Chapter 17 Secrets of the Past

Elara's

The forest seemed to breathe around me, alive with whispers that no wind could carry. Every snapped twig underfoot, every rustle of leaves in the underbrush made my pulse spike. Shadows stretched and twisted with the hesitant moonlight, wrapping the gnarled trees like ancient sentinels.

I moved cautiously, heart hammering, senses on high alert. Tonight, the weight of the world pressed on my shoulders, heavy and expectant. I reminded myself why I was here. Hidden Keep, the council’s secret fortress, the very heart of werewolf governance.

Perhaps only here would I uncover the truths that had eluded me for years, why Silverfang had burned to ashes, why my family had been taken, and why I had been left alive when everything else was lost.

Every step I took seemed deafening in the stillness. I knew I wasn’t alone. The Hunter Guild might be tracking me. Or something far worse.

Memories clawed at me, sharp and relentless. Faces of my family, alive, laughing, oblivious to the horror that would come.

Smoke and fire, the raw terror in their eyes, and then… nothing. I swallowed hard, pressing the pain deep down. Survival had come at a cost, and the question still haunted me, why me?

A glint of silver caught my eye beneath a mossy root. I crouched, brushing away dirt and leaves to reveal the shattered emblem of my pack. Heart sinking, I felt grief and anger surge through me, but also something fiercer, determination. Secrets were hidden everywhere in this world, and I would uncover them all.

The path narrowed, flanked by towering trees with branches like skeletal fingers clawing at the sky. A low growl rolled through the distance, deliberate and measured, not a threat, but a warning.

My pulse quickened. Hesitation threatened, but the fire of curiosity burned hotter. The answers were out there, and I wouldn’t turn back.

Finally, through the dense canopy, Hidden Keep emerged. Its towers rose high, cloaked in ivy and moss, walls etched with the scars of centuries. Awe and unease collided in my chest, this was where truths waited. Perhaps, at last, I would understand the night that had stolen everything from me.

I drew a shivering breath, steeling myself. The main gate loomed like a sentinel, adorned with symbols of the elder packs, warning and welcome rolled into one.

I crouched behind a twisted oak, eyes following the guards’ precise, measured movements. They moved with the kind of discipline that spoke of training, of ritual, of magic that could detect the slightest wrong step. A faint crackle of protective energy hummed along the walls. one mistake, and they would know I didn’t belong.

Fear coiled in my stomach, but curiosity pushed harder. I had come too far. Silverfang. My family. That night. And perhaps… fragments of myself I had buried long ago.

After careful observation, I spotted a narrow side entrance. Timing the guards’ rotations, I slipped through, pressing against the shadowed wall until they moved out of sight. Hidden Keep was even larger than I had imagined.

Beyond the gate, stone buildings stretched into the distance, rooftops etched with faintly glowing runes. Everything was precise, orderly, yet heavy with centuries of authority and secrecy.

The air was thick with the scent of aged wood, ink, and herbs, and the Keep felt almost alive. Lanterns flickered along the cobblestone paths, casting long shadows that twisted like fingers across the ground. Every step echoed slightly, a reminder that I was an intruder in this place, but also a reminder of why I had come.

Only one place mattered, the library. All the knowledge of the elders was stored there, records of the packs, histories of Alpha wars, betrayals, and ancient oaths. If a clue about Silverfang, the massacre, or even Kael’s past existed, it would be there.

I crept under an archway, every movement deliberate, every breath controlled. The silence was unnatural, almost as if the Keep itself were aware of my intrusion. I forced myself to focus on the task ahead.

And then the weight of what I might find pressed against me. Whatever lay behind those library doors had the potential to change everything, the world I knew, the life I thought I understood, and the person I thought I was. And perhaps… it would reveal secrets about Kael I wasn’t ready to face.

I paused, letting the forest’s chill and the Keep’s aura ground me. My pulse slowed, my mind sharpened. Each rune along the walls seemed to hum as I stepped closer, as though recognizing me or warning me.

Shadows shifted behind the gate, almost imperceptibly. Watching. Waiting. Friend, foe, or something else entirely, I didn’t know, but the moment demanded caution.

I swallowed, then pressed forward. The library’s doors loomed ahead, ancient and imposing, carved with runes that pulsed faintly in the moonlight. Every instinct screamed that answers and danger waited inside.

I took a deep breath and stepped closer. Whatever lay beyond those doors, whatever truths were hidden within the Keep, I was ready. I had come too far to turn back.

Tonight, I would confront the past. And only by doing so could I hope to reclaim my future.