PROLOGUE
1024 Words
PROLOGUE
The night smelled of smoke.
Adrian was five years old when everything he knew changed.
He sat on the floor of his bedroom, clutching his stuffed wolf against his chest as strange sounds echoed through the house.
Growls.
Shouting.
Something crashed downstairs.
Adrian's eyes widened.
“Pa?”
No answer.
“Dad?”
Still nothing.
Another loud crash made him jump.
Then the bedroom door flew open.
His older brother stood there, breathing heavily.
“Adrian!”
Adrian ran toward him.
“What is happening?”
His brother immediately grabbed his hand.
“We have to go.”
“Where's Pa? Where's Dad?”
His brother looked toward the hallway.
“They're coming.”
But his voice didn't sound convincing.
Before Adrian could ask another question, a terrifying howl shook the house.
Adrian covered his ears.
His brother pulled him close.
“Don't be scared.”
“I'm scared.”
“I know.”
His brother knelt and held his shoulders.
“But you have to listen to me, okay?”
Adrian nodded.
A flash of light suddenly came from downstairs.
Then came a scream.
“PA!”
Adrian tried to run toward the stairs.
His brother caught him.
“No!”
“Let me go!”
“Adrian, no!”
“I want my Pa!”
His brother hugged him tightly.
“They told me to get you out.”
Adrian struggled against him.
“I don't want to leave them!”
Footsteps thundered up the stairs.
Then two familiar figures appeared.
Pa was covered in blood.
Dad had a deep cut across his arm.
But both were still standing.
Adrian's eyes filled with tears.
“Pa!”
His father rushed toward him.
“My little wolf.”
He pulled Adrian into his arms.
Adrian buried his face against his chest.
“What happened?”
Pa looked at Dad.
They exchanged a look.
A look Adrian didn't understand.
“We need to protect him.”
Dad nodded.
“Now.”
Pa carried Adrian into the bedroom.
His brother followed.
“What's wrong with him?” his brother asked.
Dad closed the door.
“There's something inside Adrian.”
Adrian looked at them in confusion.
“What?”
Pa knelt in front of him.
“Listen to me, little one.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You haven't done anything wrong.”
Dad knelt beside them.
“But there's something about you that must remain hidden.”
Adrian frowned.
“Why?”
Neither father answered.
Another explosion shook the house.
They were running out of time.
Pa looked at his mate.
“We have to seal it.”
Dad's face tightened.
“Will it hurt him?”
“Only for a moment.”
Adrian began to cry.
“What are you doing?”
Pa pulled him into his arms.
“I'm sorry, little wolf.”
Dad placed a hand gently against Adrian's chest.
A strange warmth spread through Adrian's body.
Then the room began to shake.
Adrian screamed.
“Pa!”
His fathers held him tightly.
“Stay with us.”
A strange light surrounded him.
His small body trembled.
His eyes squeezed shut.
He heard his father's voice through the noise.
“You'll be safe.”
The light grew brighter.
Then—
Everything went silent.
Adrian's body became still.
The strange energy disappeared.
The power inside him had been sealed.
Hidden.
Waiting.
Pa fell to his knees, exhausted.
Dad caught him.
“Is it done?”
Pa looked at Adrian.
“Yes.”
A violent crash came from outside the room.
Dad looked toward the door.
“We have to go.”
Pa turned toward their older son.
His expression changed.
“Take Adrian.”
His brother froze.
“What?”
“Take your brother and leave.”
“No.”
His brother shook his head.
“I'm not leaving you.”
Pa walked toward him.
“You have to.”
“But—”
“Listen to me.”
Pa placed both hands on his son's shoulders.
“Whatever happens tonight, Adrian is your responsibility.”
His brother looked at the five-year-old boy.
“Why?”
“Because people will come looking for him.”
Dad stepped closer.
“They must never know what is inside him.”
His brother swallowed.
“I don't understand.”
“You don't need to.”
Pa looked directly into his eyes.
“Just protect him.”
His brother nodded slowly.
“I promise.”
“Protect him with your life.”
“I will.”
“Never let anyone take him.”
“I won't.”
Dad pulled his son into a hug.
Then Pa kissed Adrian's forehead.
“My little wolf.”
Adrian reached for him.
“Are you coming?”
Pa's eyes filled with tears.
“Of course.”
It was a lie.
A lie Adrian wouldn't understand until many years later.
His brother took his hand.
“Come on.”
Adrian looked back.
“Pa?”
His father smiled.
“Go.”
Adrian followed his brother.
They reached the back door.
His brother lifted him into his arms.
Adrian rested his head against his shoulder.
Then he heard it.
A scream.
His father's scream.
Adrian's eyes widened.
“PA!”
He tried to turn around.
His brother held him tighter.
“No, Adrian.”
“Pa!”
“We have to go!”
Adrian cried as they ran into the forest.
Behind them, the house disappeared beneath the flames.
Adrian watched through tears until the fire was no longer visible.
He didn't know that this would be one of the last times he would see his home.
He didn't know that his childhood was ending.
He didn't know that the strange power inside him had been sealed.
And he certainly didn't know that years later, fragments of this night would return to him.
A voice.
A face.
A burning house.
A pair of hands holding him close.
Memories buried so deeply that even Adrian wouldn't know whether they were dreams or reality.
Until the day the seal began to break.
And when it did...
The truth about Adrian would change everything.
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