Chapter 4 — The Voice Within
935 Words
Elena stood frozen in the center of the hall.
Her eyes had changed.
Silver.
The strange figure watched her from the shadows.
“Who are you?” Kael demanded.
The figure didn't answer.
Instead, he looked directly at Elena.
“You can hear it now, can't you?”
Elena swallowed.
The voice inside her head had grown louder.
Let me out.
She pressed a hand against her chest.
“Get out of my head.”
Kael stepped closer.
“Elena?”
“Don't come near me.”
He stopped.
Adrian watched her carefully.
“What are you hearing?”
Elena shook her head.
“I don't know.”
The figure laughed softly.
“You've spent your whole life suppressing it.”
Professor Rowan stepped forward.
“Leave this place.”
The stranger turned toward him.
“You're still protecting her?”
“I gave her mother my word.”
“You gave a promise to a dying woman.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“My mother?”
The stranger smiled.
“She never told you everything.”
Elena's anger rose.
“Tell me.”
The stranger lifted his hand.
“I will.”
A sudden blast shook the hall.
The windows rattled.
Students screamed.
Kael moved in front of Elena.
Adrian stood beside him.
The stranger disappeared.
“Where did he go?” Kael asked.
Professor Rowan looked toward the entrance.
“Find him.”
Guards rushed outside.
Elena remained still.
Her hands were trembling.
“My mother knew.”
Rowan nodded.
“She knew more than anyone.”
“Then why did she lie?”
“Because she wanted you to have a normal life.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“A normal life?”
She looked around the academy.
“I'm being hunted because of something in my blood.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Then we'll help you.”
Elena looked at him.
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because you shouldn't have to face this alone.”
Kael glanced at him.
“For once, I agree.”
Elena stared at both princes.
She didn't know why, but something about their words made her uncomfortable.
She had spent years depending only on herself.
She didn't need anyone.
At least, that's what she told herself.
---
Later that night, Elena couldn't sleep.
She walked through the academy corridors.
The building was unusually quiet.
Then she heard footsteps.
She turned.
Nobody was there.
“Elena.”
She froze.
The voice wasn't coming from behind her.
It was inside her mind.
Come to the old library.
“Who are you?”
You know me.
“No, I don't.”
Not yet.
Elena followed the voice.
The old library was at the far end of the academy.
Few students ever entered it.
She pushed open the heavy door.
Dust covered the shelves.
Ancient books filled the walls.
Then she noticed something strange.
One book was glowing.
Elena pulled it from the shelf.
The title appeared in silver letters:
THE FIRST BLOODLINE
Her heart began racing.
She opened it.
The first page contained a painting of a woman.
The woman looked exactly like Elena.
Elena stepped backward.
“No…”
Below the painting were five words.
The bloodline will return.
A page turned by itself.
Then another.
The final page contained a prophecy.
Elena read it slowly.
When the daughter of two bloodlines reaches her eighteenth year, the sleeping Alpha will awaken.
Her breathing stopped.
Two princes will seek her heart.
She frowned.
Then she read the final line.
But neither will be the one who claims her.
Elena closed the book.
“What does that mean?”
A voice answered from behind her.
“It means your future isn't what you think.”
Elena spun around.
A young man stood between the shelves.
She had never seen him before.
He wore a dark academy uniform, but there was no pack emblem on it.
His eyes were an unusual shade of grey.
“Who are you?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the book in her hands.
“You shouldn't have opened that.”
“Why?”
“Because now they know you've seen the prophecy.”
“Who are they?”
The young man stepped closer.
“The people who killed your mother's family.”
Elena's heart dropped.
“You knew my mother?”
“I knew of her.”
He turned toward the door.
“You need to leave.”
“Wait.”
He stopped.
“What is your name?”
He looked back at her.
“Lucian.”
Before Elena could ask anything else, the doors burst open.
Kael and Adrian rushed inside.
“Elena!”
She turned.
Kael looked at Lucian.
“Who is he?”
Lucian's expression hardened.
“That is none of your concern.”
Adrian moved closer.
“Everyone in this academy has a pack mark.”
Lucian smiled.
“I don't.”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“Then what are you?”
Lucian looked at Elena.
“That is exactly what she needs to discover.”
A loud howl echoed outside.
Lucian's expression changed.
“They found you.”
Elena looked toward the windows.
Hundreds of wolves surrounded the academy.
Kael drew his weapon.
Adrian moved beside him.
Lucian looked at Elena.
“When your power awakens completely, you won't be able to hide anymore.”
Elena's silver eyes began glowing.
“What happens then?”
Lucian answered quietly.
“They will kneel…”
He paused.
“Or they will try to kill you.”
The academy gates suddenly shattered.
And Elena heard the voice inside her mind again.
Now.
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