Chapter 4 Blood of the Ancients

Mira's POV

"You can't run from yourself, Mira."

The whisper slithered through the tunnel like a shadow on my skin. I froze, my breath catching in my throat. That voice-soft, eerie-was mine. Not close. Not far. But deep, like it had crawled from inside my own bones.

The tunnel ahead was pitch black, but something moved. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it-waiting.

I backed up one step.

Then another.

But the path behind me was crumbling. A soft rumble shook the stones as if the cave no longer wanted me here. I had no choice.

I ran forward.

My fingers scraped against rough walls. I hit my shoulder on sharp rock. I didn't stop. My lungs burned, and my feet bled, but I didn't stop.

The tunnel narrowed, then opened suddenly. I stumbled out into a moonlit clearing. Trees circled the space like guards, tall and silent. The air smelled clean-fresh moss, earth, and... something sweet.

And then I saw it.

In the middle of the clearing stood a tree unlike anything I'd ever seen.

Its trunk was silver-gray, with glowing lines running through the bark like veins. The leaves shimmered in soft blue light. I knew this place. Not from memory-but from somewhere older. Something deep in my blood pulled me forward.

The Moon root Tree.

The old man's words echoed in my mind.

"That's where your blood will tell the truth."

I stepped closer, and the glow of the tree reached out to me like it recognized me. My skin warmed. The silver marks on my arms flickered brighter. I dropped to my knees before it.

"What truth?" I whispered.

And then I touched the bark.

A sharp jolt shot through my hand.

Pain. Light. Memory.

Images flooded my head like a storm. A woman-tall, fierce, with silver eyes like mine-stood at the edge of a burning field. She was surrounded by wolves, all bowed to her. Her hands glowed with the same light now burning through my veins.

Then I saw her fall. Betrayed. Cursed. Her power sealed away.

She was my ancestor.

And I was her echo.

Blood of the ancient healer. Reborn in me.

The pain eased, and I gasped, falling back against the grass. My hands were still glowing, and so was the tree. A gentle hum filled the air.

I wasn't just an Omega.

I wasn't weak.

I wasn't forgotten.

I was chosen.

Suddenly, the tree pulsed. Once. Twice.

Then the clearing dimmed.

I heard footsteps.

Not from behind.

From above.

I looked up.

A figure dropped from the trees, landing just a few feet from me.

I scrambled up, heart pounding.

The figure stood tall, wearing black armor made from bone and leather. A hood covered most of their face, but I could see a mouth-twisted into a half-smile. Not friendly.

"Found you," the voice said. A man's voice. Smooth, with something sharp underneath.

"Who are you?" I asked, keeping my hands near my sides, ready to fight.

He didn't answer.

Instead, he walked closer, slowly, like I was prey.

"I've been looking for you since the day you didn't die," he said. "You were supposed to. Everything would've worked if you did."

My blood ran cold. "You're one of them."

He tilted his head. "One of what?"

"Cursed wolves."

He chuckled. "Not cursed. Corrected."

I didn't understand.

But I didn't wait.

I raised my hand, and silver light shot from my palm toward his chest.

He moved like wind-dodging it easily.

My breath caught.

He was fast. Too fast.

"I'm not here to kill you, Mira," he said. "I'm here to remind you who you really are."

"I already know who I am."

He shook his head slowly. "No. You know the lie your blood told you. Not the truth hidden beneath it."

I backed away, inch by inch, trying to stay near the tree.

"Your ancestor," he said, voice low, "was not just a healer. She was a weapon. One the Alphas feared. So they called her a curse... and buried her story."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're lying."

He smirked. "Am I? Then why did Dane poison you, Mira? Why didn't he just reject you like the others?"

My heart stopped.

He stepped closer.

"Because he knew what you were. He knew what you'd become if you lived."

My breath came faster.

"No," I said, but the word felt weak.

"He feared you. They all did. And now... they'll try to chain you again."

I clenched my fists. "Then they can try."

He smiled wider. "That's what I wanted to hear."

He pulled something from inside his cloak-a dagger with a glowing black blade. It pulsed like it was alive.

"I'm not here to kill you," he said again. "I'm here to set your power free."

And before I could react, he slashed the dagger across his palm-and flung the blood onto the Moon root Tree.

The leaves screamed.

The bark cracked.

The light died.

And behind me, the earth began to split.

The earth split beneath my feet, jagged lines glowing with red light. I stumbled back, nearly falling into one of the cracks. Heat burst up from below like fire breathing through the roots of the world.

The Moonroot Tree groaned-a sound that made my bones ache. The silver glow in its leaves flickered and died. Its bark blackened where the man's cursed blood had touched. Whatever power had lived in it... was bleeding out.

"What did you do?" I cried, heart racing.

He watched it all with cold eyes. "I opened the gate. The tree's light sealed it long ago. But with your blood awakened, its lock was weak."

"Gate?" My voice broke.

He smiled darkly. "The gate your ancestors sealed to keep the old magic from returning. But I want it back. And so do others."

A deep growl shook the clearing.

Not from him.

From behind the tree.

My head whipped around, and what I saw made my breath freeze.

Something was crawling up through the crack.

A claw. Long, twisted. Bone white.

Then a second one.

They gripped the edge of the earth like hands trying to climb from a deep grave.

The man stepped back slowly, his eyes wide now-not with fear, but awe.

"It's waking," he whispered.

I raised my glowing hands, ready to fight, but the ground beneath me cracked again-this time beneath my feet.

I tried to jump, but it was too late.

The earth split.

And I fell-screaming-into the dark.

Mira plummets into the unknown as something ancient and monstrous awakens beneath the cursed tree-will she survive the fall... or awaken something even worse below?*