Torn Between Destinies

Chapter 24: Chapter Twenty Four

I stood by the window in my room, watching the fog roll across the hills of Thornridge. The mist clung to the trees like memories I couldn’t shake. Below, the pack moved like shadows, training and patrolling. From this high window, they looked so small. Distant. Just like how Darius had become.

He hadn’t spoken to me since the ritual. Not truly. His words were brief, clipped. Like I had somehow broken something we couldn’t name, something sacred.

But I had done what was right... hadn’t I?

Aira was safe now. Kiani too. They were part of us—no longer trapped in the human world, no longer prey to a cruel man’s control. I should’ve felt peace. I should’ve been proud.

Instead, there was silence between me and Darius. Heavy silence. And I was afraid it was starting to echo inside me.

A soft knock tapped on my door.

I didn’t move. "It’s open," I said.

The door creaked open and Nefang stepped in. His face was drawn, eyes dark with worry.

"I came to check on you," he said.

"I’m fine," I replied too quickly.

He stepped closer. "You don’t sound fine."

I finally turned to him. "Everyone is treating me like I did something wrong. Darius won’t even look at me. No one says it, but I see it in their eyes."

"They’re just... shaken," Nefang said. "The prophecy... the ritual... no one expected Kiani to shift. Not even the Seer."

"She’s a child," I whispered. "And now she has to carry all this power."

"She’s stronger than she looks," he said, a small smile touching his lips. "Just like you."

I looked away. "Then why do I feel so empty?"

There was no answer to that. Nefang only sighed and walked over to the chair near the fireplace, sitting down slowly.

"I remember the first time you shifted," he said. "Aira cried for hours. She kept saying it wasn’t supposed to happen."

"She loved you," I said quietly. "But she ran."

"She feared what she couldn’t understand. Can you blame her?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "She trusts me now. Kiani does too. But Darius... I don’t know."

Nefang rose again and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Give him time."

I nodded, but I didn’t believe it. Time didn’t always heal things. Sometimes it just made silence grow louder.

After Nefang left, I decided to find Darius. I couldn’t keep pretending. If I didn’t face it, it would consume me.

I found him at the training field, shirtless and sparring with one of the Betas. His muscles moved with fluid strength, but his eyes were distant. Hollow.

He saw me, but didn’t stop.

"Can we talk?" I asked.

He paused, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. "Later."

"No," I said, standing firm. "Now."

Reluctantly, he nodded and motioned for me to follow him toward the forest’s edge. We stopped by the old oak tree, the one we used to sit under after long patrols.

"I need to know what I did," I said softly.

He looked away. "You didn’t do anything."

"Don’t lie."

He inhaled deeply. "You risked everything without telling me. You made a decision that involved not just your life—but the safety of the pack."

"I was protecting my family."

"I know," he said. "But you chose them over us."

"I didn’t think it had to be a choice," I whispered.

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes on the distant hills. "You don’t understand what it meant for Kiani to shift. The prophecy... it’s changed."

"What do you mean?"

"She’s part of something we don’t fully understand. A born wolf who was raised in the human world. Her power... it could be greater than yours."

"So you’re angry at me because Kiani is special?"

"No," he said sharply. "I’m afraid. Because I don’t know what’s coming anymore."

His voice cracked, and for the first time, I saw it—fear. Real fear in his eyes.

"I missed you," I said. "The whole time I was gone, I kept thinking of your face. But now that I’m back, you’re miles away."

"I missed you too," he admitted. "But something’s broken, Luciana."

Tears stung my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. "Do you still love me?"

He didn’t answer right away. Then, quietly, "I don’t know."

I turned my back to him, hugging my arms. The wind whispered through the trees, cold and sharp.

"If this is the price of saving them... then maybe the prophecy wasn’t worth it," I said, almost to myself.

"Don’t say that."

"Why not? Everything’s changed. Kiani’s future is uncertain, my mother’s still afraid of herself, and the man I love won’t look me in the eye."

He stepped closer but didn’t touch me. "You’ve become more than just my mate, Luciana. You’re a symbol. A leader. And I’m scared of failing you."

I turned to him then, tears sliding silently down my cheeks. "I never needed you to be perfect. Just honest."

We stood in silence, the distance between us a wall neither of us could scale.

When I returned to my room, Kiani was waiting there, sitting cross-legged on my bed.

"Did you fight?" she asked.

"Something like that."

She played with the end of her braid. "Mama says people who love each other always find their way back."

I smiled faintly. "Your mama’s wise."

Kiani tilted her head. "Do you think I’m bad? Because I shifted early?"

My heart broke a little at her words. I knelt in front of her. "Never. You’re a miracle."

"But everyone’s scared."

"They’re not scared of *you*, sweet girl. They’re scared of what they don’t understand. Just like your mama once was."

Kiani leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me. "I’m glad you found us."

I held her tightly. "So am I."

Later that night, I stood outside under the stars, watching the moon rise over Thornridge. Aira joined me, silent for a while.

"You look like your father," she finally said.

"I’m not sure that’s a compliment."

She chuckled. "It is. Nefang is brave. And stubborn."

I glanced at her. "Are you okay?"

"I’m adjusting," she admitted. "Some days I wake up thinking I’m still on the farm. Then I hear the wolves howling and remember."

"I’m sorry you had to go through so much alone."

"You found me. That’s what matters."

I nodded. "But it cost me something."

She looked at me closely. "Darius?"

"We’re not the same."

"You still love him?"

"With everything I have."

She placed a hand on my arm. "Then fight for him. You’ve faced worse than heartbreak."

I smiled sadly. "It’s not just heartbreak, Mama. It’s the weight of too many secrets between us."

"Then start telling the truth."

And maybe that’s what I had to do. To stop hiding behind calm smiles. To stop pretending I was okay.

Because if there was still a chance to mend what was broken between Darius and me, I had to take it.

Even if it meant bleeding for it.