The Unravelling
1344 Words
Eva’s POV
The room was so still, I could hear the beat of my heart. Marge stood by the doorway, arms crossed, concern clouding her warm eyes.
“How long have they been arguing?” she asked.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The moment Isak and Alpha Trent laid eyes on each other again, the tension exploded like dry kindling under a match. I had begged them to stay calm, for Nathan’s sake, for the pack’s sake, but now I knew that was a ridiculous hope.
Marge stepped forward. “Eva?”
I sighed. “It’s been over an hour.”
“Are you going in there?”
I shook my head. “They need to talk. But if this escalates…”
Marge’s face hardened. “Then you’ll step in?”
“Yes,” I replied, already dreading it. “If I must.”
The door to the main hall cracked open. I tensed. Isak stepped out, alone.
His jaw was tight, but his voice was measured. “He’s furious. But I didn’t expect less.”
I searched his eyes. “Isak, did you...”
“I told him everything,” he said. “Everything except the part that you and I…”
“Pretended,” I filled in.
He gave a dry chuckle. “Yes. Pretended.”
I lowered my eyes. “You know I only did it because I had to.”
“I know,” he said gently. “And I let you, because I thought you’d come to love me. I waited five years for you to look at me the way you used to look at him.”
I winced. “I tried, Isak. I really did.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I know, Eva. And I’d wait another five if it meant you’d be safe. But I can’t pretend anymore.”
The air grew thick with tension.
Before I could respond, the door burst open again. Alpha Trent stepped out, eyes narrowed, rage still simmering in his aura.
“You lied,” he hissed at me. “You told me he was your mate.”
I raised my chin. “I never said the word mate. I said he was the father.”
“And you expected me to believe it?!” he roared, his wolf flashing in his eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t recognize my own blood?!”
“You denied him first!” I shouted back. “You rejected both of us!”
Trent took a step forward. “And yet here I am, trying to fix everything.”
“Too little, too late,” I snapped.
“I’m not letting him grow up without a father,” he barked. “Not again.”
Isak stepped between us. “That’s not your call.”
“Oh, and it’s yours?” Trent sneered.
“He’s her son,” Isak said calmly. “And until she decides otherwise, he’s my responsibility.”
Trent lunged.
In a flash, they shifted.
Growls echoed through the pack house as a dark blur of Trent’s wolf collided with Isak’s larger, silver-toned form. Wood splintered. Furniture crashed. Wolves barked in alarm.
I screamed, but they didn’t stop.
Isak pinned Trent, but Trent flipped him over, snapping at his throat. I stepped into the chaos, throwing up my hands. “STOP IT!”
They ignored me.
My wolf surged. “Enough!”
A shockwave burst from my chest. A pulse of white-hot energy knocked both alphas back across the room.
The room went silent.
Trent’s wolf staggered to his feet, growling low, confused. Isak remained down, dazed. Marge was the only one not surprised.
“Your powers,” she whispered. “They’re waking up again.”
I hadn’t used them since... since my father died.
Trent shifted back, breathing hard. “What did you just do?”
I trembled, my fingers tingling. “I don’t know.”
He stepped closer, quieter now. “That wasn’t normal.”
“No,” I admitted. “It’s not.”
“Eva,” Isak said slowly, “have you been training... without me?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t explain the dreams, the sensations, the way my blood sometimes felt like fire.
Trent’s voice cut in. “You’ve been hiding something.”
Before I could respond, a scout burst into the room, panting. “Alpha Trent! The rogues! They’ve attacked the east border again. They’re stronger this time.”
Trent’s expression shifted instantly. “How many?”
“Too many,” the scout panted. “And they’ve taken a hostage.”
My blood froze. “Who?”
The scout turned to me. “A boy. A child. They say his name is Nathan.”
My scream split the air.
Nathan
They gagged me before I could cry out. My arms were tied, and I was being carried through the trees by someone big, fast, and angry.
My heart beat loud in my ears. I’d been trying to run an errand for Dale—Dale who always gave me treats for a job well done—but now I was in the arms of someone who smelled like death and ash.
I wanted my mom.
I wanted Alpha Trent.
I wanted...
The figure carrying me stopped suddenly. Another rogue stepped out from behind a tree, whispering, “The girl will come for the boy.”
“Good,” said the one holding me. “And when she does, the Alpha will follow.”
The room exploded into movement.
Isak and Trent both roared commands.
“I’ll go after them myself!” I barked.
“No, Eva—” Isak reached for me, but I was already running.
I grabbed the nearest weapon, a silver blade mounted on the wall, and stormed past the scouts. “If anything happens to my son, I swear I’ll burn this forest to the ground!”
Trent was beside me in a flash. “You’re not going alone.”
“I wasn’t asking,” I snapped.
“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice low, tense. “I saw the one who took him.”
I froze.
“What?”
Trent clenched his fists. “It wasn’t a rogue I didn’t recognize. It was someone I once banished from the pack.”
“Who?”
He hesitated. “Sandra.”
My breath caught in my throat. “That’s impossible. She left the pack.”
“She returned,” he growled. “And she’s working with the rogues now.”
Sandra
I held the boy’s chin, studying his wide eyes. “You’re smaller than I imagined. But powerful. You have his blood.”
He whimpered.
“No worries, little prince,” I said sweetly. “Your mother will come for you. And then, your father will follow. And I’ll have all three of you exactly where I want.”
Behind me, Eva’s father stepped out from the shadows.
“Well done, Sandra,” he said coldly. “Prepare the circle.”
Back at Moonstone Pack
Isak finished gathering the remaining scouts when a horn blew from the north gate.
“What now?” he muttered.
A new voice rang out from the entrance. “Permission to enter!”
Trent and I reached the clearing first. Dozens of armored wolves stood at the edge of our territory, their golden insignias glinting under the moonlight.
A tall figure stepped forward, removing his helmet.
My heart stuttered.
“Isak,” I whispered.
He turned toward the lead warrior. “Commander... you're early.”
The warrior smirked. “The Lycan King sends his regards.”
“About time,” Trent muttered.
Isak turned to me, his voice low. “They don’t know about Nathan. Or your powers.”
“They will soon,” I said.
Because the battle had already begun.
And the real war?
It was coming.
A howl shattered the silence of the forest.
Then another.
And then, a voice
, deep, ancient, cruel, rippled through the trees:
"The child is ours now. Come and claim him, if you dare."
- Writer
