CHAPTER 4: BOUND BY BLOOD

Elder Markus paced before us in the chamber, dimly lit by fire. Something I couldn't place flickered in his ember eyes. It seemed like fear. He came to a halt and finally settled a piercing gaze upon me.

"Lena, there is something very important you must know." He gravely said. "You aren't just a shifter; you are a prophecy fulfilled".

My heart pounded as the room became abnormally quiet. "What does that mean?" I asked with a voice like a whisper.

Elder Markus sighed with a heavy expression. "There is an ancient legend of a child who will be marked by the moon to be neither completely human nor completely wolf but will be something greater, a being to balance the power of this world. It was believed to be a myth passed down from generations to inspire and instill fear, until now…." His gaze remained fixed on me.

This sent a cold chill down my spine, I was worried. "What does the prophecy say about what will become of me?"

"Not sure, some predict that the Moon bound will bring salvation and others say it will bring destruction". He spoke.

"Why did no one ever speak of this before?" Ronan demanded as he stepped forward.

"Because you were not meant to know" Markus said.

I was confused and suspicious. "What does that statement mean, what are you two talking about?"

Elder Markus sighed again and turned to Ronan, "Alpha, you have another secret tied to your past that you must face".

"How?" Ronan said.

"Your father knew and feared this prophecy, Ronan. He had tried to avert it".

There was a thick tension between us all, Ronan's father was known to be a ruthless Alpha, but no one had heard of this before.

Ronan looked at Elder Markus, this time with much more determination. "Tell me what he did".

With a darkened gaze, Markus said "he made a choice of blood and betrayal. And the consequences of that choice is coming for all of us".

I silently followed Ronan as we ventured deeper into the woods, we went further than we have ever gone before. His silver eyes shone in the moonlight as he led me on. His steps were quiet and lighter than the days before. I followed him with lighter steps too to blend with the silence of the woods. This had become more effortless for me than it had been days ago, for my body was adapting and waxing stronger in many ways I couldn't comprehend.

"We are at the border now, from here we are no longer in our territory." He said as he stopped beside a rough boulder that seemed like it had been broken and lost its original shape.

I frowned as I studied the thick woods ahead of us. "Then whose territory is it?" I asked without turning to look at him.

He tightened his jaw as he said, "this territory belongs to the rogue".

I felt fear come over me. The same rogue who turned me and is still hunting me, I thought to myself.

I cautiously stepped forward as my senses expanded. These past few days I had become more intertwined with my environment. The sound of every tiny creature moving in the underbrush, the whistling of the wind and the scent it carried. But there was something else now, I could hear a faint steady heartbeat. It was something watching me.

Beside me, Ronan had shifted. "They are here". He said under his breath. He was still.

I gave a low growl from my chest; I was startled by the sound but I couldn't stop it and I didn't try to fight it. I just let it flow. Something was changing from within me, it was the acceptance of my fate, I was forcefully bound to.

Ronan grabbed my arm and as he tightened his grip, he said, "whatever happens, do not panic, do not run, just trust me and stay close."

Our eyes met and I studied the warning in his silver eyes as they flickered. It would be weak of me to run, it would mean I am a prey which I was not anymore.

The silence in the woods was thick and stretched. Then I heard the snapping of a twig. A quick shadow moved amidst the woods, it was swift and silent. My muscles began to coil as I felt adrenaline rush through my body, but I steadied my breath. A sound grew louder and closer, it was the rhythm of the heartbeat I had sensed earlier.

Just then, I saw the figure as it stepped into the moonlight.

The rogue was tall, taller than Ronan. He was lean but looked powerful. His thick dark hair fell past his shoulders, his eyes emitting an unnatural glow in the night sky. A crooked smile formed on his lips as he gazed upon me.

"I have found you now". He growled.

My pulse doubled; he didn't look familiar but somehow my body recognized him. It was then the memory I had tried to bury resurfaced. The burning pain his bite inflicted, the fire that took over my veins. It was he who had turned me.

Ronan stepped between us and with a rigid stance he said "you shouldn't be here".

The rogue gave a widened smile and said, "and neither should she be here". He fixed his gaze back at me as his expression became dark and fierce. "She belongs to me now".

I ripped out a snarl from my throat before I could know it. The rogue chuckled. "Fierce, that is good."

I curled my hands into a fist and spoke. "I don't belong to you". Anger rising in my voice.

"You have no choice; I have marked you," he said as his eyes darkened.

Ronan stood his ground as he stood between us, his stance was stiff and he said "she doesn't belong to you, she is under my protection now".

The Rogue remained amused. He didn't seem moved by my bravery or Ronan's perseverance. "For how long do you think you can protect her? She is different from you; she is not your kind. She is entirely something else, can't you see that?".

I felt a cold weight rest on my chest, I didn't understand what he meant or how he knew Ronan, but the certainty I picked up from his voice left me unsettled.

Ronan said in a low warning voice," You have to leave now".

The Rogue shook his head as he exhaled, "not yet, I only came to see her, to see what she is becoming."

A sharp piercing pain hit me at the base of my neck, it was where he had sunk his teeth into my skin during the attack days back. But I clenched my teeth as I refused to show pain or appear weak.

The rogue smiled again, but this time his countenance was darker and cunning, it carried something cryptic. "We shall surely meet again, little wolf".

And then, just as swiftly as he had appeared, he was gone.

Silence took over us, my breathing became short and sharp and my hands were trembling. Ronan looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face and said, "That was Caleb, the leader of the rogue pack. That is all you need to know for now. We have to leave".

I didn't argue with him. I had so many questions running through my mind, but I didn't want to let myself worry about anything I couldn't change. From his expression and the way he looked at me, it was obvious he knew my worries. I could change the way I controlled my abilities, but one thing I couldn't change was that this was only the beginning to whatever I was becoming. It was one thing I knew for certain.