CLAIMED BY THREE

Chapter12

Aurenya’s POV

The light disappeared as quickly as it came.

One second it burned beneath my skin.

The next—

Nothing.

Darkness swallowed the cabin again.

But the silence that followed felt worse.

Heavier.

Everyone was staring at me.

Rhydan.

Kaelor.

Draven.

Even the Shadow Wolves had stopped moving.

Like they had seen something they didn’t expect.

My breathing came hard and uneven.

Pain still lingered beneath my ribs, dull now, but present.

Like something had shifted inside me and refused to settle back into place.

The floor beneath my knees was cracked.

Splintered outward.

I stared at it.

I hadn’t touched it.

Had I?

“Aurenya.”

Draven’s voice cut through the ringing in my ears.

Low.

Controlled.

Too controlled.

I looked up slowly.

His eyes were fixed on my arms.

The faint gold beneath my skin had faded, but I could still feel heat lingering there.

Like embers beneath ash.

“What just happened?” Kaelor asked quietly.

No one answered.

Because no one knew.

Outside, the leader remained perfectly still.

Its expression had changed.

No longer amused.

No longer patient.

Now it looked… cautious.

That terrified me more than anything else.

The Shadow Wolves shifted restlessly around it.

Waiting.

Listening.

Like they were taking orders without words.

I pushed myself upright.

My legs felt weak.

Rhydan moved instantly, catching my arm before I stumbled.

The contact sent a sharp pulse through me.

Not painful.

Just sudden.

His jaw tightened.

He felt it too.

The bond.

Stronger now.

Closer.

I pulled away quickly.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not,” he said immediately.

“I said I’m fine.”

“You nearly shattered the damn floor.”

I looked away.

Because I didn’t know how to explain what I had felt.

It hadn’t been the shadow.

Not fully.

The thing inside me had felt different.

Warmer.

Older.

Like something waking after years of silence.

Lyssara slowly stepped closer.

Her face looked pale.

“Mama…”

I turned toward her immediately.

She hesitated.

Then reached for my hand.

The moment her fingers touched mine, a strange warmth spread through my chest.

Gentle.

Calming.

The pain eased slightly.

Her eyes widened.

“You feel different.”

The words made my stomach twist.

Different how?

Before I could ask—

The leader outside finally moved.

One step.

Slow.

Measured.

The cabin seemed to tighten around that single movement.

Draven shifted slightly in front of us.

Protective.

Instinctive.

The creature smiled faintly.

“You’re running out of time.”

My grip tightened around Lyssara’s hand.

“What do you want from me?”

Its eyes darkened.

“You already know.”

“No.”

“You just refuse to remember.”

A cold chill slid through me.

Remember.

That word again.

Fragments flashed through my mind.

Blood.

Rain.

A forest.

A voice whispering near my ear.

Then—

Pain.

Sharp enough to make me flinch.

I pressed a hand to my temple.

Something was wrong.

Memories felt… blocked.

Like there was a wall inside my mind.

The leader noticed.

Its smile deepened.

“Yes,” it murmured. “You’re finally feeling it.”

Kaelor’s voice hardened.

“Stop speaking in riddles.”

The creature ignored him.

Its gaze never left me.

“You buried more than fear that night.”

My chest tightened.

“What does that mean?”

No answer came immediately.

Just that same horrible smile.

Then—

“You were never supposed to survive.”

The words landed hard.

The room froze.

My pulse stuttered.

“What?”

The creature tilted its head.

“That seal should have killed you.”

Rhydan growled low in his throat.

“Enough.”

But I couldn’t look away.

Something inside me felt suddenly cold.

Empty.

“What seal?” I whispered.

The creature looked almost pleased.

“You really don’t know.”

Draven went still beside me.

Too still.

Like he had just realized something.

Slowly, his eyes moved toward my neck.

Toward the faint scar hidden beneath my collarbone.

A scar I had stopped questioning years ago.

His expression darkened.

“Aurenya,” he said quietly.

My heartbeat quickened.

“What?”

He stepped closer.

Carefully.

His eyes stayed fixed on the scar.

“Who gave you that mark?”

I frowned.

“What?”

“The scar.”

His voice sharpened slightly.

“Where did it come from?”

My fingers instinctively touched the place.

Cold skin.

Raised edges.

Old.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

“I’ve always had it.”

The leader laughed softly.

And something about that sound made my blood run cold.

“No,” it said.

“You haven’t.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

You haven’t.

My fingers stayed pressed against the scar beneath my collarbone.

Cold spread through me.

Because suddenly—

I couldn’t remember getting it.

Not even a little.

No accident.

No wound.

No memory.

Just… the scar.

Always there.

Always ignored.

Like my mind had learned to look past it.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

The leader’s smile sharpened.

“You really buried everything.”

Rhydan stepped forward instantly.

“You talk too much.”

The creature barely acknowledged him.

Its eyes never left me.

“Ask yourself something, Aurenya.”

Its voice lowered.

“Why can’t you remember your father’s face clearly?”

My breath caught.

The question hit somewhere deep.

Wrong.

Too specific.

I frowned.

Because—

I could remember pieces.

A voice.

Large hands.

A dark cloak.

But his face…

Blurred.

Like smoke.

My stomach twisted.

No.

That wasn’t normal.

Kaelor noticed my expression immediately.

“What is it?”

I shook my head slowly.

“I…”

The memory slipped away before I could grab it.

Gone again.

Like something erased it the second I touched it.

The creature watched me struggle.

Satisfied.

“You were never meant to know.”

Draven’s voice cut through sharply.

“Stop speaking.”

But the leader ignored him.

“You think your father protected you.”

The words made my chest tighten.

“You think he saved you.”

A pulse struck beneath my ribs.

Hard.

Pain flashed behind my eyes.

And suddenly—

A memory broke loose.

Not full.

Just a fragment.

Dark woods.

Rain.

A hand gripping my wrist.

A deep voice.

Don’t look back.

I staggered.

The cabin tilted.

Rhydan caught my arm before I hit the wall.

“What happened?”

“I saw something.”

Draven’s eyes sharpened.

“What?”

I swallowed hard.

“Rain.”

My breathing quickened.

“A forest.”

Another flash.

A scream.

Mine.

Then—

Gold light.

Blinding.

I gasped sharply.

My knees nearly gave out.

Kaelor moved closer this time.

“What did you see?”

I pressed my hand harder against my temple.

“It’s broken,” I whispered.

“What is?”

“My memories.”

The words tasted strange.

Because now that I noticed it—

There were gaps.

Huge ones.

Places my mind slid around too quickly.

Like doors locked from the inside.

The leader nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

Its smile faded.

“You finally see it.”

Draven’s jaw tightened.

“Someone blocked them.”

I looked toward him.

“What?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“Memories don’t disappear like this.”

His gaze lowered to the scar again.

“They’re sealed.”

The word made my stomach drop.

Sealed.

Again.

Everything came back to that.

The bond.

The shadow.

The scar.

The missing memories.

My father.

The air inside the cabin suddenly felt too thin.

“No,” I whispered.

Because if that was true—

Then none of this started five years ago.

It started long before that.

The leader took another step closer.

Close enough now that moonlight touched its face.

And for a second—

Something flickered beneath the twisted shape.

Something almost human.

“You were never running from us,” it said quietly.

My pulse thundered.

“You were running from what you were becoming.”

The words hit too deep.

Too fast.

Fear curled low inside me.

“What am I?”

The creature’s expression shifted.

Almost pitying.

And somehow that felt worse.

“You still don’t understand.”

Its eyes moved slowly to the three men standing around me.

Then back to me.

“The bond was never the mistake.”

Cold spread through me.

“Then what was?”

Silence.

The Shadow Wolves shifted behind it.

Restless.

Waiting.

Then the creature answered.

“You were.”

Everything inside me went still.

Rhydan growled instantly.

Kaelor stiffened.

Draven’s expression went cold enough to cut.

But I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t breathe.

Because something about those words—

Something terrible—

Felt familiar.

Like I had heard them before.

Long ago.

From someone else.

Then—

A sharp c***k split through the forest outside.

Everyone turned instantly.

Branches snapped.

Heavy footsteps.

Fast.

Too many.

The Shadow Wolves outside suddenly backed away.

Not afraid.

Making space.

The leader’s smile slowly returned.

And for the first time—

It looked pleased.

Draven’s posture changed instantly.

Alert.

Dangerous.

“What now?”

No one answered.

Because something was coming through the trees.

Something bigger.

Something stronger.

The forest itself seemed to go quiet.

Then a massive figure stepped into the clearing.

Tall.

Broad.

Wrapped in black.

Its face hidden beneath a hood.

But the second I saw it—

Something inside me reacted violently

Pain exploded through my chest.

The bond snapped tight.

And a single thought crashed through my head.

Run.