“I was never broken,” I say quietly, my voice sounding unfamiliar to my own ears. “I was protected. Hidden. Safe.”
Kieran’s arms tighten around me. “You were never broken, Aurora. You were always exactly who you were meant to be—strong, brave, and loved, just like your mother said.”
Turning in his arms, I look up into his gentle blue eyes. “Thank you for being here with me during all of this. For helping me find the truth about my heritage, and supporting me through all of it.”
“Always,” he promises. His mouth is warm as he presses a kiss to my forehead. “Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together. You and me.”
Standing in the ruins of my past, wrapped in the arms of my mate, I finally begin to feel whole. Not because I know now why I couldn’t shift my whole life, but because I understand that it was never something that I lacked. It was something I gained—my parents’ love, their sacrifice, their protection—it’s been with me all along. I have proof of that now.
I am Aurora Blackburn, daughter of Pack Onyx. And I am exactly who I was always meant to be.
The visions aren’t done with me yet. As we move deeper into Pack Onyx territory, looking for anything we might have missed, more memories surface for me. Each one fills in pieces of the puzzle I never knew I was missing, the puzzle of my life.
We see my mother teaching younger pack members about their unique abilities, coaching them through learning how to control the venom in their bite so they don’t waste it. Too much venom, and they’ll run out early—not enough, and it won’t kill or incapacitate the fae they’re fighting.
In another memory, my father leads training sessions in hand-to-hand combat, his voice firm but kind as he guides others through complex fighting forms. Some of them, I recognize from Dana’s teachings. Many are unique to shifter culture—and I wonder with an ache if I got my innate abilities from him.
“Your father was their alpha,” Kieran observes as we watch another memory unfold. “Look at how they defer to him, how naturally he leads. No one questions his authority, but he isn’t harsh at all.”
He’s right. In the memory, the other pack members look to my father with respect and trust, not fear. It’s so differentfrom how Kieran’s father leads Pack Jade that I didn’t even recognize him as the alpha at first. Unlike Cade, my father took his strength from wisdom and compassion, not dominance and control.
“Is that how you want to lead?” I ask Kieran. “When you’re the alpha of Pack Jade?”
His eyes are thoughtful as he watches my father help a young man up off the ground, then encourages him to try another move again. “Yes, I think it is. This… this is what real strength looks like. Not forcing others to submit, but earning their trust and loyalty. Showing them what a good leader can be.”
Another memory surfaces. This one shows my mother in what must be her workroom. Herbs hang from the ceiling, books line the walls, and notes scrawl on a chalkboard against the wall. She’s spreading something across a glass slide, which she then puts under a microscope to stare at for a long moment.
“The venom isn’t just in our bite,” she says to herself. “It’s in our blood, our very essence. That’s why the fae fear us so much—we’re naturally toxic to them. Our blood itself can neutralize their abilities.”
Our blood itself. I’m remembering now how I accidentally bled into the poultice that I used on Gage. I wasn’t able to replicate the effects of it because I was missing the most important ingredient: my blood.
“That’s why they attacked,” I say. “Not just because we could hurt them, but because we’re capable of curing their bargains. Without Pack Onyx…”
“There was nothing stopping them from pushing into our realm,” Kieran says. “No wonder they’re growing bolder now. There’s no one left to keep them in check.”
Except me. The thought makes me more than a little nauseous. I never expected so much responsibility.
The next vision shows my parents again, this time in what must be their final moments together. They’re in the same room where they performed the ritual to protect me, but now it’s different than before. The chalk lines are still there, but I’m gone, and my parents look… stressed. On edge.
The sounds of fighting echo from outside.
“They’re here,” my father says grimly. “The wards won’t hold much longer.”
My mother nods, her face set with determination. “Then we’ll make our stand here. Buy time for them to get her away from here.” She kneels and skims the chalk lines drawn on the floor. “The ritual worked. They won’t be able to sense her true nature. She’ll be safe.”
“She’ll be alone,” my father says, his brows drawn.
“She’ll be alive.” My mother sounds like her heart is breaking. “And someday, when she’s ready, the magic will recognize her. It’ll know where she belongs and show her how to restore the balance… and it’ll show her that she’s loved.”
They share one last, desperate kiss before turning to face the door together. The vision fades before we see what happens next, but Kieran and I already know how the story ends. The fae broke through the wards. They caused the madness. The alpha… my father… went mad and slaughtered all of them.
Although I’m starting to wonder about the story of the alpha who went mad. It seems just as likely that he fought to the very end, and the only “madness” was that of the fae who attacked claw-first.
Regardless, the pack fell, and I was the only survivor. Not just any survivor—their legacy. Their hope for the future, in a final act of love.
“Your mother was right, you know,” Kieran says, pulling me close as tears stream down my face. “The magic recognizes you,Aurora. It’s shown you all of this now that you’re ready to see it and claim your legacy.”
“Now thatwe’reready to see it,” I correct him. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
