Chapter 10: The Vault
1819 Words
Echo's POV
"The reason fate can't let you stay dead."
The words echoed through my head long after Elder Voss stopped speaking.
I stared at him.
Waiting.
Hoping he'd laugh.
Tell me this was some elaborate Council test.
Explain that I hadn't died.
That I wasn't trapped in a time loop.
That fate wasn't apparently obsessed with me.
Instead he just looked tired.
Very tired.
Like a man who had spent too many years carrying secrets.
"The Vault," I repeated.
The word felt strange.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
"What does that even mean?"
Voss glanced down the hallway.
Making sure we were alone.
Then motioned toward a side staircase.
"Walk."
"What?"
"If someone sees us standing here discussing forbidden prophecy, we'll both end up in Council custody."
That got my attention.
I followed him.
The stone staircase wound through an older section of the Academy.
One students rarely used.
The air smelled like dust and old books.
History.
Secrets.
The perfect place for life-changing conversations apparently.
My heart hadn't slowed since he spoke.
The Vault.
The reason history keeps restarting.
The reason memories survive.
The reason fate can't let me stay dead.
Every explanation somehow created ten more questions.
Finally, we reached a deserted balcony overlooking the forest.
Voss stopped.
I didn't.
I rounded on him immediately.
"Start talking."
One silver eyebrow lifted.
"You sound like Kieran."
My chest tightened instantly.
Kieran.
Even now.
Even after everything.
Just hearing his name hurt.
Voss noticed.
Of course he did.
Old wolves noticed everything.
"You haven't told him."
Not a question.
A statement.
I crossed my arms.
"No."
"You should."
"I barely understand it myself."
The old wolf sighed.
Fair point.
For several moments he stared into the forest.
Like searching through memories.
Then finally spoke.
"Thousands of years ago, before Pack law existed, there were bloodlines."
I frowned.
"There are still bloodlines."
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"Not families. Bloodlines."
The way he said it made the difference obvious.
Important.
Ancient.
"The first wolves believed certain families carried gifts."
I remained silent.
Listening.
"Some could strengthen Alpha wolves."
"Some could heal."
"Some could see fragments of possible futures."
A chill crawled down my spine.
"And Hawthorne?"
His expression darkened.
"Hawthorne blood remembers."
The words hit harder than I expected.
Remembers.
Like the loops.
Like me.
Like Voss.
My pulse quickened.
"What does that mean?"
"It means memories survive where they shouldn't."
I stared.
Trying to process that.
"You mean..."
"The loop."
A slow nod.
"The reason you remember dying isn't because you're special."
Not exactly comforting.
"The reason you remember is because Hawthorne blood was designed to remember."
The forest suddenly seemed farther away.
Everything did.
Because if that was true...
then this wasn't an accident.
This wasn't random.
The loops were connected to my family.
My blood.
My existence.
A horrible thought surfaced.
"What about my grandmother?"
Voss became very still.
Too still.
Fear touched my spine.
"What about her?"
He studied me carefully.
Then answered.
"She knows."
My breath caught.
Immediately.
Painfully.
Because I'd already suspected.
The way she'd reacted.
The way she'd avoided my questions.
The way she'd looked terrified when I mentioned the prophecy.
She knew.
She'd always known.
"What exactly does she know?"
Voss hesitated.
Which terrified me more than an answer.
Finally—
"More than I do."
The statement landed heavily.
Grandma.
Sweet tea.
Gardening.
Knitting.
The woman who constantly worried about whether I was eating enough.
Apparently hiding world-changing secrets.
Wonderful.
I rubbed my forehead.
Everything hurt.
My head.
My heart.
My patience.
Especially my patience.
"So let me get this straight."
Voss nodded.
I pointed at myself.
"I'm trapped in a time loop because of my bloodline."
"Partly."
I blinked.
"Partly?"
His expression grew grim.
"You're also trapped because someone keeps breaking fate."
Cold spread through my chest.
Immediately.
Vivienne.
It had to be.
It always came back to her.
"Vivienne."
Voss didn't answer.
Which was answer enough.
My stomach twisted.
Hard.
"What is she?"
The old wolf looked surprised.
The reaction caught me off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"Nobody is normal, apparently."
I threw up my hands.
"I'm a Vault."
"Kieran is apparently tied to some prophecy."
"The Council is insane."
"What exactly is Vivienne?"
Silence.
Long silence.
Too long.
Then—
"Dangerous."
I glared.
"Helpful."
His mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
"Vivienne Crowe comes from a bloodline almost as old as Hawthorne."
I froze.
Oh.
That wasn't good.
Not good at all.
"What kind?"
"The kind that believes power belongs to whoever can take it."
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
"So the villain bloodline."
"More or less."
I groaned.
Voss ignored me.
"Her family has spent generations collecting influence."
"Territory."
"Political leverage."
"Wolves."
"Wolves?"
The old wolf nodded.
A strange expression crossed his face.
Disgust.
"The Crowes have always believed powerful people should belong to them."
My stomach dropped.
Because suddenly—
the treaty made sense.
Kieran.
The future Alpha.
The strongest wolf of our generation.
Not a husband.
An acquisition.
A prize.
Property.
No wonder she'd agreed.
No wonder General Crowe pushed the alliance.
It wasn't marriage.
It was ownership.
And somehow that realization made everything worse.
A bell rang in the distance.
Class change.
Students moving.
Life continuing.
As if the world wasn't ending.
I leaned against the balcony railing.
Trying to breathe.
Trying to think.
Trying desperately not to panic.
One problem at a time.
One crisis at a time.
Otherwise I'd lose my mind.
Again.
My fingers drifted to my stomach.
