Elena’s POV
The mont I confird Damien and Gage had settled into sleep, I slipped from the house like a shadow in the night.
My coat wrapped tight around , boots laced with practiced silence, I began my careful trek toward the woodland that bordered our territory.
Years of dodging patrols back in my old pack had taught valuable lessons about moving unseen. Every step calculated, every breath asured, I navigated around the guards with the skill of soone who had survived by staying invisible.
The border appeared before like an invisible line drawn in the earth. Without hesitation, I crossed over and plunged deeper into the forest, keeping well away from the main road where any passing vehicle might spot .
Marcus’s scouts could be anywhere. After all the effort I had put into this secret eting, getting caught now would destroy everything.
A cluster of weathered rocks jutted from the forest floor like ancient sentinels. I scaled them with ease and settled on top, my body tense with anticipation.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours. The forest around pulsed with nocturnal life, but I remained focused on waiting for my contact.
Then the air shifted. A sudden rush of wind swept past , carrying with it an otherworldly chill that made my skin prickle.
"Hello, Julian." I spoke into the darkness without turning to look at him.
"You ca." His voice materialized behind . "You ntioned this was urgent."
I reached into my jacket and pulled out the photocopied pages I had printed earlier, holding them up in the moonlight.
"This is what you wanted to discover, isn’t it?"
His pale fingers took the papers, scanning them quickly even in the dim light.
"Part of it, yes. But there are deeper layers you haven’t uncovered yet." His tone carried weight I couldn’t quite interpret.
"You belong to the Mortir coven." It wasn’t a question.
"Correct." He confird without hesitation.
My stomach tightened as the implications hit . "So you have this treaty with my forr pack. You know I’m here, hiding from Marcus. Have you already inford him of my location?"
"Why would I betray you like that?" His response ca sharp and imdiate.
"Because according to these docunts, your coven pledged loyalty to the pack leadership. That ans no betrayal, complete honesty." I gestured toward the papers in his hands.
"The treaty was signed with Alpha Raymond Fairfax specifically. Not his successors or anyone who might claim the territory later. Our agreent becos void unless a Fairfax bloodline reclaims rightful leadership of that pack." His explanation sent chills down my spine.
"Who exactly was Raymond Fairfax to ?" The question burned in my throat.
"Everything you need to understand is docunted in those historical records." He deflected.
"I refuse to wade through centuries of pack politics and ancient grudges. Tell directly what connection this Alpha had to my bloodline." My voice rose with frustration.
"Raymond Fairfax was your forefather. Marcus’s family seized control through manipulation and force, stealing what rightfully belonged to your lineage. The ti has co for you to reclaim your inheritance."
The revelation hit like a physical blow. "Was my mating bond with Marcus orchestrated because of this?"
"Most likely. Though your rejection of him and subsequent flight complicated matters significantly. That deviation wasn’t anticipated."
"What do you an, deviation? Why am I supposedly central to any sche?" My voice cracked with growing anger.
"Because destiny chose you to restore the rightful order. You are the prophet our coven has waited for." His words carried an almost religious reverence.
Laughter bubbled up from my chest, bitter and sharp. "Prophet? I spent years living in squalor, treated worse than dirt under everyone’s feet. Now I’m carrying Marcus’s child and you expect to sohow overthrow him and claim an entire pack? The logic is insane."
"I cannot explain the thods, only the certainty of your role. The prophecy is clear about your purpose." He remained unmoved by my outburst.
"How many vampires comprise your coven?" I shifted tactics, seeking practical information.
"When the original treaty was established, four of us existed. Our numbers have grown to ten over the centuries."
"Were you among the founding mbers of Mortir coven?"
"The second to be turned. My creator brought each of us into this existence, always during monts when death seed inevitable." His voice carried mories of ancient pain.
"Your age?"
"Two hundred eighty years."
"And your maker?"
"Five hundred sixty years. He endured centuries of solitude before discovering . Sothing about my situation compelled him to intervene when I was seventeen and dying. Our coven survives on animal blood exclusively. We have never taken human life for sustenance." The pride in his voice was unmistakable.
"Since you believe I am this prophesied figure, I assu your entire coven shares this conviction?"
The weight of his silence told everything I needed to know. Sowhere in the darkness of these woods, nine other vampires considered their key to fulfilling so ancient promise.
The baby moved within , as if responding to the tension crackling through my body. Marcus’s child, growing inside while I plotted against everything he represented.
The irony was suffocating. Mated to the man whose family had stolen my birthright, pregnant with his heir, expected to sohow reclaim a pack I had never wanted in the first place.
"This prophecy of yours," I began carefully, "what exactly does it say will happen when I reclaim the pack?"
Julian’s eyes reflected the moonlight like mirrors as he considered his answer. The forest around us seed to hold its breath, waiting for words that would reshape everything I thought I knew about my destiny.
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