Chapter 10

Riley's hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Even as they ran through the dense forest, Kieran leading the way with sharp, determined strides, Nova cursing under her breath behind her, the tremors wouldn't stop.

She could still feel the echo of that moment, the power that had surged through her, the unnatural speed, the raw, brutal strength that had let her take down a wolf twice her size. It should have been impossible. She wasn't a werewolf. She wasn't anything.

Except now she wasn't so sure.

The cold air burned in her lungs as she forced herself to focus. One foot in front of the other. Keep moving. Don't think about the fact that Callum had seen everything.

Don't think about the way he had looked at her.

"We can't stop," Kieran called over his shoulder, his voice tight. "They won't be far behind."

Riley swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, pushing herself to keep pace.

The night stretched around them, shadows weaving through the trees. The safe house was no longer an option not after Callum had found them so easily. They needed a new plan, a new place to hide.

Kieran had said there was someone who could help.

She just hoped they got there before it was too late.

Nova let out a frustrated breath. "Can someone please explain what the hell just happened back there? Because I feel like I missed a pretty big memo."

No one answered.

Kieran's jaw was clenched, his focus locked on the path ahead.

Riley wasn't sure she could answer.

Because she didn't know.

Her thoughts kept looping back to the moment she had moved, the moment instinct had taken over. It hadn't just been speed. It had precision. She knew exactly where to strike, how to move, how to disable her opponent.

That wasn't human.

That was a predator.

Her stomach twisted.

This wasn't the first time something had felt off inside her, not really. She had ignored the signs, and brushed them off as adrenaline, as coincidence. But now, after Callum's knowing smirk, after the way Kieran had looked at her when she threw that wolf-like, he weighed nothing

She couldn't ignore it anymore.

They ran for what felt like hours, cutting through the forest, across rivers, over uneven terrain. Kieran never slowed, even as the faintest hints of dawn crept over the horizon, turning the sky a deep indigo.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kieran came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a rocky incline. Below them, a cabin sat nestled between the trees, its roof covered in moss, the wooden walls weathered but sturdy.

Riley's pulse pounded.

"Who lives here?" she asked, breathless.

Kieran hesitated.

Then, voice low, he said, "Someone who knows what you are."

Riley's blood ran cold.

Nova let out a strangled laugh. "Okay. Great. Because that's not creepy at all."

Kieran didn't respond. Instead, he started down the incline, his movements careful but steady. Riley followed, her mind racing.

Whoever this was, whoever Kieran was bringing her to know something.

About her.

And for the first time, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the truth.

The cabin was eerily quiet when they stepped inside.

Dust floated in the golden slivers of light filtering through the cracks in the wooden walls. The scent of herbs, old books, and something vaguely metallic filled the air. A fire burned low in the hearth, casting flickering shadows along the floor.

And then, from the back of the room

"So, you finally brought her."

Riley stiffened.

A woman stepped out of the shadows, her movements smooth, almost too deliberate. She looked older, but not old, maybe in her early forties, her dark hair streaked with silver, her features sharp and unreadable. Her piercing green eyes locked onto Riley with unnerving focus.

Kieran tensed. "Elena."

Elena crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Took you long enough."

Nova shot Riley a sideways glance. "Who is this?"

Before Kieran could answer, Elena spoke again. "The one person who can tell Riley what she is."

Riley's heart stopped.

She forced herself to stay calm, to steady her breath. "And what exactly am I?" she asked, her voice sharper than she intended.

Elena studied her for a long moment. Then she gestured to the worn-out couch near the fireplace. "Sit."

Riley didn't move.

Elena arched her brow. "Do you want answers or not?"

Riley exchanged a glance with Kieran, but he just nodded, his expression unreadable.

Fine.

She sat. Nova hovered near the doorway, arms crossed, looking like she was ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Elena walked to the fire, stirring the embers with an iron poker before turning back to Riley. "Tell me," she said. "How long have you felt it?"

Riley hesitated. "Felt what?"

"The pull. The strength. The hunger."

A cold shiver crawled down Riley's spine.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied.

Elena's lips twitched in something that wasn't quite a smile. "Yes, you do."

Riley clenched her jaw. "Just tell me what's happening to me."

Elena was silent for a long moment. Then she exhaled and said, "You were never meant to be just human."

The words hit like a hammer.

Riley's fingers curled into fists. "That's not possible."

Elena tilted her head slightly. "Isn't it?"

