Marked by Midnight

Chapter 5

Beyond the Boundary

Alaric’s POV

I didn't expect her to follow me.

When I turned and started walking into the woods, I expected to hear her footsteps behind me for only a few seconds before she changed her mind.

Instead, they kept coming. I glanced over my shoulder.

Elena was still there. She looked nervous. I could see it in the way she kept looking around, as if she was waiting for something to jump out of the darkness.

She had every reason to be afraid. She had just met a stranger who had appeared out of nowhere and claimed to know about her parents.

Most people would have run home. Elena had chosen answers instead. That told me more about her than I needed to know.

“You can still turn back,” I said.

She stopped.

For a moment, I thought she actually would.

Then she shook her head. “No.”

I looked at her. “Why?”

“Because you know something about my parents.”

There was no hesitation in her voice this time.

I turned away again.

“Then keep walking.”

We continued through the trees.

The deeper we went, the quieter the surroundings became. The sounds of the human world slowly disappeared behind us. No cars. No voices. No distant music from houses. Only the wind moving through the branches.

Elena stayed a few steps behind me. Every now and then, I heard her stumble over a root or push a branch out of her way.

I slowed down. She noticed.

“You're walking slower,” she said.

“I noticed you were struggling to keep up.”

“I wasn't struggling.”

I almost smiled.

She had her father's stubbornness.

I remembered Magnus saying the same thing years ago whenever someone questioned him.

I didn't tell her that. Not yet.

We eventually reached the old stone marker buried between the trees.

Elena stopped.

“What is that?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That doesn't look like nothing.”

I looked at the stone. It marked the boundary. The barrier between the human world and ours.

For years, Elena had lived on the other side without knowing it existed. Tonight, that was going to change.

I stepped towards it. The air around the stone shifted.

Elena immediately noticed.

“What happened?”

“Stay close to me.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Because once we cross this boundary, things won't be the way you're used to.”

She stared at me.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Home.”

Her expression changed.

“Home?”

I nodded.

“Your real home.”

She didn't move.

I could almost see the questions fighting for space in her mind.

“Are you saying my home isn't here?”

“No.”

“Then where is it?”

“On the other side.”

She looked behind her.

The direction we had come from.

For the first time since she'd followed me, I saw doubt in her eyes. I understood. Leaving everything she had ever known was not a small thing.

But she had asked for the truth. And the truth was waiting.

“Are you going to hurt me?” she asked quietly.

The question caught me off guard.

“No.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

She studied my face for several seconds.

Then she stepped beside me.

“Okay.”

I placed my hand against the stone. The barrier responded immediately.

A strange pressure moved through the air, and the trees around us seemed to disappear beneath a wave of silver light.

Elena gasped.

I reached for her hand.

“Don't let go.”

Her fingers tightened around mine.

Then we stepped through.

Everything changed. The air felt different first.

cleaner, colder and stronger .Elena looked around. Her mouth fell slightly open.

The forest was still there, but it wasn't the same forest.

The trees were taller. The moon looked brighter.

Even the darkness seemed different.

And then she heard them.

A howl echoed somewhere in the distance.

Elena froze.

Another howl answered.

Then another.

She looked at me.

“What was that?”

I didn't answer immediately.

She heard the sounds again.

Wolves. Not ordinary wolves. Pack wolves.

Elena slowly turned in a circle.

“Where are we?”

“The supernatural world.”

She stared at me.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she laughed nervously.

“You're joking.”

“No.”

“There's no such thing as a supernatural world.”

“You're standing in it.”

Her smile disappeared. She looked around again.

This time, she wasn't amused. She was trying to understand. I knew she wouldn't believe everything immediately.

That was fine. She didn't have to.

She only needed to see.

We continued walking. As we moved farther from the boundary, lights began appearing through the trees.

Elena stared at them.

“What is that?”

“A town.”

“A town?”

“Yes.”

She looked confused.

“I thought you said this was a supernatural world.”

“It is.”

“Then why does it look normal?”

“Because we're not monsters hiding in caves.”

That finally made her smile. Just a little.

I noticed it but said nothing.

Soon, the trees opened into a wide road. Buildings stood in the distance. People walked along the streets. Some looked completely human. Others didn't.

Elena's eyes widened when she saw a pair of glowing eyes disappear into the crowd. She grabbed my arm.

“What was that?”

“Something you'll learn about.”

“And those people?”

“Wolves.”

Her eyes widened.

“Werewolves?”

I nodded.

She stopped walking.

“You're telling me werewolves are real?”

“Yes.”

“And you knew about them?”

“Yes.”

“And my parents knew?”

I stopped.

There it was.

The question I had been avoiding.

I turned to face her.

“Yes.”

Her face changed.

“My parents were werewolves?”

“Your mother was.”

She waited.

“And my father?”

I looked at her.

“Your father was something more.”

Her eyebrows pulled together.

“What does that mean?”

“It means you have a lot to learn.”

She looked frustrated.

“You said you'd tell me about my parents.”

“I will.”

“When?”

“Not tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Because you're exhausted, you're confused and you've just crossed into a world you didn't know existed.”

She folded her arms.

“I can handle it.”

“I know.”

That seemed to surprise her.

I continued walking. She followed.

We reached the gates of Hayes territory shortly afterwards. Two guards stood there. The moment they saw me, they straightened.

Then their eyes moved to Elena.

Their expressions changed. Neither said anything.

I didn't need them to. They knew exactly who she was.

Elena noticed.

“Why are they looking at me like that?”

“Because you're important.”

“Important how?”

I looked at her.

“That is something you will learn soon.”

She sighed.

“You say that a lot.”

“I know.”

For the first time that night, I allowed myself a small smile. She didn't notice. She was too busy staring at everything around her.

I looked ahead.

I had brought Magnus's daughter back.

The girl he had sacrificed everything to protect was finally standing inside the world she had been hidden from.

But I knew something Elena didn't. Her arrival would not remain a secret for long. And once people discovered who she really was, there would be no going back.

Not for her. Not for me.

And certainly not for the people who had spent years hoping the Morgan bloodline had disappeared forever.