BREAKING THE LOCK
1404 Words
The sky burned orange over Greendale and every passing minute felt like a countdown to something I wasn't ready for.
Lucian barely spoke as Sabine prepared the space outside the cabin. He paced up and down, his shoulders tight, jaw clenched, eyes flickering with no control.
I'd never seen him afraid before, not like that.
"Lucian," I said quietly.
"You don't have to do this," he responded, holding my hands.
I stepped toward him. "I already said I am."
"What if I can't control it, what if —"
"I trust you."
He froze finally, eyes meeting mine with something raw.
“That’s the part that scares me.”
Before I could answer, Sabine interrupted
“It’s time.”
She drew a circle which had dirt that had been drawn into runes.
Eli and Derek stood guard just outside the ring, tense and alert.
Lucian stepped into the circle with me, every muscle rigid.
“Tessa,” he murmured. “If I lose control—”
“You won’t.”
His claws slid out slowly, unwillingly, the tips glittering.
Sabine nodded. “Place your hand at the base of her neck. Don’t puncture until I say.”
I turned, lifting my hair. My heart pounded so hard I thought he’d hear it.
Lucian’s breath hitched as he touched my skin. Warm. Shaking.
“Tessa…” His voice trembled. “If this hurts—”
“It’s supposed to,” Sabine said. “Pain awakens memory.”
Lucian flinched at her words.
“Are you ready, child?” Sabine asked.
“Yes.”
“Lucian. Begin.”
His claws pressed lightly against my neck, not breaking my skin yet. His forehead dropped to my shoulder, breathing unsteady.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“For all the things you’re about to remember.”
Before I could react, Sabine’s voice boomed.
“NOW.”
Lucian’s claws sank in, deep enough to ignite lightning inside my head.
Pain ripped through me. Not physical pain. Memory. Flashes.
A front porch.
A girl laughing.
A boy with dark hair and softer eyes than the man holding me now.
Not Lucian the Alpha. Lucian the boy.
He was smiling at me.
“You can’t outrun me, Tess!”
More flashes...
Hands intertwined.
A promise whispered in the woods.
A fight
My mother pulling me away
The same hooded man from last night grabbing my wrist.
“Stop!” I cried, but the memories kept crashing. Darkness swallowing everything, like my mind had been slammed shut.
I collapsed forward, shaking.
Lucian caught me before I hit the ground, pulling me into his chest.
“Tessa! Tessa. Open your eyes, look at me—”
I gasped, air flooding back into my lungs.
Sabine let out a long breath. “The lock is open. She saw something. Enough to break the seal.”
Lucian brushed my hair back, panic and relief fighting in his expression.
“What did you see?” he whispered.
I looked up at him, tears stinging my eyes.
“I saw us.”
He froze.
“And I saw him.”
Lucian’s expression darkened. “Your uncle.”
I swallowed.
“He took me.”
Lucian’s eyes went feral gold.
“That’s why he said family shouldn’t be apart,” I whispered. “He thinks he owns me.”
Lucian stood slowly, lifting me with him.
“No,” he growled. “He doesn’t.”
Sabine stepped closer, her voice grim.
“This was only the first layer. There’s more buried. More dangerous.”
Lucian’s arm tightened around me.
“Then we dig it all out,” I said. “Every lie. Every memory. Every scar.”
Eli exhaled sharply. “Tessa… you know what that means.”
Lucian didn’t look away from me.
"I’m done hiding," I replied. "I want to know the truth."
Sabine drew a fresh circle, this one finer, older, carved with runes that looked more distinct.
“This won’t just unlock memories,” she warned. “It will drag them out.”
Lucian’s jaw flexed as he took his position behind me.
“Are you sure?” he whispered.
“Yes.”
His claws extended again, slower this time. More controlled More afraid.
“Begin,” Sabine said.
His claws slipped into my skin, just enough to open that door in my head.
And the world vanished.
I fell into a living memory.
Not a flash.
Not a glimpse.
A full scene.
I was in a small living room that smelled like lavender and old books.
My aunt was pacing. My mother stood by the window, crying silently, shoulders shaking.
“She’s changing,” my aunt said sharply. “We knew this day would come.”
“She’s just a child,” my mother whispered.
“She’s not just anything,” my aunt snapped. “Her blood is waking. And when it does, he’ll find her.”
My mother sobbed harder. “We should have told her—”
“Told her what?” my aunt hissed. “That she’s not human? That she has power neither of us can control? That the wolves will tear the world apart to claim her?”
My breath caught.
Not human?
My mother grabbed my aunt’s arms. “We can still protect her. We can hide it. Just like we hid ourselves.”
Oh my goodness.
My aunt’s voice softened but stayed firm.
“She won’t stay safe forever. She’s too strong.”
My mother closed her eyes. “Then we seal her memories. All of them.”
My heart sank.
Memory shifted again.
The porch. Midnight.
My aunt, holding my face between her hands, whispering:
“I’m sorry, Tessa. You won’t remember this. You won’t remember him.”
I remembered that moment. Lucian had left me without saying a word. No goodbyes. No nothing. He just vanished.
She placed her hands on my temples chanting words I couldn't understand.
But the light swallowed everything.
And then everything became dark.
My head was still humming from the last memory when a sound sliced through the silence, low, calm, and too close.
“So… you finally understand.”
My entire body froze. That voice. Smooth. Familiar in a way that made the air tighten.
Eli reacted first.
“Who’s there?” he snapped, claws halfway out.
Derek moved beside him, eyes scanning the shadows. “Tessa, stay behind us.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered, even though my heart was beating like it wanted to break.
The voice came again, a little clearer, a little colder.
“Don’t bother searching. If I wanted to hide, you wouldn’t find me.”
Patrick.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t know how I knew his name, but I just did. It was the same voice that had lingered like smoke in my erased memories.
Eli growled. “Show yourself!”
There was a pause… then footsteps echoed from the far end of the woods. Slow. Deliberate.
A tall figure stepped into the dim light, hands raised casually.
“I’m alone,” he said. “No ambush. No trick. If I wanted a fight, you’d know.”
Eli didn’t believe him. Derek didn’t either. They both kept their guards up, muscles tight, eyes locked on him.
But I noticed something they didn’t:
He wasn’t tense. He wasn’t scared.
He was… amused.
Patrick’s eyes went to me. “Tessa.”
"Patrick
My breath caught.
"I see the memory restoration program worked," he said with a smirk on his face.
“You deserved the truth,” he said softly. “Even if Julia thought otherwise.”
Julia. That was my aunt's name.
The room vibrated faintly, like something inside me had recognized him.
Eli stepped forward. “Stay away from her.”
Lucian tilted his head, unbothered. “I came to help.” Then his gaze met mine again. “And to tell you the whole truth.”
"So you expect me to suddenly trust a man I barely know."
"Not a man, your uncle." he countered.
Eli barked a humorless laugh. “And we’re supposed to trust you?”
“You don’t have to trust me,” Patrick said. “But she does.”
His gaze locked on mine again. “Because I’m the only one who can explain what she is.”
My throat tightened.
Not because of fear, but because somehow… I knew he was right.
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