Chapter 18
Riley had made her decision.
The weight of it settled deep in her bones as she stared at Callum, her pulse thrumming like a war drum against her ribs.
She should have been afraid.
But she wasn't.
Not anymore.
Because fear had kept her trapped and weak for too long.
Now, she was done being afraid.
Callum watched her carefully, his golden eyes flickering with something sharp. Amusement, maybe. Or approval.
"Good," he murmured. "I was starting to think you'd never get there."
Riley exhaled slowly. "I'm not there yet."
Callum smirked. "Oh, but you will be."
The certainty in his voice sent a shiver through her, but she ignored it.
She had made her choice.
And now?
Now, she had to live with it.
Callum turned, walking deeper into the trees without another word.
For a second, Riley hesitated.
One last moment to change her mind.
To turn back.
To run.
But she didn't.
Instead, she followed him into the dark.
Because she was tired of running.
And if she was going to become something else
She needed to know exactly what that meant.
They walked for hours.
The forest stretched around them, thick and endless, the towering trees casting long shadows beneath the silver sliver of the moon.
Riley's legs ached, but she didn't complain.
She had too many questions burning inside her.
Finally, when the silence had stretched too long, she spoke.
"Where are we going?"
Callum glanced at her, smirking. "What's wrong? Are you regretting your choice?"
Riley scowled. "Just answer the damn question."
Callum chuckled but didn't push her further. "There's a place," he said. "A place where the pack won't follow. Where no one will follow."
Riley frowned. "And what exactly is there?"
Callum's smirk faded, replaced by something almost serious.
"Answers," he said. "And maybe, if you're lucky, the truth."
Riley's stomach twisted.
The truth.
That was what she wanted, wasn't it?
But somehow, the way Callum said it like the truth was something dangerous, something deadly made her pulse spike.
Still, she didn't stop walking.
Because it was too late to turn back now.
And maybe just maybe she didn't want to.
They reached an old, abandoned structure just before dawn.
It was half-buried beneath the overgrowth, vines crawling up the cracked stone walls, the roof sagging like it had been forgotten by time itself.
Riley frowned. "This is it?"
Callum stepped forward, placing a hand on the worn wood of the door.
"This," he murmured, "is where you begin."
Then he pushed the door open
And the moment Riley stepped inside, everything changed.
Because the second she crossed the threshold, a wave of something wrong slammed into her, thick and alive and ancient.
Her knees buckled.
Callum caught her before she hit the ground.
His touch burned.
Not like fire-like recognition.
Like her body knew something her mind didn't.
Riley sucked in a sharp breath, trying to shake the feeling. "What the hell was that?"
Callum smiled.
But there was no amusement in it this time.
"You felt it," he murmured.
Riley's fingers curled into the fabric of his sleeve before she forced herself to let go. "What was that?" she demanded again, breathless.
Callum's golden eyes darkened.
"Your past."
Riley's pulse stopped.
She yanked herself free from his grip, stumbling back. "No," she whispered. "That's not possible."
Callum tilted his head. "Isn't it?"
Riley's chest ached.
Because the second he said it
She knew.
She had been here before.
Not in this lifetime. Not in a way that made sense.
But somewhere, in the shadows of her soul, in the fragments of a life, she couldn't remember
She had been here before.
And whatever had happened in this place?
It had changed her once.
Just like it was about to change her again.
The walls of the ruined structure seemed to close in around Riley, the weight of something ancient pressing against her skin.
She had been here before.
She didn't know how didn't want to know how but the second she stepped inside, her body recognized this place.
A flicker of something foreign stirred in her chest, something just out of reach.
A memory?
Or something worse?
Riley swallowed hard, forcing her voice to stay steady. "What is this place?"
Callum stepped deeper into the ruin, his fingers brushing along the broken stone walls like he could feel the history buried within them. "A place lost to time," he murmured. "A place that shouldn't exist."
Riley's pulse spiked.
"And yet," Callum continued, glancing at her over his shoulder, "here you are."
Her hands shook.
Because she had a terrible, sinking feeling that this wasn't just a coincidence.
