CLAIMED BY THE ENEMY

Chapter 8: Whispers of the Past

The night air was thick with the scent of rain and the damp earth, the ruins of the ancient temple stretching around us like the skeletal remains of some long-forgotten world. The stones were worn smooth, covered in layers of moss, as though time had forgotten this place—just like it had forgotten me.

I leaned against a weathered column, trying to catch my breath. The fight had left me ragged, and even though I was no longer in immediate danger, my heart still raced, fueled by the adrenaline that had surged through my veins only minutes earlier. I couldn’t seem to shake the weight of everything that had happened today—everything that was still happening. Ryker’s presence beside me should have been comforting, but the truth was, it was only a reminder of the war between us. The war seemed to grow every day.

His eyes, dark and unreadable, fixed on the shadows as he stood guard. His every muscle was tense, coiled, ready for anything that might come at us. Yet his gaze flickered toward me often, as though searching for something in my eyes that he couldn’t find.

“Nina,” he said softly, his voice laced with concern, “are you okay?”

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. I wasn’t okay. I hadn’t been okay in a long time. “I’m fine,” I said, but my words didn’t convince either of us.

I stood up straighter, brushing the dust off my clothes, pretending that the cold weight of the past didn’t feel like it was closing in on me. The ancient temple was sacred to wolves, a place where the spirit of their ancestors was said to linger. But there was something more here—something that tugged at my very soul, pulling me deeper into the mystery of my bloodline.

Ryker turned toward me, his lips tight. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Nina. I can feel it. The burden you’re carrying.”

I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to stop the dizzying whirl of thoughts racing through my mind. The whispers, the images—they were overwhelming. In the silence of the temple, I could almost hear the echoes of wolves long gone, their voices calling out to me. My heart pounded in my chest, a rhythm I couldn’t control.

Ryker stepped closer, his hand resting on my shoulder as if to steady me. “Nina… what’s happening?”

The air was thick with an ancient energy, and I could feel it coursing through my veins, awakening something inside me that had long been dormant. The wolf inside me. I had always known it was there, buried beneath the layers of my training, my upbringing. But now, in the shadow of this sacred place, it clawed at the surface, desperate to be free.

I gasped as a vision flashed before my eyes—dark eyes, glowing amber, staring at me from across the temple ruins. A wolf. But it wasn’t just any wolf. The image shifted, and I saw a man, his features unmistakable. His eyes, were that same burning amber, his hair dark as night, and the same fierce intensity that Ryker carried.

It was him. Ryker. But it wasn’t the man I knew now. It was the Alpha he had been—the one that haunted my nightmares.

I stumbled backward, nearly tripping over a crumbling stone, as the vision faded.

“What is it?” Ryker demanded, his voice urgent. He caught me before I could fall, pulling me against his chest.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath. “I—I saw something. A wolf. It… it was you.”

His brows furrowed, his grip tightening on my arms. “What do you mean? How could you have seen me as a wolf?”

I shook my head, confusion clouding my thoughts. I didn’t understand it either, but something in the temple was pulling the truth from me, making it impossible to ignore. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. But there’s more. There’s… there’s something here.”

His eyes narrowed, a flash of realization flickering in his gaze. “The temple. It’s connected to you. To your bloodline.”

I nodded slowly, my mind still reeling from the vision. But before I could respond, the air seemed to shift. The temperature dropped, and the wind howled through the broken stone columns like a mourning wail. The ground trembled beneath our feet as if the very earth was awakening.

Then, through the fog of my disoriented thoughts, I heard it—a voice.

“Nina.”

The sound of my name was barely a whisper, but it was clear as day. I spun around, my heart leaping in my chest. The temple seemed to pulse with the energy of the voice, and I felt an unexplainable pull.

“Who’s there?” I called out, my voice shaky, and uncertain.

A figure emerged from the darkness, stepping into the moonlight that filtered through the cracks in the temple’s crumbling walls. My breath caught in my throat.

It was him.

Kael Blackthorn.

My father.

He stood there, as solid and real as the stone beneath my feet. His dark eyes gleamed with a knowing intensity, his features strikingly similar to mine. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at him, my mind refusing to accept the truth. I had spent years mourning him, thinking he was dead, a casualty of the war between hunters and werewolves. But now, here he was, standing before me.

“Kael?” I breathed, my voice barely audible.

His lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile. “I didn’t think you’d be able to handle the truth so easily, but here we are.”

I shook my head, a thousand questions crashing through my mind. “How—how are you here? I thought—”

“I know what you thought,” Kael interrupted, his voice calm but firm. “I’ve been watching, Nina. Waiting for you to awaken, to remember who you truly are.”

Ryker stepped forward, his gaze filled with suspicion. “What are you talking about? What’s going on here?”

Kael’s eyes flicked toward him briefly before returning to me. “Your bond with her is not just a consequence of fate. It’s part of something far older. And if she’s to survive what’s coming, she’ll need to embrace the power within her bloodline.”

I took a step back, my heart racing. “No. I can’t. I’m not like you. I’m a hunter. I—”

Kael’s voice softened, but it held an undeniable weight. “You are not just a hunter, Nina. You are the storm that will either save or destroy us all.”