Chapter 28 – Shadows in the Records
Kate's POV
The air in the archives was thick with dust and age, the kind of silence that made even a whisper sound too loud. I ran my fingers along the spines of ancient tomes stacked tightly on the shelves, some leather cracked with time, others patched as if they'd been saved from fire.
Ryker and Lila were on the other side of the long table, murmuring as they scanned scrolls. It had been hours since we started, and though I wanted answers, my back was starting to ache. I flopped into a chair with a groan.
"Do all Alpha Kings spend their free time drowning in dusty books?" I teased, rubbing my temples.
Ryker glanced up, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Only the ones clever enough to know that the past warns us about the future."
Lila snorted from behind her book. "Or the ones stubborn enough not to take a break."
That pulled a laugh from me, easing the tension that had been coiling in my chest. For a moment, it felt like we were just… people. Not Alpha, not Luna, not warriors chasing ghosts—just three souls stuck in a library, tired and hungry.
But then my gaze snagged on an open page in front of me. The ink was faded, the script uneven as if written in haste, but the words leapt at me.
"Blood of the same line may yet turn against itself. A brother's envy shall strike the death blow when wolves and Lycans stand together."
I froze, staring at the line until the words blurred. My stomach turned cold.
Ryker noticed instantly. "Kate?"
I slid the book toward him with trembling fingers. He read, his jaw tightening with each word. His eyes lifted to mine, storm-dark and unreadable.
"What does it mean?" I whispered. "A brother's envy…?"
Lila leaned over, scanning the page. "It could be metaphorical. Not literal. Old texts loved to dramatize."
But her voice wasn't steady, and I could tell she didn't believe her own words.
Something inside me twisted. A brother's betrayal. A death blow. The thought that my family—what little I knew of them—might be tied to something this dark made my throat ache.
"What if it's about my bloodline?" I said, my voice cracking. "What if my… my family did something unforgivable?"
Ryker reached across the table, catching my hand. His palm was warm, grounding. "Kate. Stop." His voice was firm but soft. "Whatever happened in the past, whoever made choices… it is not you. You are not responsible for someone else's sins."
The intensity in his eyes made my chest tighten. He meant every word.
"But what if it explains why—why I'm different?" My voice fell to a whisper. "Why I can shift into a Lycan when everyone thought they were gone. Why I hear things in people's minds. What if all of this is because I come from a cursed line?"
The silence that followed was heavy. My own words echoed in my head, ugly and frightening.
Then Lila closed the book with a loud thump, startling both of us. "You listen to me, Kate," she said, her voice sharp but not unkind. "Cursed? That's not what I saw when you stood in that arena. That wasn't a curse. That was strength. Fire. Spirit. If anything, your bloodline gave you a gift. And you've got the choice of how to use it."
Her certainty broke something inside me, loosening the knot in my chest. I blinked fast, swallowing back tears.
Ryker squeezed my hand, leaning closer. "You are my mate. My Luna. That is what matters. Whatever we uncover here doesn't change that."
I nodded, but my heart still felt heavy. Part of me wanted to close the book and pretend we hadn't read it at all. But another part knew—we couldn't unlearn it.
---
Ryker's POV
I could feel the storm in Kate even as she tried to hide it, her fingers trembling against mine. Seeing her shaken cut deeper than anything else could.
I wanted to tear the page from the book, burn it, erase it from existence. But that wouldn't protect her. She deserved truth, even if it was ugly.
"We'll keep searching," I said, trying to anchor her. "One line isn't the whole story. We'll piece it together—slowly, carefully. And when we find the truth, we'll face it together."
Her green eyes lifted to mine, wide and vulnerable. "Together?"
I bent my head, pressing my forehead against hers. "Always."
It wasn't just a promise—it was a vow. And I meant every breath of it.
---
Kate's POV
The heaviness in my chest didn't vanish, but Ryker's words dulled its sharp edge. For the first time since reading that line, I felt like I could breathe again.
We continued our search, though the room seemed colder, the shadows deeper. Hours passed with nothing but fragmented mentions of Lycans, old sketches of beasts with fire in their fur, and half-erased prophecies. It was as though someone had deliberately torn out the answers we sought.
I was about to close another useless tome when the heavy doors creaked open. A guard stepped inside, his expression strained.
"My King," he said, bowing quickly. "There's news from the borders. Patrols report rogue activity—more than usual. They've been moving in coordinated patterns."
Ryker's hand tightened around mine instinctively. His gaze snapped to the guard. "How close?"
"Still at a distance, but closer than before. It feels… organized."
My heart thudded painfully. Organized rogues? That wasn't normal. Rogues were chaotic, destructive, never united. Unless someone was leading them.
Ryker's jaw set in a hard line. "Double the patrols. Keep them from crossing into Eclipse territory. And send word to the other Alphas—we need to know if they've seen the same."
The guard bowed and left swiftly, the heavy doors closing behind him.
I turned to Ryker, my pulse racing. "Do you think it's connected? The rogues and… this?" I gestured toward the book.
His silence was answer enough.
Lila's voice was low but firm. "We can't assume. But we also can't ignore the timing."
I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. Two days ago, I'd been fighting to prove myself in the arena. Today, I was staring down the possibility that my bloodline was tied to ancient betrayals—and that enemies might already be moving against us.
Ryker pulled me against him, his lips brushing my hair. "Whatever's coming, Kate—we'll face it. You won't bear this alone."
His words wrapped around me like a shield, but deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that the shadows from the past were closer than ever.