That she wasn't just a coincidence.
She took a slow step forward, her breath shallow. The air inside the ruin was thick, humming with something unseen. A strange energy pulsed beneath her feet like the ground itself remembered something she didn't.
Her voice came out hoarse. "Tell me what's happening to me."
Callum turned fully now, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"You're waking up."
Riley inhaled sharply, her fingers curling at her sides. "Waking up to what?"
Callum's smirk was gone now.
For the first time, his expression was unreadable.
"To who you were before," he said simply.
A chill crawled up her spine.
"No," she whispered. "No, I don't"
"You feel it, don't you?" Callum cut in, stepping closer. His voice was soft, coaxing. "That pull in your chest. The way your body moves like it already knows what to do. The instincts you can't explain."
Riley's throat went dry.
Because he was right.
She did feel it.
She had felt it for weeks now the sharpness in her reflexes, the hunger curling beneath her skin, the way her body moved before she could think.
Like it remembered something she didn't.
Like she was something she didn't understand.
Riley took a step back, her breathing ragged. "I don't want this."
Callum tilted his head. "Liar."
Her stomach twisted.
Because the worst part?
The part she had tried to shove down, to ignore
Was that a small, treacherous part of her that did want this?
Wanted to know what she was.
Wanted to stop feeling lost.
Callum saw it.
He knew.
And somehow, that made it worse.
She exhaled sharply, trying to steady herself. "If you know something, if you know what I am, then just tell me."
Callum's smirk returned, slow and knowing. "Oh, I could."
Riley clenched her jaw. "Then"
"But," he interrupted smoothly, stepping closer again, "where's the fun in that?"
Riley let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You think this is fun?"
Callum's golden eyes burned. "I think this is exactly what you were meant for."
Her chest ached.
Because, deep down, she knew he wasn't lying.
And that terrified her more than anything.
She sucked in a shaky breath, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "What do I have to do?"
Callum's smirk deepened.
And then, softly, he said
"Let go."
Riley's pulse stopped.
Because she wasn't sure she could.
Or if she even wanted to.
Let go.
The words curled around Riley's ribs, sinking into her like hooks, as they had always been waiting for her to hear them.
She should have rejected them.
She should have stepped back, turned around, and run.
But she didn't.
Because Callum was right.
She had spent so much time fighting this whatever this was. The instincts, the strength, the pull in her chest that only grew stronger the longer she tried to ignore it.
She had convinced herself that it was something she had to stop.
But what if she had been wrong?
What if it wasn't something to be fought, but something to be embraced?
Callum took another step closer, his voice quiet but sure. "You're standing at the edge, Riley. You can feel it, can't you? The power. The hunger. The truth."
Riley's fingers twitched.
Because she did feel it.
It burned under her skin, clawed at her insides, and begged to be acknowledged.
She wanted to deny it.
But she couldn't.
Not anymore.
Her voice came out unsteady. "And what happens if I let go?"
Callum's golden eyes gleamed, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
"Then," he murmured, "you'll finally know what you are."
A chill ran through her.
Because she wanted to know.
She had never wanted anything more.
But something deep inside whispered that once she stepped over that line
There would be no coming back.
Her heart pounded, her thoughts tangled.
She had already lost so much.
Her old life.
Her trust in Kieran.
Her sense of who she was.
What else was there left to lose?
Callum watched her, patient, waiting.
He knew she was going to say yes.
Maybe he had known all along.
Riley took a slow breath.
And then
She closed her eyes.
And let go.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then
Pain.
Not physical. Not like claws or blades.
But something deep, something that cracked through her ribs and dug into her spine and filled her veins with fire.
Riley gasped, her body locking up, her knees buckling.
Callum caught her before she could hit the ground, gripping her arms. "Easy," he murmured. "You're almost there."
She could barely hear him.
Because something inside her was splitting open.
And for the first time
She knew.
She remembered.
A different life. A different her.
Blood on the snow.
Golden eyes filled with rage.
A voice whispering her true name
And just like that
Everything changed.