Chapter 31
Lena's words hung in the air like a blade poised to strike.
"Let's begin."
Riley's heart drummed against her ribs, but she forced herself to breathe. Steady. In control.
She had already made her decision.
There was no turning back now.
Lena's golden eyes flickered in the dim light before she turned and strode into the trees, her steps silent and effortless, as if the forest itself bent to her will.
Riley took a step forward
But a hand grabbed her wrist.
Kieran.
His grip was tight, his fingers burning against her skin. "Riley, don't do this."
She turned to him. His golden eyes were fierce, but beneath the frustration, she saw something else.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
Riley's chest tightened, but she pushed it aside. "You don't understand."
Kieran's jaw clenched. "Then explain it to me."
She exhaled sharply, pulling her arm free. "I need answers, Kieran."
"She's manipulating you."
"Maybe." Riley met his gaze, steadier than she felt. "But at least she's not lying to me."
A muscle twitches in Kieran's jaw.
Riley felt something inside her twist.
Because wasn't that the truth?
Every step of the way, she had been kept in the dark.
Tobias.
Callum.
Even Kieran.
Everyone had their secrets.
And she was done waiting for someone to tell her the truth.
Riley turned away, following Lena into the dark.
Kieran didn't stop her.
And somehow, that was worse than if he had.
The forest was silent.
Too silent.
The wind didn't stir the leaves.
The branches above didn't creak.
It was as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.
Lena moved effortlessly through the shadows, her pace calm, and confident.
She didn't check to see if Riley was following.
She knew she would.
Riley forced herself forward, her boots crunching softly against the damp earth.
Behind her, Kieran trailed at a distance, his presence tense, simmering.
Lena glanced over her shoulder. "You coming, Wolfe? Or do you plan on brooding back there all night?"
Kieran's voice was sharp. "I don't trust you."
Lena smirked. "Good."
She turned back, leading them deeper into the woods.
The air grew colder, heavy with something ancient.
Riley felt it settle in her bones, crawling through her veins like wildfire.
She pressed a hand to her chest. The hunger was stirring.
Growing.
She gritted her teeth and kept walking.
The trees thinned as they reached a clearing.
And in the center
A stone altar.
Old. Cracked with age. Covered in vines and worn symbols that Riley didn't recognize but somehow, deep down, she knew them.
A strange pulse rippled through the air.
Like something here was alive.
Waiting.
Lena stopped at the edge of the clearing, tilting her head. "Feel that?"
Riley swallowed hard. "What is this place?"
Lena ran her fingers along the altar's surface, her voice quiet, reverent.
"This is where your story really begins."
Riley's pulse stumbled.
She didn't like the way Lena said that.
Like it was a fact. The truth is already written.
Kieran stepped closer, his body tense, coiled like a spring. "Enough games. What do you know?"
Lena turned to him.
She didn't speak right away.
Then, finally, she said, "You're afraid of her, aren't you?"
Riley blinked. "What?"
Kieran's breath hitched, but his expression didn't waver. "No."
Lena smirked. "Liar."
Riley's chest tightened.
Because for just a second, Kieran didn't look angry.
He looked guilty.
Lena turned back to Riley. "You're changing. You know it. You feel it."
Riley clenched her fists. "And you're saying you can help?"
Lena stepped closer.
She raised her hand slowly, and deliberately and pressed her palm against Riley's chest.
A jolt of heat burst through Riley's body, like a thousand tiny sparks igniting at once.
She gasped.
Because suddenly, she wasn't standing in the clearing anymore.
The world tilted.
She saw flashes
Fire. Blood. The ruins.
A battle beneath a red sky.
Golden eyes filled with rage.
And then
Herself.
Not as she was now.
As she had been before.
A different life.
A different her.
Standing before the same stone altar.
Riley's breath came in short, sharp bursts.
This was real.
This wasn't just a memory.
This was something buried in her very bones.
Then a voice.
Soft. Familiar.
"You were never meant to survive."
Riley's stomach lurched.
The vision snapped away.
She staggered back, gasping for breath.
The clearing came rushing back into focus.
Lena watched her carefully.
Kieran was already at her side, gripping her arm. "Riley. What the hell just happened?"
Riley's hands shook.
She looked at Lena.
And Lena looked satisfied.
"You're ready," she said softly.
Riley's chest ached.
Because she didn't know if that was true.
But something inside her had changed.
Something was awake now.
And there was no stopping it.
Riley's breath came fast, uneven, her pulse thrumming like a drumbeat in her ears. She still felt the lingering heat from Lena's touch, the aftershock of whatever had just torn through her mind.
She pressed a hand against her chest, fingers digging into the fabric of her jacket. The hunger inside her was no longer just a whisper; it was roaring, clawing beneath her skin, demanding to be acknowledged.
Kieran's grip on her arm was firm, and grounding, but his voice was sharp. "What did you do to her?"
Lena crossed her arms, completely at ease. "Nothing she wasn't already ready for."
Riley forced herself to meet Lena's gaze, her breathing still uneven. "What what was that?"
Lena studied her for a moment, then sighed. "A memory."
Riley's stomach twisted. "No. That wasn't just a memory."
Because she hadn't just seen it she had felt it.
The fire on her skin, the power surging through her blood, the weight of something too big for her body to contain.
Lena smirked. "You're right. It was more than that." She stepped forward, her golden eyes gleaming. "That was a piece of what you really are. And you're just getting started."
Riley's chest ached. She had spent weeks pushing against this feeling, resisting what everyone kept telling her. But now? There was no denying it.
Something inside her had been waiting.
And now, it was awake.
She swallowed hard, her fingers curling into fists. "Tell me what I am."
Lena's smirk deepened. "I could."
Riley's nails dug into her palms. "Then"
"But," Lena interrupted smoothly, "you won't understand until you feel it for yourself."
Riley's pulse spiked. "Feel what?"
Lena turned slightly, motioning toward the altar. "The power you've been running from." She took a slow step closer. "It's not just inside you, Riley. It's waiting for you to claim it."
Riley hesitated. Every instinct told her to step away. To ignore the way her body responded to Lena's words, the way her blood thrummed at the idea of power.
But another part of her, the part that had been stirring since the ruins, the part that had torn free when she fought Tobias wanted to know.
Needed to.
Kieran must have sensed it because his grip on her arm tightened. "Riley. Don't do this."
She turned to him, her throat dry. "I don't think I have a choice."
Kieran's golden eyes burned. "You always have a choice."
Did she?
Because every step she had taken since that night in the woods, since she saw Kieran fight for his life, since she saw Tobias's wolves tear through Silverwood
Had led her here.
Lena watched them, something almost amused in her expression. "You're wasting time."
Riley exhaled, looking back at the altar.
Everything in her ached with the need to understand.
To remember.
To know.
Before she could second-guess herself, she stepped forward.