Riley shook her head. "No. I don't shift. I don't have a pack. I don't"

"You don't shift because you were never meant to," Elena interrupted. "And as for a pack?" Her green eyes gleamed. "That's a little more complicated."

Riley felt like the air had been sucked from the room.

Her pulse roared in her ears, her thoughts racing too fast to catch.

"What are you saying?" she whispered.

Elena walked closer, crouching down until she was at eye level with Riley. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.

"I'm saying, Riley Hayes, that you are neither human nor wolf."

Silence.

Riley's skin felt like it was burning, her breath coming too fast. "Then what am I?"

Elena's expression turned solemn. "You are something much older. Much rarer."

Riley shook her head. "No. That doesn't make any sense. My parents were"

"Your father was human," Elena said. "But your mother? She wasn't."

Riley's world tilted on its axis.

No.

No, that wasn't possible.

Her mother had died. She had been normal. There had never been anything

"Stop lying," Riley snapped, pushing to her feet. "My mother wasn't"

"She was," Elena said simply. "But not in the way you think."

The fire crackled, casting shifting light across Elena's face.

"She was feral."

The words sent a shockwave through Riley's chest.

She had heard that term before. Feral wolves, ones who weren't part of a pack, weren't bound by the same rules and weren't entirely in control of themselves. They were the monsters of the werewolf world, the ones even Alphas feared.

They weren't supposed to exist.

And yet, here Elena was, telling her that her mother had been one of them.

Riley's breath came fast, her mind racing. "That's not"

"It is true," Elena said. "And you're starting to feel it, aren't you?"

Riley's throat went dry.

The strength. The hunger. The wrongness curled inside her.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

No.

No, she wasn't like that.

She couldn't be.

But she knew.

Deep down, she knew.

Elena's voice softened. "You don't have to be afraid of it."

Riley opened her eyes, meeting Elena's steady gaze.

She was afraid.

Because whatever was happening to her

It was only just beginning.

Riley took a slow, shaky step back. The floor beneath her felt uneven like the world itself had shifted under her feet.

"No," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "That's not possible."

Elena didn't flinch. "You can deny it all you want, but you've felt it, haven't you? The pull. The power. The way your body reacts before you even think."

Riley's breath came fast. "I'm not like them."

"You're not like anyone," Elena corrected. "You're something different. Something dangerous."

The fire crackled in the hearth, but Riley barely heard it over the roaring in her ears.

This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

She turned sharply toward Kieran. "You knew."

Kieran met her gaze, his expression unreadable. "I suspected."

Her stomach twisted. "And you didn't tell me?"

"I wasn't sure," he said, his voice quieter now. "Not until Callum saw it too."

Callum.

Riley's heart slammed against her ribs.

He had known.

The way he had looked at her after she took down his wolf. The amusement, the curiosity, the delight.

Because he recognized what she was.

And now, she understood why.

Her hands curled into fists. "So what does this mean?" she asked, turning back to Elena. "Am I supposed to just what? Accept this?"

Elena studied her for a long moment. "That depends."

"On what?" Riley demanded.

Elena's gaze darkened. "On whether you can control it before it controls you."

The words settled over the room like a thick fog.

Nova, who had been silent until now, exhaled sharply. "Okay. So just to be clear Riley is, like, half-werewolf, half something else?"

"She's not half anything," Elena corrected. "She's feral."

Nova's eyebrows shot up. "That sounds bad."

Riley could feel her pulse pounding in her throat.

"Bad?" she repeated. "You think this is bad?" She let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "I don't even know what I am, and now you're telling me I have to control something I don't understand?"

Elena's expression didn't change. "Yes."

Riley let out a ragged breath, running a hand through her hair. "And if I can't?"

For the first time, Elena hesitated.

Then, quietly, she said, "Then you become what the packs fear most."

Silence.

Nova shifted uncomfortably. "Awesome. Love that for us."

Riley felt like she couldn't breathe.

Her entire life, she had thought she was normal. Even after finding out about werewolves, even after Kieran, she had never considered that she might be something else entirely.

Something that didn't belong anywhere.

She swallowed hard. "So what do I do?"

Elena studied her carefully, then nodded toward the door. "Come with me."

Riley hesitated, but when Kieran gave her a small nod of silent encouragement she forced herself to move.

Whatever this was, whatever she was becoming

She needed to know the truth.

Even if she wasn't ready for it.