53

POV - Tomas
We had been talking with Dr. Ayonna, discussing every possible way to help Kai-Lea when she woke up. None of us were comfortable leaving her condition to chance, not after everything she'd endured. The night had dragged on, stretching into early morning. None of us parents felt like sleeping—our minds were too burdened with fear and concern. The moments hung heavy, thick with uncertainty.
Kyle and Krysta had just finished helping with breakfast, the smells of food filling the house, offering a brief but false sense of normalcy. That was when it happened.
A scream pierced through the pack house—a sound so raw, so bloodcurdling, it was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. Every hair on my body stood on end. Kai-Lea.
Without a second’s hesitation, my mate, Krysta, her parents, and I ran, our hearts thundering as we raced towards the source of the scream. The noise echoed in the halls, reverberating through the pack house as if it was tearing apart the very walls.
When we reached her, I found my sons holding Kai-Lea down. It wasn’t just fear in her eyes. There was something else, something deeper, primal. She was caught in the throes of a nightmare, her body rigid, yet violently shaking as she screamed, trapped in the horrors of her mind.
"Put her on the floor!" I barked, even though they already knew what needed to be done. My voice felt distant to my own ears, the command automatic, born from years of leading, but my heart twisted at the sight of her suffering.
“We have to force her to shift,” I said, my voice trembling slightly despite my best efforts to maintain control. The weight of what that entailed—of what it would do to her body and soul—was crushing.
We didn’t need to say anything more. It was instinct, primal and raw. In unison, my sons, Kyrsta, her uncle, her aunt, and her parents all roared one word: “SHIFT!”
The sheer force of the command rippled through the room, filling the air with power. It wasn’t just Kai-Lea who responded. We could feel it—every wolf in the pack house, even those outside, felt the compulsion.
“Kai-Lea’s safe for now. Come on, Kelly, let’s get outside,” Kyle coaxed, gently pulling his mate out of the room. I knew we needed to give Kai-Lea space, but the focus quickly shifted to what was happening with Kelly. Everyone except Krysta followed Kyle and Kelly out. I knew what was coming next—the shock of it still rattled me.
Kelly’s breathing grew harsher, her body trembling uncontrollably. "Let her out, Kelly," Kyle urged, his voice calm but commanding. And then, before my eyes, Kelly shifted—not into a wolf, but into something far more ancient. Her body expanded, her limbs lengthened, and thick, powerful muscle rippled beneath her skin.
She shifted into a Lycan. One covered in Golden fur that almost looked bright enough to be the sun.
My breath caught in my throat. Lycans were supposed to be extinct—myth, even—but here she stood, towering and feral, her form unlike any wolf I had ever seen. As the Lycan’s had long been in another realm their own realm, Dradevoe. How could this be possible? I thought I’d seen everything in my lifetime, but this? This was beyond belief.
“Why is my sister’s Lycan out?” came a voice from behind us. I turned to see a woman approaching. I didn’t know her, but something about her presence felt… familiar. She stood at about 5'10", with a slender yet toned frame, her dark brown hair falling in soft waves past her shoulders. Her amber eyes held a quiet intensity, always observing, as if she saw more than she let on, and there was a strange comfort in her gaze. High cheekbones and a delicate jawline gave her a graceful appearance, though the faint scar on her eyebrow hinted at a more rugged past. Her warm-toned skin seemed to glow in the soft light, and the simple pendant hanging from her neck looked well-worn, almost as if it had been passed down through generations. Dressed in practical earth tones and ankle boots, she moved with quiet confidence, but there was a subtle air of mystery about her, as though she carried stories I had yet to uncover.
“Kai-Lea is in pain,” Kyle answered, his voice clipped, barely holding onto his own control.
"Who?" she asked, her confusion evident.
"Our daughter," he replied, his voice filled with sorrow and anger.
“Oh. Wait—she survived all those years ago?”
“Yes. Talia, she’s been hurt. I want that Taylor BITCH NOW," Kelly roared, her Lycan form trembling with rage, her voice like thunder. I glanced at my sons, and the look in their eyes told me everything I needed to know. They shared that fury. There was no doubt—they would make sure that woman paid for what she’d done to Kai-Lea.
“Get in line,” I muttered under my breath, but inside I couldn’t blame them. If it were up to me, I would have torn into Taylor myself already.
“Kria, she’s safe. Calm down,” Talia urged softly, but there was no soothing the tension in the air.
“She hasn’t been let out in almost two decades. She needs the air,” Kyle explained to the growing group around us.
I swallowed hard, still trying to wrap my head around it. A Lycan. My gaze shifted between Kelly and Kyle, and I couldn’t hold back my question any longer.
“How is this possible? How are you a Lycan?”
Talia, the unfamiliar woman, stepped forward, her eyes calm yet filled with history. "Our ancestors were the first Lycans. Asena’s best friends were Viseldrei, Krina and two others, we don’t know their names. Asena turned her into the first Lycan. Viseldrei’s sister, our ancestor, was born human but shared that bond. That’s the family legend, anyway."
The story left me reeling, but before I could fully process it, a message came through our link: Kai-Lea was awake, eating, and asking where everyone was. Relief flooded me, but there was still too much happening. Too many unanswered questions. And a storm brewing.
When I returned to Kai-Lea’s room, her voice reached my ears, unexpectedly strong. "I have a Lycan. She doesn't like to be shown," she admitted, her words shocking everyone.
Before I could ask more, she continued, “Stuart and Kallen have seen her. My third soul… well, she’s yet to show herself. Auntie Clayra thinks I might be siren or dragon or something along those lines.”
The area fell into silence, absorbing her revelation. She had three souls. The implications of this were staggering. And then, as if to cement the extraordinary nature of the moment, Stuart and Kallen spoke in unison, “Yes, she does. And we are more than alright with that.”
“I'm liking you two more and more, now.”
“Kai-Lea, this is your Auntie Talia. My little sister.”
Talia chuckled lightly, but there was no mistaking the tension simmering beneath the surface. Roxanne, her older sister, added, “Technically, she's our little sister. I’m almost a year older than her,” prompting laughter from the room, breaking the heavy tension for a brief moment.