The Way Home
1466 Words
Nobody moved.
The voice from the forest had disappeared, but its words remained trapped inside my head.
We have been looking for her.
Who were they?
And why me?
Alpha Ronan raised his hand.
“Everyone back to the pack.”
Nobody questioned him.
The patrol immediately formed around us as we began walking through the forest. My adoptive father stayed directly beside me, his hand hovering near my shoulder as though he expected something to leap from the trees at any moment.
Mara kept looking behind us.
“I hate this,” she whispered.
“So do I.”
My mother said nothing.
She walked several steps ahead, her face pale.
I watched her.
There was something she was not telling me.
Again.
“Mom.”
She stopped.
Everyone continued walking for a few steps before realizing we had fallen behind.
She turned toward me.
“What?”
“You said my biological father had enemies.”
Her expression tightened.
“Yes.”
“Are they the ones looking for me?”
“I do not know.”
“You always say that.”
She looked away.
“Because I do not want to lie to you.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Her eyes met mine.
“I know your father was powerful.”
“I know.”
“I know people feared him.”
“I know that too.”
“And I know that after his death, some of the people who hated him disappeared.”
My stomach twisted.
“Disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Where did they go?”
“I don't know.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course.”
My adoptive father stepped closer.
“Elara.”
I looked at him.
“Please don't.”
He frowned.
“Don't what?”
“Tell me to calm down.”
He sighed.
“I was going to tell you that you are not alone.”
I looked at him.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then he reached for my hand.
I let him take it.
He had always been there.
Whatever secrets existed, whatever my mother had hidden, whatever my biological father had left behind, this was the man who had raised me.
My father.
The thought should have comforted me.
Instead, I remembered the way he had looked in the clearing when my mother mentioned my biological father.
He had known more than he was saying.
I pulled my hand away.
His expression fell.
“I'm sorry.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
We continued walking.
By the time we reached the edge of the forest, the pack was waiting.
Word had clearly spread.
Wolves crowded the courtyard, whispering as we entered.
I heard my name several times.
Then the whispers stopped.
Everyone looked at me.
I hated it.
I had spent my entire life trying to avoid attention.
Being the girl who had never shifted had already made me different enough.
Now the entire pack was looking at me as though I had become something dangerous.
Dorian stepped toward Ronan.
“What happened?”
“Nothing we can discuss here.”
Dorian glanced at me.
“Did you find anything?”
Ronan's expression hardened.
“We found more questions.”
That answer seemed to satisfy nobody.
Ronan turned toward the pack.
“Everyone returns to their homes. No one enters the northern forest until further notice.”
A murmur passed through the crowd.
“Now.”
The pack slowly dispersed.
Mara stayed beside me.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don't know.”
“You should rest.”
“I am not tired.”
“You almost got yourself killed in the forest.”
“I did not.”
“You were standing there staring at whatever was watching us.”
“I was curious.”
“That is your problem.”
I smiled faintly.
“Maybe.”
She squeezed my arm before leaving.
“Come find me if you need me.”
I nodded.
When she was gone, I turned toward my mother.
She was standing with my adoptive father.
They were speaking quietly.
The moment they noticed me, they stopped.
That was enough.
“What are you two talking about?”
My father sighed.
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
“Elara.”
“What?”
“You need to rest.”
I looked at my mother.
“You said my biological father was powerful.”
She nodded.
“Was he an Alpha?”
Her expression changed.
“No.”
That surprised me.
“Then what was he?”
She hesitated.
“Something more complicated.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you are asking questions you are not ready to hear the answers to.”
“How do you know what I am ready for?”
“Because I am your mother.”
“And I am your daughter.”
Her eyes softened.
“I know.”
“Then trust me enough to tell me.”
She looked at my adoptive father.
He gave her a small nod.
My mother looked back at me.
“Your father belonged to a bloodline that was feared long before you were born.”
“What bloodline?”
She shook her head.
“Not here.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Fine.”
I turned away.
“Elara.”
I stopped.
My mother spoke quietly.
“Do not go looking for him.”
I turned around.
“He is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then what am I supposed to find?”
Her face changed.
“Not him.”
She looked toward the northern forest.
“The people who survived him.”
A chill passed through me.
Before I could ask what she meant, a familiar voice came from behind us.
“Alpha wants everyone inside.”
It was Kael.
My mother immediately straightened.
“Why?”
“There's been another discovery.”
My heart dropped.
“What discovery?”
Kael looked at me.
Then at my parents.
“We found tracks.”
“Whose?”
“We don't know.”
“Where?”
“Near the northern border.”
My adoptive father frowned.
“Wolf?”
Kael shook his head.
“That is the problem.”
Ronan appeared behind him.
“The tracks don't belong to a wolf.”
Silence.
“What do they belong to?” I asked.
Ronan looked directly at me.
“We don't know.”
I folded my arms.
“Of course.”
His expression did not change.
“But they lead toward the pack.”
My mother's face went pale.
“How far?”
“Very close.”
A strange silence filled the courtyard.
Ronan looked around.
“Everyone inside.”
Nobody argued.
We entered the main house.
The doors were locked behind us.
For the first time in my life, Blackwood felt less like home and more like a fortress.
I stood near the window.
Outside, the courtyard was empty.
The forest beyond it looked dark.
Too dark.
My mother came to stand beside me.
“You are frightened.”
I shook my head.
“I am angry.”
She gave me a sad smile.
“That too.”
I looked at her.
“Tell me one thing.”
“What?”
“Did my biological father love me?”
Her face crumpled.
For several seconds, she could not speak.
Then she reached for my hand.
“Yes.”
The answer was so quiet I almost missed it.
“He loved you more than anything.”
My throat tightened.
“Then why did I never know him?”
“Because he died before you had the chance.”
I looked down.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
I wiped it away quickly.
My mother pulled me into her arms.
I let her.
For once, I did not ask another question.
Then something struck the window.
I screamed.
My mother pulled away.
Everyone in the room turned toward the glass.
A small object rolled across the floor.
Ronan stepped forward.
Kael moved in front of us.
“What is that?”
Nobody answered.
Ronan crouched and picked it up.
A stone.
No.
Not a stone.
A piece of black wood.
Carved into its surface was a symbol.
The same symbol that had appeared on my skin.
My heart stopped.
Ronan slowly looked at me.
“They left this for you.”
I stared at the symbol.
Then I heard it.
A voice outside the window.
Soft.
Almost affectionate.
“Twenty years was a long time to hide.”
My mother froze.
I turned toward her.
She was staring at the window.
And for the first time since I could remember, my mother looked truly terrified.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD