The Power They Tried to Bury
931 Words
The darkness didn’t feel empty.
It felt… alive.
Cold air curled around my skin as the last candle died, leaving only the sound of my breathing—and Kael’s hand tightening protectively around mine.
“She has awakened…”
The voice echoed again, deeper this time. Ancient. Watching.
My heart raced, but something inside me… didn’t panic.
It rose.
Steady. Fierce.
“Stay behind me,” Kael ordered, stepping forward as his body tensed, every inch of him ready for war.
But I didn’t move.
Because I couldn’t.
Not out of fear—
But because something was pulling me forward.
“Aria,” he warned.
“I… I can feel it,” I whispered.
A strange energy pulsed beneath my skin, stronger than before. It wasn’t just the mate bond anymore. It was something older. Wilder.
Like it had been asleep…
Waiting.
The shadows in the room twisted unnaturally, stretching toward me like they recognized something.
Or someone.
“Show yourself!” Kael growled, his Alpha voice shaking the walls.
Silence.
Then—
A faint glow flickered at the far end of the room.
Not fire.
Not light.
Something… silver.
It formed slowly, shaping into a figure cloaked in mist. Tall. Undefined. Powerful.
My breath caught.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Kael didn’t answer.
Because he already knew.
“A spirit,” he said tightly. “But not just any spirit.”
The figure turned its faceless gaze toward me.
“You carry what was never meant to return,” it said.
A chill ran through my entire body.
“I don’t understand,” I replied, my voice shaking despite the strange calm inside me.
“You will.”
Kael stepped in front of me again, his voice hard. “Whatever you are, leave. Now.”
The spirit didn’t move.
“You marked her,” it said instead, its tone unreadable.
“I did,” Kael replied coldly.
A pause.
Then—
“You’ve sealed it.”
My heart skipped.
“Sealed what?” I asked.
But the spirit was already fading.
“The blood remembers,” it whispered. “And now… so will they.”
Then it was gone.
Just like that.
The room returned to silence.
But nothing felt the same.
Kael turned to me slowly, his expression darker than I had ever seen it.
“What did it mean?” I asked.
He didn’t answer immediately.
And that scared me more than anything.
“Kael.”
His jaw tightened.
“There are stories,” he said finally. “Old ones. Forbidden ones.”
My stomach dropped.
“What kind of stories?”
“The kind the pack buried,” he replied. “The kind that could destroy everything if they were true.”
Before I could press further—
The doors burst open.
Guards flooded in, followed by the Elders of the pack—robes flowing, faces grim.
And behind them…
Selene.
Of course.
Her gaze went straight to me.
Then to my neck.
To the mark.
Her smile faltered.
Just for a second.
“You actually did it,” she said softly.
One of the Elders stepped forward, his sharp eyes locking onto me.
“Step away from her, Alpha.”
Kael didn’t move.
“I gave you an order,” the Elder repeated, his voice rising with authority.
“I don’t take orders,” Kael replied calmly.
Tension exploded in the room.
“She is not what you think,” another Elder said, staring at me like I was something dangerous. “We felt it. The moment the mark was placed.”
My heart pounded.
“Felt what?” I demanded.
The first Elder’s gaze hardened.
“Her power.”
Silence.
Then—
“That’s impossible,” Selene snapped. “She’s low-born. She has nothing.”
The Elder turned to her slowly.
“You’re wrong.”
Every eye shifted back to me.
“She carries a bloodline that was erased,” he continued. “One that should not exist anymore.”
My breath caught.
“No… that’s not true.”
But deep down—
Something told me it was.
Kael’s hand found mine again, tighter this time.
“Explain,” he demanded.
The Elder hesitated.
Then said the words that changed everything.
“She is not just your Luna, Alpha.”
A pause.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
“She is the last heir of the Shadow Blood.”
The room erupted.
Gasps.
Whispers.
Fear.
Selene’s expression darkened into something vicious.
“That bloodline was destroyed for a reason,” she said coldly. “They were monsters.”
My chest tightened.
Monster?
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “That’s not me—”
But before I could finish—
Pain shot through my body.
Sudden.
Violent.
I gasped, dropping to my knees as darkness flickered at the edge of my vision.
“Aria!” Kael caught me instantly.
“It’s starting,” one of the Elders said grimly.
“What is?!” Kael demanded.
“The awakening,” he replied. “And if she can’t control it…”
A pause.
Deadly.
“She won’t just destroy herself.”
My heart pounded wildly.
“What do you mean?” Kael growled.
The Elder met his gaze.
“She’ll destroy the entire pack.”
Silence crashed over the room.
Kael’s grip on me tightened, his voice dropping into something fierce. Protective.
“Then we teach her control.”
The Elder shook his head slowly.
“You don’t understand, Alpha.”
His eyes flicked to me again.
Dark.
Certain.
“No one has ever survived it.”
- Writer
