Chapter 5 – Secrets in the Stone
428 Words
Lira couldn’t sleep.
Even after Kael’s haunting plea in the woods, even after helping him back to his cabin and watching him collapse in exhaustion — her mind wouldn’t stop spinning.
He was made.
The rogue wasn’t a wolf.
And Torran had something to do with it all.
She had to know the truth.
So just before dawn, while the pack still slept, she slipped into the shadows and made her way toward the council hall — and the Beta’s private chambers.
Torran had never trusted anyone near his study. But Lira had treated him enough times to know the weak points in his security: a loose window latch near the back and guards who changed shifts every forty-five minutes.
She moved fast.
Inside, the chamber was colder than she expected. Lined with stone, the walls were covered in scrolls, maps, and weapons. But one shelf caught her eye — thick books with strange, golden bindings. Symbols she didn’t recognize. She opened one.
It wasn’t a pack ledger. It was a spellbook.
She flipped through the pages, her hands trembling. Diagrams of beasts. Blood rituals. Binding spells. There were notes scribbled in Torran’s handwriting:
“Subject responds to soul-binding better than expected.”
“Memory suppression unstable. Might return with emotional triggers.”
“The vessel is holding, but for how long?”
Lira’s stomach dropped.
The vessel.
He wasn’t talking about the creature in the woods.
He was talking about Kael.
She dug deeper and found a leather folder tucked behind the spellbooks. Inside were drawings — sketches of wolves and monsters stitched together. At the bottom, the title: Project Alpha Rebirth.
Her hands shook so badly she nearly dropped it.
Torran hadn’t just tried to bring Kael back.
He’d created something new. Something built.
Something dangerous.
And the worst part? He didn’t care if it worked… or if it failed.
A noise behind her made her spin.
The door creaked open slightly — but no one entered.
She quickly stuffed the folder into her cloak and slipped out the back, heart pounding like a drum.
She didn’t stop running until she reached the edge of the healer’s quarters. There, hidden in a corner by a low-burning lamp, she opened the folder again.
Her eyes caught the last page.
It was a chart.
Two names:
• Kael – Status: Deceased. Soul used.
• Subject #2 – Status: Pending. Vessel not yet selected.
Subject… two?
She closed the folder, breathing hard.
There was someone else.
Another vessel.
And Kael — or whatever was inside him — was ju
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