I woke up in my own bed, but something was wrong. My window was broken. Glass covered my floor like sharp stars. Cold morning air rushed through the hole where the window used to be.
"Mom!" I called out, sitting up too fast. My head spun and my mouth tasted like metal.
She ran in, her face pale and worried. "Oh thank goodness, you're awake! How do you feel?"
"Confused," I said honestly. "What happened? How did I get home?"
"Darius found you in the woods about an hour after you were taken," she explained, sitting on my bed. "You were asleep by the old oak tree. Your kidnappers just... left you there."
That made no sense. "Why would they take me just to leave me in the woods?"
"We don't know," Mom said quietly. "Alpha Orion has the whole pack searching for answers."
I touched my head where it hurt. "I remember Sylas grabbing me. Then everything went black."
"The doctor said you weren't hurt, just drugged with something to make you sleep." Mom brushed my hair back gently. "But Elara, there's something else."
My stomach dropped. "What now?"
"The whole pack knows about last night. About Sylas being alive, about the prophecy, about everything."
I groaned and fell back on my pillow. "Great. So now everyone thinks I'm some kind of monster."
"Not everyone," Mom said, but she didn't sound sure.
A knock at the door stopped us. "Come in," I called softly.
Darius stepped inside, and I immediately felt better through our bond. He had that calm energy that always made me feel safe.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, his blue eyes full of worry.
"Like I got hit by a truck," I admitted. "But thank you for finding me."
"I couldn't just let you disappear," he said simply. "The bond led me to you."
Mom stood up. "I'll let you two talk. But Elara, you need to eat something soon."
After she left, Darius sat in the chair by my bed. "There's something I need to tell you about last night."
"More bad news?" I asked.
"When I found you, you weren't alone."
My heart stopped. "What do you mean?"
"There was a letter pinned to your shirt. It was addressed to you." He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
With shaking hands, I took it and opened it.
*My dear daughter,*
*Your real training starts soon. The pack has filled your head with lies about who you are and what you're capable of. When you're ready to learn the truth about your power, find the old willow tree by the northern border at midnight. Come alone.*
*Your loving father,*
*Sylas*
I stared at the letter, feeling sick. "He wants me to meet him."
"You're not going," Darius said firmly.
"I know that," I said quickly. "I'm not stupid."
But even as I said it, part of me was curious. What did Sylas mean about my power? What truth was he talking about?
"I need to get dressed," I said. "I can't hide in my room forever."
Darius nodded. "I'll wait outside."
After he left, I got ready slowly. My whole body felt heavy, like I was moving through water. When I finally stepped outside, I quickly realized something was different.
The pack members I passed stopped talking when they saw me. Some stared openly. Others whispered behind their hands.
"Is that her?" I heard someone say. "The one with the prophecy?"
"I heard she's dangerous."
"Maybe we should stay away from her."
Each whisper felt like a knife in my chest. These were people I'd grown up with. People who used to ignore me, sure, but who had never been afraid of me. Now they looked at me like I might explode at any moment.
I walked faster, trying to get to the main hall where breakfast was served. But everywhere I went, the whispers followed.
"My mom says she might destroy us all."
"The triple bond is a bad sign. It means trouble."
"I always knew there was something weird about her."
By the time I reached the hall, tears were burning my eyes. I grabbed a piece of bread and found an empty table in the corner. But I wasn't alone for long.
"Well, well," Rhea's voice said behind me. "If it isn't our new savior."
I turned to see Rhea standing with two other girls from the Beta families. They all looked angry.
"Hi, Rhea," I said quietly.
"Don't 'hi Rhea' me," she snapped. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"I haven't done anything," I argued.
"Haven't done anything?" Rhea laughed, but it wasn't a nice sound. "You've thrown the entire pack into chaos! People are scared. They're talking about leaving!"
"That's not my fault," I said, standing up.
"Isn't it?" one of the other girls said. "You're the one whose father is trying to destroy us."
"I didn't choose my father," I said desperately. "I didn't even know he was alive until yesterday!"
"But you're still his daughter," Rhea said coldly. "And prophecies don't lie."
The hall had gone quiet. Everyone was watching our conversation.
"Either you save us all, or you kill us all," Rhea continued loudly. "Those are pretty bad odds, don't you think?"
"I would never hurt anyone," I whispered.
"That's what you say now," Rhea responded. "But what happens when your rogue blood takes over? What happens when you decide you like your father's ideas better than ours?"
I felt my face get hot. "I'm not going to turn evil!"
"Prove it," Rhea challenged. "Reject the bond. Leave the pack. Go live with the rogues where you belong."
"I can't reject the bond," I said. "You know it doesn't work that way."
"Then maybe the bond should reject you," Rhea said with a cruel smile.
Before I could ask what she meant, Elder Mira appeared beside our table.
"That's enough," the old woman said firmly. "All of you, go back to your breakfast."
Rhea and her friends left, but not before giving me dirty looks. Elder Mira sat down across from me. Her cloudy eyes looked worried.
"Child, we need to talk," she said quietly.
"About the prophecy?" I asked.
"About what's coming," she answered. "I've been having visions, and they're getting stronger."
My stomach dropped. "What kind of visions?"
"Dark ones," she whispered. "I see blood. I see the pack torn apart. I see you at the center of it all."
"I don't want to hurt anyone," I said desperately.
"I know, child. But wanting and doing are different things." She reached across the table and took my hand. "The prophecy speaks of choice. You will have to choose between two paths."
"What paths?"
"I'm not sure yet. But one leads to salvation, and the other leads to destruction." Her grip on my hand tightened. "And I fear someone is trying to make that choice for you."
"What do you mean?"
But before she could answer, Lucien appeared at our table.
"Elara, you need to come with me," he said urgently. "Now."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"It's Kaelen," Lucien said, his face pale. "He's gone."
My heart stopped. "Gone where?"
"Nobody knows. He left early this morning with his hunting gear. But he should have been back hours ago."
Elder Mira gasped. "No, this is too soon. The visions said—"
She stopped talking and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her whole body started shaking.
"Elder Mira!" I cried, jumping up.
But she couldn't hear me. She was having another vision.
"Blood," she whispered in a voice that didn't sound like hers. "So much blood. The strongest son... betrayed by his own heart... the rogue king rises... the daughter must choose... choose now or lose everything..."
Then she fell forward onto the table.
People screamed. Someone ran for the doctor. But all I could think about was Kaelen. He was out there somewhere, possibly in trouble. And somehow, I knew it was connected to Sylas.
I looked at the letter in my hand, the one asking me to meet him at midnight. What if he didn't plan to wait until midnight? What if he already had one of my mates?