Chapter 18 : The Mystery Deepens LIRA I was not expecting this reaction .
Not from him .
Not from Caius .
I thought he would laugh .
I thought he would mock me , call me weak , or say something cruel to drive home the fact that I was less than a wolf .
That I had no place in this world where wolves were supposed to reign .
But instead … he looked concerned .
Genuinely concerned .
His dark eyes softened , brows furrowing in a way that made me feel like I was being dissected , but not in the cruel , judgmental way I had grown accustomed to .
No , this was different .
This was something entirely new .
He wasnt pitying me .
He wasnt looking down at me like I was some kind of monster or mistake .
He was looking at me like I mattered .
Like my struggle was worth understanding .
And it made me feel exposed .
My chest tightened , my fingers trembling against my own arms as I crossed them , trying to shield myself from the vulnerability I felt spreading through me .
I had never let anyone in .
Id never needed to .
My entire life had been about surviving without that connection .
My wolf if she even existed had abandoned me long ago .
I didnt need anyone to fix me , because I wasnt broken .
I just was.
I dont need your help , I said quickly , my words coming out sharper than I intended .
Ive spent my whole life without my wolf .
Its nothing new .
But his gaze never wavered .
His eyes didnt soften in pity .
They grew darker , more intense , like he was seeing something in me that I wasnt sure was there .

Like he was trying to understand me in a way that no one had ever even tried before .
Thats not the point , he said , his voice low but unwavering .
The point is , this isnt normal .
And if no one in Duskborne has figured out why , then- Then what ? I cut in , my voice sharp , defensive .
I hated this .
Hated the feeling of being dissected , of being something to be fixed .
I wasnt broken .
I didnt need to be fixed .
You think youll magically fix me ? His jaw clenched , his expression hardening in a way that made the air between us thick with unspoken tension .
Youre not broken , Lira .
My breath hitched , and I froze .
Because for the first time in my life , someone had said it .
Not like a pitying excuse .
Not like a lie meant to make me feel better .
No.
He said it like he believed it .
Like he really thought it was true , as if I wasnt some incomplete being wandering through a world I didnt belong to .
I turned away , instinctively wrapping my arms around myself as though I could hold the fragile pieces of my heart together .
You 1/3 Chapter 18 The Mystery Deepens +15 Bonus dont know that , I muttered , my voice barely audible .
I could feel the heat of shame rising in my chest .
I couldnt look at him .
Not like this .
Not when he saw something in me that I had spent years hiding from everyone , even myself .
The silence between us stretched , suffocating , thick with things unsaid .
I wanted him to drop it .
I wanted him to go back to being the hard , guarded man I had always known .
I wanted the walls between us to stay in place , unbroken , undisturbed .
But then , Caius said something that made my blood freeze in my veins.
The Elders .
I blinked , confusion clouding my mind for a moment .

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What ? My voice was low , a whisper , almost like I was afraid of the word .
He was staring at me now , his mind clearly turning over possibilities .
He was thinking , calculating , piecing things together in a way I hadnt expected .
He was seeing a bigger picture that I couldnt grasp .
The Elders govern every pack , he said slowly , his tone measured but urgent .
They know our history , our bloodlines .
They govern the very fabric of who we are .
They communicate with all Alphas .
I frowned , confusion still clouding my mind .
And ? I didnt understand what this had to do with me .
With my wolf .
With the fact that I was still human at the age of twenty two .
And they talk to Alpha Tobias more than anyone else , he said , his voice lowering even further , like he was speaking a truth so delicate , so dangerous , that it might shatter the world we knew if we said it too loudly .
I felt my stomach drop .
My heart stuttered in my chest , and the ground beneath my feet seemed to tilt .
Alpha Tobias .
My father .
The Alpha of Duskborne.
The one who had always told me I was different but never told me why .
His words echoed in my mind , and I felt a chill run down my spine .
The Elders .
My father .
The connection between them … it was all starting to make a terrifying kind of sense .
My wolfs absence .
The way father had always looked at me with pity , with something else I couldnt place .
He had known .
He had always known , hadnt he ? He knew what was wrong with me , what had been wrong with me my entire life .
Caius eyes narrowed , his focus laser sharp now .
If there are answers , Alpha Tobias has them .

I swallowed , my throat dry , as though something had lodged itself there , choking the air out of my lungs .
I couldnt speak .
I couldnt move .
His words hit me like a wave , pushing me under , drowning me in the weight of what I had never wanted to face .
I had a terrible feeling he was right .
The Elders .
Alpha Tobias .
They knew .
They had to know why I had never shifted .
Why my wolf had never come .
I could feel the edges of panic creeping in , threatening to claw its way to the surface , but I shoved it down , locked it away .
I couldnt deal with that right now .
Not when I was already standing at the edge of something so much larger than I could have imagined .
Not when everything I thought I knew was starting to unravel .
Why didnt he tell me ? I asked , my voice barely more than a whisper .
The question was as much for myself as it was for Caius .
Why didnt he ever say anything ? 2/3 Chapter 18 The Mystery Deepens +15 Bonus Caius expression softened , just for a moment , before his gaze hardened again .
Youll have to ask him that , Lira .
The words hung in the air , heavy and unspoken .
There was no going back now .
Whatever truths lay buried in my fathers silence , I would have to face them .
But I wasnt ready .
Not yet .
Not until I could figure out what was happening to me .
But one thing was clear : I couldnt do this alone .
Caius wasnt offering to fix me .
He was offering me something else something far more dangerous .
The truth .
And it scared me more than anything else .