was done. Enough to hear the change in the room. The shift from urgency to aftermath.
-*-*-*-
“He’s stable.” The words didn’t feel real. Stable.
I let out a breath I didn’t remember holding. My hands were still shaking. I didn’t try to stop it.
Cole stepped forward again. “Will he wake up?”
The woman finally looked at him. “Yes.”
A pause.
“But not the same.”
That hit hard. Not the same.
I looked at him again. At what was left. At what we had done. And for the first time since we left, I felt it. No doubt. Not fear. Guilt. Heavy. Sharp. Unavoidable.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I muttered.
Cole didn’t respond. Of course, he didn’t. Because we both knew, it didn’t matter what was supposed to happen… This, this was what we had. And there was no undoing it.
I couldn’t stand still. Not after that.
The room had gone quiet, but it wasn’t calm. Not really. It was the kind of silence that came after something irreversible.
He was still breathing. That was something.
But every time I looked at him, I saw what was missing.
I dragged a hand over my face, pacing once, twice, before stopping near the far wall.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I muttered again.
Cole didn’t answer. Just as always.
He hadn’t moved much since it was over. Just enough to confirm Benji was alive. Just enough to step back.
Now he stood near the doorway, one hand resting against the frame, his gaze fixed on nothing and everything at once. Thinking. Planning. That meant one thing. He was already ten steps ahead.
“What now?” I asked.
Cole didn’t look at me right away.
“We call him.”
I stilled. Of course. There was no avoiding that. No way around it.
“You’re going to tell him like this?” I asked.
Cole’s jaw tightened slightly. “There isn’t another way.”
I let out a quiet breath. “He trusted us.”
That landed. I saw it in the way Cole’s fingers flexed slightly against the doorframe.
“I know.”
But that didn’t change anything. Nothing did.
Cole pushed himself off the wall and stepped out into the hallway without another word.
I followed. Of course, I did. There was no way I was going to stay behind for this.
The hallway felt colder. Or maybe that was just me.
Cole stopped near the far end, pulling his phone from his pocket. He didn’t dial immediately. That worried me more than anything. Cole didn’t hesitate. Not like this.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked.
His eyes flicked to me. And for a second, I saw it. Not fear. But something close.
“This changes things,” he said.
“It already has.”
A pause.
Then he dialled. The line rang once. Twice. Connected.
Cole straightened slightly. “Alpha.”
His voice shifted. Controlled. Respectful. Not the way he spoke to anyone else.
I stayed quiet. But I listened. Always.
A pause on the other end. Cole didn’t speak. He was waiting. Measuring.
“We have him.”
Another pause. Longer this time.
I couldn’t hear the response. But I felt it. The weight of it.
“He’s alive,” Cole added. No relief. Just the fact.
Another silence.
“There was… an incident.”
I clenched my jaw. That was one way to put it.
Cole’s gaze shifted briefly toward me. Then away again.
“He’s stable,” he continued. “But he sustained injuries.”
A beat.
His expression didn’t change, but something in his posture did. Subtle. Tension.
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“Yes, Alpha.” Short answers now. Careful ones.
I hated this. Hated not knowing what was being said on the other side. Hated that whatever came next was already decided.
Cole’s grip tightened slightly around the phone. “No,” he said.
That got my attention.
“No, we didn’t anticipate interference.” Interference. So, it wasn’t an accident. Of course it wasn’t.
Cole’s gaze flicked toward the closed door behind us.
Toward Benji. Then another, “Yes.”
A longer pause.
“We’re on Duskryn territory.”
Silence. Even without hearing it, I knew that mattered. A lot.
Cole exhaled slowly. “I know.”
Another pause.
“We’ll hold position.”
That didn’t sound good. Not at all.
“Yes, Alpha.”
The call ended. Just like that.
Cole lowered the phone slowly. For a moment, he didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
I stepped closer. “What did he say?”
Cole’s jaw tightened. “He’s coming.”
My stomach dropped slightly. “Here?”
“Yes.”
That was worse.
“You think that’s a good idea?” I asked.
“No.” At least he was honest.
“But it’s not our decision anymore.”
I looked back toward the room. Toward where Benji was lying. Unaware. Unprepared.
Everything we had just told him, everything we had done, and now this. An Alpha. A pack. A truth he didn’t ask for. All at once.
“He’s not ready for this,” I said quietly.
Cole didn’t answer. Because he didn’t need to. We both knew, ready or not, it was coming.
“No one should’ve known.”
“No.”
“So how—”
“Luca.”
The way he said my name, sharp. Final. Drop it. Not now. I clenched my jaw slightly. Fine. But that didn’t make the thought go away. It just made it louder.
A door clicked open behind us. Both of us turned instantly. One of the Duskryn stepped out.
“Is he awake?” I asked immediately.
“Not yet.”
“How long?”
The man shrugged slightly. “Depends.”
I hated that answer. “On what?”
The man’s gaze flicked between us. “On whether he wants to be.”
That was not a normal answer.
I stepped forward slightly. “What does that mean?”
But the man didn’t respond. Just turned. And walked away.
I stared after him. “…I really don’t like them.”
Cole didn’t disagree. That was saying something.
Minutes passed. Or maybe longer. The time didn’t feel right here. Everything stretched. Shifted.
Then a sound. Soft. From inside the room.
I didn’t wait. I pushed the door open. And stepped inside.
Benji had moved. Just slightly. But enough. His breathing had changed. Less shallow. More aware.
“Hey,” I said, stepping closer. “Stay with me.”
His eyes didn’t open. But his fingers twitched. That was something.
“Come on,” I muttered. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
A breath. And then his eyes opened. Slow. Unfocused. Confused. Good. Confused meant alive.
“Where…” he started. His voice was rough. Broken.
“You’re safe,” I said. Another lie. But I didn’t care. Not right now.
He blinked slowly, trying to focus. He tried to shift his body. Just enough. And everything changed.
His gaze dropped. Followed the line of his own body. And stopped.
I saw it happen. The moment. The exact second it registered.
“No,” the word came out barely above a whisper.
I said nothing. Didn’t move. Because there was nothing I could say that would make this better.
“That’s not—” His breathing hitched. Sharp. Panicked.
“That’s not—”
“I know,” I breathed. It was the only honest thing I had left.
His hand moved. Stopped halfway. Like, even that was too much. “What did you—” The words broke.
And I felt it. That weight again. Guilt. Heavy. Unavoidable.
“We got you out,” I said. It sounded wrong. Even to me.
His eyes snapped to mine. “That’s not what I asked.”
No, it wasn’t.
Cole stepped into the room behind me. Silent. Present.
Benji looked at him next. And whatever he saw there made it worse. Because Cole didn’t lie. Not with his face.
“You were dying,” Cole said. Flat. Honest. And brutal.
Benji let out a shaky breath. “That doesn’t—”
“It does.”
Silence.
“Luna.”
Her name hit like a punch. Of course. Of course, that was his first thought.
“She doesn’t know,” I blurted. Too quickly.
“She can’t see me like this.” His voice dropped. Not weak. Not broken. Just real.
And somehow, that was worse. Her brother, her only family, left her a few days ago without a good explanation, leaving her completely heartbroken. How was I supposed to explain to her that her big brother was no longer there?
The air shifted before he even entered.
I felt it first. Not heard. Not seen. Felt.
Like pressure. Like something heavier had just stepped into the space.
Cole straightened. Subtle. Most people wouldn’t notice it.
I did. Of course I did.
- Writer
