Chapter 4 SECRETS OF THE PAST

Ava's pulse roared in her ears.

I knew your father better than anyone.

Elias's words hung in the air, thick with meaning.

Ava clenched her fists. "You knew my father?"

Elias didn't hesitate. "I fought beside him." His silver eyes darkened. "And I watched him die."

A sharp pain shot through Ava's chest.

"No," she said before she could stop herself.

She didn't know why she denied it. She'd spent years mourning her father, growing up in his absence, feeling the void he left behind. But hearing someone say it someone who actually knew him made it feel real all over again.

Elias watched her carefully. "I know this isn't easy to hear."

Ava swallowed against the lump in her throat. "You don't know anything about me."

Elias studied her for a long moment. Then he exhaled softly. "Maybe not. But I know what you are."

Ava stiffened.

That damn phrase again.

She crossed her arms, trying to keep her voice steady. "Then start talking."

Elias's expression remained unreadable. "What do you know about your bloodline?"

Ava hesitated.

The answer was simple: Nothing.

Her father had died when she was a kid. Her mother never spoke about him. She had no idea werewolves existed until two days ago.

And now, suddenly, everyone was telling her she was more than a werewolf.

She swallowed. "I know my dad was an Alpha."

Elias nodded. "He was more than that. Your father Nathaniel Callahan was the last true Alpha of our kind."

Ava frowned. "That's not possible. There are Alphas everywhere "

"Not like him." Elias's voice was calm but firm. "True Alphas aren't just leaders. They don't inherit their title. They don't need a pack to gain strength." He took a step closer, eyes locked onto hers. "They're born with power. A power that comes from the Blood Moon itself."

Ava's breath hitched.

The Blood Moon.

Her mind flashed back to that night the way the moon had burned red above her, the way something inside her had snapped open.

Something uncontrollable.

Elias watched her reaction closely. "That's why Silas is after you. Why the rogues hunt you. They know what you are."

Ava's stomach twisted. "And what exactly am I?"

Elias's silver eyes burned.

"You're the last of his bloodline. The last of the Moonborne."

The word sent a shiver down her spine.

She had heard it before.

The rogues had muttered it. The silver-eyed wolves had called her that. And now Elias was saying it like it meant something.

Ava took a shaky breath. "What does that even mean?"

Elias hesitated. Then he spoke, his voice grave.

"It means you're not just any werewolf." He let the words sink in before adding, "It means you were born to lead us all."

Ava's mind reeled.

This was insane. She wasn't born to lead anything she had spent her whole life just trying to survive.

She shook her head. "No. You've got the wrong person."

Elias tilted his head. "Do I?"

Ava clenched her fists. "I'm not some chosen one. I didn't ask for this."

"No one asks for destiny," Elias said simply.

Her chest tightened.

Destiny.

She wanted to laugh.

She wasn't some prophecy. She was just a girl who had woken up in the woods covered in blood. A girl who still had no control over what was happening to her.

And yet

The things she had done.

The power she had felt.

She had thrown Silas across the clearing like he weighed nothing. She had felt the raw force crackling through her veins.

A force she couldn't explain.

A force that scared the hell out of her.

Elias studied her reaction, then nodded. "You felt it, didn't you?"

Ava's mouth was dry.

She didn't answer.

But she didn't have to.

Elias sighed. "You're stronger than you realize. But strength alone isn't enough." His expression hardened. "If you don't learn to control it, it will destroy you."

A chill ran down Ava's spine.

Destroy her.

The way the power had surged through her wild, unpredictable she had felt it.

Like something inside her was barely being held back.

Like she was one wrong move away from breaking.

She swallowed hard. "And how do I control it?"

Elias studied her, then nodded once. "Training."

Ava frowned. "You mean, like, fighting?"

"Fighting is only part of it," Elias said. "You need to learn how to shift at will. How to command your instincts instead of letting them command you. How to tap into your true strength without losing yourself in it."

Ava exhaled sharply.

Training.

It made sense.

She had barely survived the last attack. If she didn't learn how to control this... she wouldn't survive the next.

Knox stepped forward, arms crossed. "If she's training, I'm helping."

Elias's gaze flicked to him. "You think you can handle that?"

Knox met his stare evenly. "I've handled worse."

A slow smirk tugged at Elias's lips. "We'll see about that."

Ava's heart pounded.

This was happening.

Whether she liked it or not, she couldn't run from this.

She had to fight.

For control.

For answers.

For survival.

She took a breath, locking eyes with Elias. "Fine. I'll train."

Elias's silver eyes gleamed. "Good."

Then his expression darkened.

"Because whether you're ready or not, Silas will come for you again."

Ava's stomach twisted.

She knew he was right.

And next time?

She wouldn't just survive.

She'd be ready to fight back.

The night air was thick with tension.

