CHAPTER 7 — WHAT HIDES IN THE BLOOD
1482 Words
Ember’s POV
“My… past?”
I repeat the words, but they don’t feel real.
Or maybe they feel too real—like a truth I’ve always sensed pressing at the edge of my memory but never dared to look at fully.
Fox watches me closely, his eyes sharp despite the calm expression he always wears.
“Yes,” he says. “And you need to prepare yourself before it arrives.”
A knot tightens slowly in my stomach.
“Fox,” I whisper, “what do you know?”
He doesn’t answer immediately.
He studies me like he’s deciding how much truth I’m strong enough to hear.
Finally:
“You should talk to Magnus.”
I take a step forward. “I’m talking to you.”
“And I’m telling you,” he replies evenly, “that some truths should be heard from the person willing to bleed for you.”
Magnus.
My chest squeezes painfully.
“Fox—”
He cuts in gently. “You’re not in danger yet. But you will be. And not because of Magnus. Or Kieran. Or the politics of the pack.”
He holds my gaze.
“Because of who you are.”
A cold ripple races down my spine.
Before I can speak again, footsteps echo from the far end of the hall.
Fox’s face hardens instantly.
“Later,” he murmurs. “And Ember…”
I pause.
“Choose carefully who you trust next.”
Then he vanishes down the adjoining hallway, silent as a shadow.
My pulse pounds.
I know Magnus said I’m safe here, but for the first time, the walls feel like they’re listening.
And I’m not sure they like what they hear.
Before I can decide where to go, a familiar voice pulls my attention.
“Ember?”
Nora.
The healer.
Warm, gentle, always smiling—except she isn’t smiling now.
Her eyes travel over me, concern softening her features.
“I’ve been looking all over for you.”
I exhale. “I just needed air.”
“I figured.” She steps closer, lowering her voice. “And I’m here to tell you… you’re not alone. Not in this pack. Not in this place.” She pauses gently. “Not in the chaos.”
My throat tightens.
The kindness nearly breaks me more than the fear.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
Nora touches my arm softly. “When you’re ready, come see me. There are some things about your aura I’d like to help you understand.”
I blink. “My… aura?”
She gives a small, cryptic smile.
“Your wolf is strong. Much stronger than you realize.”
Before I can ask more, someone calls her name from down the hall. She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and leaves.
I stand frozen, Fox’s warning and Nora’s cryptic tone looping in my mind—
When your past comes.
Your wolf is strong.
You’re not ordinary.
None of it makes sense.
But the feeling in my gut?
That makes too much sense.
Something is coming.
And it’s coming for me.
---
Magnus’s POV
I feel her before I see her.
Her scent bleeds into the corridors—warm, familiar, grounding—and something inside me settles and flares at the same time.
She’s safe.
But her heartbeat—
Her heartbeat is too fast.
I open the office door, scanning the hallway, and my wolf surges the instant I catch sight of her.
She looks small.
Lost.
Shaken.
The thought sends fury pounding through my veins.
“Ember.”
Her eyes lift, and something in my chest pulls tight.
I walk toward her with controlled steps.
She watches me the entire time like she isn’t sure whether she wants to run to me or run from everything.
“What happened?” I ask quietly.
“Nothing,” she whispers.
I tilt her chin up with two fingers.
“Ember.”
She hesitates.
Then: “Fox spoke to me.”
Ice slides through my veins.
“What did he say?”
She shakes her head. “He didn’t tell me anything. Not exactly. Just… he said my past is coming. That I’m not ordinary. That being with you will put a target on my back.”
My jaw clenches.
I swear I’ll strangle Fox for the timing—but not for the truth.
Because he’s right.
And she deserves honesty.
I take her hand.
“Come with me.”
She swallows. “Where?”
“Somewhere no one can listen.”
I guide her down a side hall, through a guarded archway, and into the war chamber—we rarely use it, but it’s soundproofed and sacred.
Once the door closes, she faces me again.
“Magnus,” she breathes, “what aren’t you telling me?”
I run a hand through my hair.
There are battles I am ready for—wars, treaties, assassins, rivals.
But this?
This delicate moment where the truth could break her trust?
This is the fight I fear losing.
“Ember,” I begin slowly, “I didn’t tell you earlier because you’ve already endured more pain than one heart should carry.” I inhale. “But your family… your bloodline… is tied to something old. And powerful. And feared.”
Her lips part. “What does that mean?”
“It means you weren’t supposed to be born outside a pack. You weren’t supposed to be hidden. And you weren’t supposed to be unclaimed for this long.”
My pulse hammers.
She stares at me, eyes wide with confusion, fear, and something else…
Hope.
“Magnus,” she whispers, “what am I?”
I step closer, letting my voice drop, firm and steady.
“You are not a mistake. You are not weak. You are not small.”
I touch her cheek gently.
“You are descended from a line of Lunas whose power nearly reshaped the Northern territories.”
Her breath stops.
“You carry their blood, Ember.”
I look into her eyes.
“And I think you already know it.”
Her hands tremble.
“Is that why… everything has felt wrong? Too big? Too intense?”
“Yes,” I answer softly. “Your wolf is waking up. And when it does fully—the world will feel small compared to you.”
She stares at me, stunned.
And then—
A knock echoes on the chamber door.
I stiffen instantly.
“Who?” I bark.
“It’s Lyra.”
Of all times…
I open the door.
Princess Lyra—dressed in her usual royal silks and poisonous confidence—leans against the doorframe, eyes flicking immediately to Ember.
She smiles.
A slow, satisfied smile.
“Oh good,” Lyra purrs. “You’re both here.”
Ember subtly steps closer to me.
Lyra notices.
Her smile widens.
“I came to deliver a message,” she says sweetly.
“From the Southern Court.”
I narrow my eyes. “Speak.”
Lyra holds out a sealed letter, but she keeps her gaze locked on Ember.
“The message,” she says softly, “is about her.”
Ember stiffens.
My wolf growls.
“Say it,” I command.
Lyra tilts her head, feigning innocence.
“They want her alive.”
She pauses.
“For now.”
A dangerous silence fills the room.
Lyra slides her gaze to Ember.
“And Ember, dear…”
Her eyes glitter.
“You might want to stay close to Magnus. Very close. Because there are people who would kill for what’s in your blood.”
She steps back with a smirk.
“And others who would kill you for it.”
The door closes behind her, leaving the air colder, heavier.
Ember’s breath shakes.
She turns to me slowly.
“Magnus…” her voice cracks.
“Why,” she whispers, “does everyone want me?”
And for the first time—
I step forward and pull her into my arms.
Not as an Alpha protecting his pack.
Not as a man desiring a woman.
But as someone who has finally realized:
This girl is about to change the world.
And every danger in that world knows it.
---
Kieran’s POV
I feel the shift in the pack’s energy before anyone knocks on my door.
Something’s wrong.
Very wrong.
My wolf paces inside me, restless, sensing danger—danger pointing not at me, but at her.
I grip the edge of my desk.
I lost Ember.
I know that.
But the bond hasn’t faded.
It pulses now—erratic, distressed.
I slam my fist on the table.
“What happened?” I whisper to the empty room.
The bond throbs again.
And I realize something I’ve been too angry to admit:
Whatever comes next…
Ember is in danger.
And fate or no fate—
I’m not letting her face it alone.
---
- Writer
