Chapter 20: Chapter 20

1,049 words

<html><head></head><body>The air inside the ruins shifted, pressing against Riley's skin like something living. The shadows in the corners stretched, breathing in time with her ragged heartbeat. She should have run. She should have turned back. But she didn't. Because the truth, the terrible, gut-wrenching truth was that a part of her didn't want to. She needed to know. Even if it destroyed her. Even if she was already too far gone. She met Callum's golden gaze, her fingers clenching into fists. "You're lying." Callum let out a slow breath, shaking his head. "I don't have to lie, Riley. You already feel it, don't you?" No. Yes. Her body did feel different. Lighter and heavier at the same time. Her blood hummed, like something beneath her skin was just waiting. For what? For her to stop fighting it? Riley shook the thought away. "You said I was a hunter." Her voice was low, edged with uncertainty. "You're saying I I killed werewolves?" Callum tilted his head. "Not just werewolves." Her stomach twisted. "Then what?" Callum's smirk returned, but this time, it was calculated. "Tell me, Riley. When you stepped into this ruin, what did you feel?" Her breath hitched. Because she knew. The second she had crossed the threshold, a wave of something wrong had crashed into her. Thick. Alive. Ancient. And familiar. Like the walls of this place knew her. Like they remembered. Riley swallowed hard. "This place" She trailed off, trying to piece together the fragments in her head. Callum finished for her. "This was yours." Silence. Heavy. Smothering. Then Riley laughed, sharp and bitter. "That's impossible." Callum didn't flinch. "Is it?" She stared at him, pulse roaring in her ears. "I'm seventeen. This place has been abandoned for centuries." Callum's gaze burned through her. "You think time works the way you were taught?" Riley's fingers twitched. Because deep down, she had always felt it. Something was wrong with her. Something is out of sync. Dreams that weren't dreams. Memories that didn't belong to her. And now this. She turned away, pacing, forcing herself to breathe. "No. This doesn't make sense." Callum didn't move. "Then let me make it simple." She froze. Callum stepped closer, voice quiet, dangerous. "You weren't reincarnated, Riley." Her breath stalled. Callum smirked. "You were never supposed to die in the first place." A sharp chill crawled up her spine. Riley spun to face him, her chest tightening. "What does that mean?" Callum took his time answering, letting the silence stretch between them like a blade. "It means," he said, "that you were something more than human. More than a wolf." He took another step, his golden eyes flashing. "You were something else entirely." Something else. The words settled over Riley, heavy as stone. Her heartbeat hammered against her ribs. "Then what am I?" she whispered. Callum exhaled, gaze flickering to the ruin around them. "You already know the answer." Riley swallowed hard. "No. I don't." Callum studied her, something knowing in his expression. "Then let me ask you this." His voice softened, but the weight behind it thickened. "In all your dreams, in all your visions Have you ever seen your face?" Her lungs seized. No. No, she hadn't. In every vision, every fragment of memory she had ever experienced, she had seen through someone else's eyes. She had never looked in a mirror. Never seen who she was. Riley staggered back, shaking her head. "That doesn't mean anything." Callum just smiled. "It means everything." The walls of the ruin pressed in, her pulse a war drum in her skull. This place had whispered to her. Had called her. Not like a memory. Not like a home. Like a prison. A shudder ran through her. She wasn't reborn. She was waking up. Her stomach churned. She needed to leave. Now. She turned sharply, marching for the exit. "I'm done with this. I don't care what you think I am." But Callum didn't try to stop her. He just said, "Then why is the door sealed?" Riley froze. Slowly, she turned back. And her blood ran cold. The doorway she had walked through earlier, the only exit, was no longer open. The vines had twisted across the frame, the stone entrance sealed over like it had never existed. Riley's breath caught. "What the hell?" She rushed forward, pressing her hands against the wall, searching for some kind of hidden mechanism but there was nothing. Just a solid, unyielding stone. Her heart pounded. "This wasn't here before," she muttered. "I walked right through" "The ruin reacts to you." Riley turned to Callum, anger sparking in her veins. "What did you do?" Callum raised his hands in surrender. "Nothing. This isn't me." Riley's fingers curled. "Then who?" Callum didn't answer. But she could see it in his eyes. The answer was her. The ruins had changed because of her. Riley shook her head. "No. That's not possible." Callum exhaled, tilting his head. "Would you like me to prove it?" She hesitated. Then, slowly, she nodded. Callum stepped closer, his golden eyes glinting. "Hold out your hand." Riley hesitated but did as he said. Callum lifted his hand but didn't touch her. He just hovered his palm inches from hers. The air between them crackled. Something unseen shifted. Then, beneath their feet, the ruins trembled. The stone groaned, dust raining down from the ceiling. The air turned thick, electric and alive. Riley's stomach twisted. "I'm doing this?" she whispered. Callum nodded. "You are." Panic coiled in her throat. She ripped her hand back, stumbling away. The ruins stilled. Riley's breath came fast, uneven. Callum lowered his arm, studying her. "Do you believe me now?" Riley's chest ached. She didn't want to. God, she didn't want to. But she could feel it in her bones, in her blood, in the way the ruins had answered her. She wasn't normal. She had never been. And now? Now, she was awakening. A sound broke the silence. Low. Distant. A howl. Riley's pulse spiked. Callum turned toward the sound, his smirk returning. "Looks like our time is up." Riley swallowed hard. "What do you mean?" Callum glanced at her, golden eyes glinting. "Kieran's coming." Riley's breath caught. And for the first time, she didn't know if that was a good thing. </body></html>

Chapter 20: Chapter 20

1,049 words