The engine hummed steadily, but everything else felt silent. Deafeningly silent.
I sat beside Andreis, Marco's driving. The leather seat beneath me cold, but not as cold as the knot tightening in my chest. The drive home was a blur—trees melting past the windows like shadows chasing us. I didn't ask where we were going. I didn't speak at all. I couldn't.
My wrists ached. The silver had burned deep. My shirt was stained with blood, but I didn't care. I couldn't bring myself to care.
My heart still hadn't slowed down. I felt like I was vibrating from the inside, like my entire body was filled with the kind of fear that had no name. And the worst part?
He felt it too.
Andreis sat next to me, unmoving, quiet. But I knew. I felt it. That tether between us—whatever it was—was humming like a live wire. Every shaky breath I took echoed in him. Every piece of my panic bled into his bones.
We were both unraveling.
I stared out the window, but I wasn't really looking at anything. I was replaying what I saw. What I shouldn't have seen.
That thing in the warehouse—it wasn't a thing. It was Andreis. His face, but not. His eyes, but gold. Claws. Fur. A beast.
I opened my mouth, surprised my voice worked at all.
"I saw you," I whispered. "You… changed. You weren't human."
His jaw tightened. I didn't look at him directly, but I saw the way his hands curled into fists.
"You weren't supposed to find out this way," he said softly.
My stomach twisted.
"So it's true," I said, voice cracking. "You're not... What are you?" I paused. "What am I?"
No one answered.
The car slowed as we reached the farm gates. The guards opened them without a word—like this was routine. Like it always had been. How long had they known? What else were they hiding?
Inside, the silence deepened. It was heavy—like the whole house was holding its breath, waiting for someone to speak the truth out loud.
I dropped onto the nearest leather chair, arms crossed tight across my chest. Not because I was cold, but because it was the only thing holding me together. I couldn't stop shaking. My thoughts were a whirlwind, crashing over one another.
Nothing made sense.
And then Marco's voice cut through the air.
"You were born into a bloodline that leads our kind. Our tribe. Our pack."
His words barely registered.
"Our kind?" I repeated. My voice was thinner now. More fragile. "What does that even mean?"
Andreis stepped forward before Marco could dig the knife in deeper.
"Werewolves, Mia," he said. Calm. Controlled. Like saying it out loud wouldn't shatter my entire world. "We're not myths. We're real. Your father is the Alpha. And.. you're turning soon."
No.
No.
No.
No.
My lungs refused to expand. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. But I still asked, "Turning? Turning into what?"
"You'll shift," Marco answered flatly. "On your 25th birthday. It's in your blood. We kept you on the farm to protect you. Because if the other tribes found out you hadn't turned yet…"
"They'll come for you," Andreis finished.
Just like tonight.
Something inside me snapped.
I stood, too fast. The room spun, but I didn't care. I started pacing, like movement could tear through the lies tightening around my throat.
"So the guards, the locked gates, the isolation—it wasn't to protect me. It was to hide me. To contain me. Like I'm some… werewolf princess?!"
"Not a princess," Marco said, almost too quietly. "Alpha-blood."
I laughed. Bitter and sharp.
It wasn't funny. None of it was. But what else could I do? Cry again? Scream? Burn the whole place down?
I was splintering from the inside.
And then Andreis stepped closer.
"There's more," he said, his voice gentler now. Like he knew what he was about to say would ruin me completely. "You and I… we're bonded. Imprinted. That's why I can feel you. Why I knew where you were tonight. Why your pain is mine."
My breath caught. I looked at him, truly looked at him—and saw it.
The guilt. The ache. The truth.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I asked. And God, it broke something in me just to say it.
Marco looked down.
"Because once you know, you can't unknow. The curse binds you. And now… it's too late."
I sat back down slowly, like my legs just gave up. My hands were shaking, but I didn't bother hiding it.
"So what happens to me now?"
Andreis knelt beside me. Close, but not touching. His voice was steady, but underneath it—I felt the storm.
"Now… we protect you. We train you. Because ready or not, war is coming. And you—Mia—you're not just a girl anymore. You're the key."
I stared down at my hands.
Bloodstained.
Bruised.
Mine.
But I wasn't sure who I was anymore.
And for the first time in my life…
I didn't feel safe.