Chapter 205 AURORA

Elias’s smile dissolves, and in its place, he offers a more somber tone. “Truth isn’t free, Luna. Sometimes that price is the thing of hours wasted. Sometimes that price is–”

His voice trails off and his gaze latches onto mine.

I look over to see Dane, his jaw stiffening. “Sounds like a trap.”

“Perhaps so,” Elias returned, his voice low and husky. “Yet it is a trap you can’t afford not to answer.”

Piper steps forward, her curiosity outweighing her caution. “If this stone is so important, why hasn’t anyone heard of it before?”

“Because some truths are better left forgotten,” Elias replied. “But the balance has shifted. The time for ignorance is over.”

Warrick scoffs, his arms crossed. “And we’re just supposed to take your word for it?”

“You can choose to walk away,” Elias says, his gaze sweeping over all of us. “But know this: without the heartstone, you’ll never understand the curse. And without understanding it, you’ll never break it.”

I reach out hesitantly, my fingers brushing against the cool surface of the stone.

The pendant on my neck, which got shattered during the battle, suddenly flares into life, sending brilliant rays of light over the runes.

The stone trembles beneath my touch, the runes shifting and rearranging themselves into a script I don’t understand.

“What’s happening?” I asked, shaking.

Elias stepped closer, his presence unnervingly calm. “The stone is awakening,” he said, his voice low and almost predatory. “Careful, Luna. Once you uncover the truth, you can’t unsee it.”

Suspense hung thick in the air as the stone’s light grew brighter, illuminating secrets that have long been buried.

The stone beneath my fingertips is cool, the surface smooth except for the ancient runes deeply carved into its face.

Where my touch has lingered, it fills the air with a deep resonating sound. The thrumming vibrates through my chest and shakes the earth beneath us.

The forest falls silent. With every sound of the rustling of leaves stilled, the birdcalls deep in the forest come to a complete stop, as if the world itself strains to listen.

“Let go, Aurora,” Dane snaps, one step forward, his eyes wide, his body tense. “This feels wrong.”

But before he can reach me, Elias raises a hand, his face composed and inscrutable. “Not yet, Alpha,” he says coolly. “Let her finish.”

Dane shoots him a glare, his jaw tightening. “If anything happens to her–”

“It already is,” Elias says, cutting him off, his eyes never leaving the stone. “And stopping now would only make it worse.”

The runes beneath my hand begin to stir, their glowing lines rearranging themselves with liquid ease. They take on the form of a lowering tree, their roots digging deep, and their branches heavy with glowing fruit.

“What is that?” I breathe, entranced.

“The Ethereal Grove,” Elias says, his voice hushed in something akin to reverence. “A place of myth, bound with the very essence of your pack. It holds the memories of your ancestors, preserved against the curse that took its first alpha line from the pack.”

A weird heat flowers in my chest as I gaze upon the picture. It feels almost like the nagging familiarity of a half–remembered dream.

My eyes blur, and in an instant, fragments of scenes leap into my brain: wolves never seen, rites never known, voices in a language unbelieved.

My knees let go from beneath me, and the world surges violently around me.

“Got her!” Piper’s voice cuts through the fog as strong arms wrap around me and catch me just before I collapse to the floor.

My world swerves clear again, just long enough to get the hazed–out image of Piper’s concerned face hovering above mine.

“She just fell over,” Warrick tells them, his tone sharp as he squatted next to me. “What in hell is going on?”

Elias stepped closer. His golden eyes sparkle in calm certainty.

“She sees the truth.”

“What truth?” Piper snaps, her voice rising. “You’re talking in riddles while she’s clearly in pain!”

Elias smirked, unruffled. “The Grove calls to her. It’s revealing its secrets. This is the beginning of understanding.”

Dane stepped between Elias and me, his posture rigid with barely contained fury. “Enough of this cryptic nonsense,” he growls. “What are you doing to her?”

“Me?” Elias says, cocking his head to one side. “I’m just a guide. It’s the stone and the Grove that are working through her.”

Dane’s fists clench, and for a moment, I think he might lash out. “If she’s hurt because of this…”

Elias shrugs, his placid manner maddeningly unruffled. “Hurt? No. Changed? Certainly.”

As I get my bearings, the stone begins to glow brighter, its surface rippling like water. The image of the tree expands, showing a curving path leading deep into the forest.

“What is that?” Warrick asks warily.

“The way to the Grove,” Elias says matter–of–factly. “If you want answers, Luna will have to follow it.”

“Not alone,” Dane snaps immediately.

But for the first time, Elias’s face hardens, his gold eyes narrowing. “Yes. Alone. The Grove does not welcome outsiders.”

“You’re saying we should just let her walk into some ancient forest on her own?” Piper demands, placing her hands on her hips.

“I’m saying it’s the only way,” Elias counters.

I turn and catch Dane’s gaze, his eyes churning with a tornado of emotions…anger, fear, and a protectiveness that makes my heart ache.

“I’ll be fine,” I say softly, though even to my ears it sounds like an empty promise.

“You don’t know that,” he says, his voice breaking slightly.

“I have to do this,” I press, the closeness of him both anchoring me and driving a riot of yearning. “If this Grove can help us understand what’s going on with the pack, with the land, then I have to go.”

His hands clamp around my arms, anchoring me in place with a touch. “Aurora, I cannot lose you.”

“I won’t.” I reply, my voice barely above a whisper, his face inches from mine as doubt tries nibbling at my resolve.

The stone’s sudden shudder breaks the conversation. The image of the tree flickers; the glowing fruits dim as shadows seep into its roots.

“What’s going on?” Piper asks, a thread of panic rising in her tone.

Elias’s smile vanishes, and his expression turns grim. “We’re running out of time.”

From the tree’s roots, a new weird form begins to take shape. It is indefinite, shining, indistinct; bright, green eyes flash in the darkness.

“What is that?” Warrick utters with heaving of the breast, as he recoils back.

“A warning,” Elias says, low–pitched–oh so much of his swagger now forgotten, “and a reminder of what’s in the balance.”

Overwhelming, it pierces through me as though to see every secret I have ever tried to hide. My chest constricts, and my breathing cuts down to shallow gasps.

“You’ve awakened something,” he says in a low, guttural rasp that seems to vibrate through the air. “Do you think you can face what lies ahead?”

“I must.” I reply, my voice trembling but resolute.

The figure’s eyes narrow, and for one moment, I think it will strike. Then it recedes into the roots, its glowing eyes the last thing to disappear.

“What was that?” I turn to Elias and ask.

“One of the wardens of the Grove,” he says. “It guards the truth, yet it is bound to make a trial of those who’d find it.”

The image on the stone has set itself, as the way past the woods is clear once more; it is with this weighty knowledge that I have been called to it and go a step further toward it.

“I will,” I promised, turning into the midst of the group.

“Aurora,” Dane said, beginning, but I cut him off.

“I have to, Dane,” I said, holding his eyes. “This is the only way to save what’s left of what we have.”

Elias steps up beside me, face mask–like. “Then you’d better hurry, Luna. The Grove doesn’t wait for anyone."

It left me at the edge of the forest, opening out the path before me toward the Ethereal Grove. Behind me, the pack is holding its collective breath in tense silence, anxiety and hope keenly mixed.

“Ooh I hope nothing happens to her.”