Instinctive.
Protective.
Seven weeks.
Still tiny.
Still secret.
Still alive.
Still breathing.
I pressed my palm there. Felt the faint flutter. Real. Fighting.
The thought brought back another memory.
A horrible one.
Rain.
Blood.
Pain.
Death.
The memory hit so hard my knees weakened.
Voss noticed immediately.
"You saw it."
Not a question.
I swallowed.
Hard.
Saw it?
I lived it.
Every second.
Every scream.
Every heartbeat.
Everything.
I remembered all of it.
My eyes burned.
"I remember everything."
His face softened.
The expression looked strange on him.
Like he'd forgotten how.
"That never gets easier."
The quiet certainty in his voice made me freeze.
"You said, you've died too."
Silence.
The old wolf stared toward the trees.
Far away.
Lost somewhere I couldn't reach.
Then he nodded.
Once.
"What happened?"
Voss laughed.
A terrible sound.
Empty.
"Tried saving everyone."
The answer surprised me.
"You?"
Another almost-smile.
"I was younger then."
The statement carried so much history that I didn't know what to say.
For several moments neither of us spoke.
Then a new voice shattered the silence.
"Echo."
My heart stopped.
Kieran.
I spun around.
And immediately wished I hadn't.
Because he looked furious.
Not at me.
At Voss.
The future Alpha stalked onto the balcony like a storm.
Dark hair.
Golden eyes.
Protective instincts at maximum volume.
His gaze locked on the Elder.
"What did you tell her?"
Voss looked entirely unimpressed.
"As much as she needed."
Kieran stepped between us.
Physically.
Blocking me.
Shielding me.
The gesture should have annoyed me.
Instead it melted something inside my chest.
Because even in a different timeline—
even after the rejection—
he still did that.
Still protected me.
Still chose me first.
Even when he wasn't allowed to.
"Echo?"
His voice softened immediately.
Only for me.
Always for me.
"You okay?"
The concern almost broke me.
Because he didn't know.
Didn't remember.
Didn't know about the blood.
The rain.
The baby.
My death.
The scream that tore out of him when he found me.
None of it.
Only I carried those memories.
Only me.
And suddenly—
I hated that.
I hated carrying it alone.
The loneliness.
The grief.
The knowledge.
All of it.
For one dangerous second I almost told him everything.
The loop.
The murder.
The prophecy.
The future.
Everything.
But Voss's warning echoed inside my head.
Not yet.
Not until we understood more.
Not until we knew who could be trusted.
Not until we knew why fate kept resetting.
So I lied.
Again.
"I'm fine."
Kieran narrowed his eyes immediately.
Clearly unconvinced.
"That was a terrible lie."
The familiar response almost made me laugh.
Almost.
Instead I looked away.
Because laughing felt impossible.
His expression changed instantly.
Concern deepening.
Growing.
"What happened?"
Neither Voss nor I answered.
That silence told him enough.
His jaw tightened.
Dangerously.
The Alpha in him surfacing.
Young.
Untrained.
But powerful.
"I asked a question."
Voss folded his arms.
"And I ignored it."
The temperature seemed to drop.
Wonderful.
Exactly what we needed.
A future Alpha and an Elder preparing to kill each other.
I stepped between them.
Immediately.
Before anyone could growl.
Or threaten.
Or do something stupid.
"Stop."
Neither moved.
I sighed.
Louder.
"Both of you."
Finally Kieran looked at me.
Not Voss.
Me.
Just me.
"What did he tell you?"
The question hung between us.
Heavy.
Important.
Dangerous.
Too dangerous.
I couldn't answer honestly.
Not yet.
Not without opening every secret at once.
So instead—
I told part of the truth.
"The prophecy."
His face paled.
Immediately.
The reaction confirmed everything.
He'd been thinking about it too.
Obsessing over it.
Worrying.
Carrying it alone.
Just like me.
The realization hurt.
Because I knew exactly how heavy that burden felt.
Kieran stepped closer.
Lowering his voice.
"Echo."
My heart betrayed me.
Again.
Every single time.
"Whatever happens..."
His eyes locked onto mine.
Golden.
Earnest.
Terrified.
"I'll protect you."
The promise hit harder than it should have.
Because I'd heard it before.
In another life.
Before blood stained rainwater.
Before death.
Before time itself broke.
And despite everything
despite the rejection
despite the treaty
despite the Council
I believed him.
That was the terrifying part.
I believed him completely.
Voss watched us.
Silent.
Observing.
Like a man witnessing history repeat itself.
Maybe he was.
Finally he cleared his throat.
Both of us turned.
The old wolf's expression had become serious again.
Dangerously serious.
"The timeline is changing."
Cold slid down my spine.
Immediately.
"What?"
His gaze moved from me to Kieran.
Then back again.
"Small changes create larger ones."
My pulse quickened.
Because I already knew that.
I'd seen it.
Lived it.
But Voss looked worried.
Which meant something worse was coming.
And sure enough—
it did.
"The problem is..."
He paused.
Choosing his words carefully.
"Someone else has started changing things too."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
My stomach dropped.
No.
No.
No.
Because there were only three possibilities.
Me.
Voss.
Or—
The thought struck like lightning.
Vivienne.
Kieran frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Voss looked directly at me.
Only me.
And in that moment—
I knew.
Before he spoke.
Before he confirmed it.
Before the words left his mouth.
I knew.
Because fate had never been kind.
Never simple.
Never fair.
Voss looked directly at me.
His expression had gone pale.
"The problem isn't you anymore, Echo."
My stomach tightened.
"Then what is?"
The old wolf's eyes darkened.
"Vivienne Crowe is starting to remember."
- Writer