Ava's thoughts raced, but she forced herself to stay focused. Training. That was the next step.

She could still feel the phantom weight of Silas's rogues pinning her down, their snarls ringing in her ears. The way her power had surged wild and untamed had terrified her almost as much as them.

She had barely escaped. Next time, she wouldn't be so lucky.

Elias gestured toward the clearing behind them. "We start now."

Ava's head snapped up. "Now?"

He arched a brow. "Would you rather wait until the next attack?"

Ava clenched her jaw. Fair point.

She cast a glance at Knox, who just gave her a slight nod.

"Fine," she muttered. "What do I do?"

Elias stepped back, giving her space. "Shift."

Ava blinked. "What?"

"Shift," he repeated. "Turn into your wolf."

She let out a dry laugh. "You make it sound easy."

Elias's gaze didn't waver. "Because for you, it should be."

Ava swallowed hard.

Her mind flashed back to the first time she shifted.

It had been violent. Painful. Uncontrollable. She barely remembered it just a rush of heat, a crackling sensation under her skin, and then... nothing. Just instinct.

She had blacked out, waking up covered in blood.

And now Elias expected her to do it on command?

Knox must have noticed the tension in her face because he stepped forward. "Shifting isn't easy at first. It takes time."

"For most wolves, yes," Elias agreed. "But she's not most wolves."

Ava shot him a glare. "You keep saying that like it means something."

Elias tilted his head. "It does. You don't just carry Alpha blood, Ava. You're Moonborne. Your wolf isn't bound by the same limits as the others. That's why your first shift was so... violent."

Ava's stomach tightened. "You're saying that was normal?"

Elias's expression darkened. "I'm saying it was inevitable."

Ava swallowed hard.

Inevitable.

The word sent a shiver down her spine.

Knox folded his arms. "What exactly do you want her to do?"

Elias glanced at him, then turned back to Ava. "Focus. Find your wolf. Call it forward."

Ava hesitated.

Find your wolf.

Like it was a separate thing.

Like it wasn't already a part of her.

She closed her eyes. Breathed.

Somewhere deep inside, she could still feel it.

That thing beneath her skin.

It had taken over before when she was scared. When she was in danger. When it felt like she had no choice.

But now... now she was supposed to control it.

She reached for it, pushing past the barrier in her mind.

And then

Pain.

A sharp, electric jolt shot through her body, like something inside her was fighting back.

She gasped, staggering backward.

Knox stepped toward her. "Ava "

"I'm fine," she snapped.

But she wasn't.

Her wolf whatever it was didn't want to be forced.

It wanted to take.

Elias watched her carefully. "Your instincts are fighting you."

"No kidding," Ava muttered.

Elias sighed. "That's the problem with Moonborne wolves. You're not like the rest of us. You don't follow the normal rules."

Ava shot him a look. "Then what the hell do I do?"

Elias studied her for a long moment, then spoke.

"You need a trigger."

Ava frowned. "A trigger?"

Elias nodded. "Something to break the barrier. Something that forces your wolf to wake up."

Ava tensed. "Like what?"

Elias's silver eyes gleamed.

Then without warning he lunged.

Ava barely had time to react before he was on her, moving impossibly fast.

His hand clamped around her throat, pinning her against a tree.

She gasped, instincts flaring.

Knox shouted behind them. "Elias "

"She needs to feel it," Elias growled.

Ava's vision blurred.

Her pulse pounded.

Panic surged through her veins, but beneath it beneath the fear something else stirred.

Heat.

Power.

Ava clenched her teeth. "Let. Me. Go."

Elias tightened his grip.

And then

Her vision shifted.

The night grew sharper. Her hearing expanded, catching the distant rustling of leaves, the steady thump of Knox's heart.

She could smell the sharp tang of blood.

Her muscles coiled. Tensed.

And then

SNAP.

Heat exploded through her chest.

Ava let out a strangled gasp as fire tore through her bones, her skin burning from the inside out.

Something inside her cracked open.

Her pulse pounded.

Her hands trembled.

Her nails lengthened.

Elias let go.

Ava hit the ground.

Her breath came in ragged gasps, her body shaking violently. She clutched the dirt beneath her, her vision swimming between human and something... else.

Knox knelt beside her. "Ava breathe."

She barely heard him.

Her heart was hammering. Her veins were on fire.

She could feel it now.

The wolf.

It wasn't a distant thing anymore. It was right there.

Waiting.

Elias crouched beside her. His voice was softer this time. "That was just the start."

Ava's breathing slowed.

Her hands were still shaking.

She looked up at him, eyes burning.

And for the first time she understood.

This power. This thing inside her.

She had been running from it.

Fearing it.

But if she was going to survive if she was going to win she had to become it.

Ava took a slow, steady breath.

"Again," she said.

Elias smiled.

"Good."pppp