The Lycan's Hidden Flame

Elsa

I woke up to the sharp scent of pine and earth, the remnants of the night's chaos clinging to me like a heavy fog. My body ached, bruised in places I couldn't recall, but the pain was nothing compared to the feeling of raw confusion that still rattled through me.

The transformation. It wasn't just a nightmare or some dark hallucination. It had been real.

I sat up slowly, the world spinning for a moment as my senses adjusted. The forest around me was quiet now, peaceful in an eerie, unsettling way. My fur had shed, leaving me human again, but I could still feel the wolf inside me, coiled tight and restless, just beneath the surface.

Kieran.

I looked around, expecting him to be nearby, his presence always so solid and unshakable. But there was no sign of him. Just the trees, the silence, and the deep ache in my chest that had nothing to do with my physical wounds.

"Elsa."

I tensed at the sound of his voice, but it wasn't like before. The anger, the sharpness that had been there earlier, was gone. Replaced by something heavier, something like regret. I didn't want to turn to face him, not yet. Not while the whirlwind of thoughts in my mind was still trying to make sense of everything.

"Elsa, look at me," Kieran's voice was closer now, and when I finally turned, he was standing a few feet away, his gaze unreadable. He looked different, though. More vulnerable. More… human.

I wasn't sure what to say. Part of me wanted to scream at him, to demand answers for what had happened to me, for the lies he'd told. But another part of me—the wolf—was drawn to him, compelled by a force I couldn't name.

"You should have told me," I whispered, my voice unsteady. "You should have told me what I was. What this is." My hands trembled, and I clenched them into fists, desperate to feel something solid. "I didn't ask for this. None of this."

Kieran's face softened, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of guilt in his eyes. He took a step forward, as though he wanted to reach out to me, but he stopped himself. "I know. I know you didn't, Elsa. But I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how to make you understand."

"Understand what?" I snapped, standing abruptly. The pain in my chest flared again, but this time, it wasn't just from the transformation. It was the weight of everything he had kept from me. "That I'm a werewolf? That you've been lying to me about who I am? Or that I'm some… prophecy that you're supposed to protect?"

"Elsa…" His voice was low, careful. "It's not like that. It's not about me protecting you. It's about us—about you—and what you are to this world."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing thoughts. The more he spoke, the more the pieces began to fall into place. The wolf inside me wasn't just some random twist of fate. I had always known there was something different about me—something darker, more powerful. But I never thought it would be like this.

"You… meant to tell me this, right?" I spat, my frustration rising. "You weren't going to keep it from me forever, were you?"

"No." He shook his head, looking pained. "I wanted to tell you. I really did. But it's not just about being a werewolf, Elsa. You're… you're my mate. My fated mate. You were always meant to be."

The words hit me like a slap to the face. I staggered back, my breath catching in my throat. "No. No, I can't be. You're lying. I don't have a wolf. You're just trying to manipulate me."

His expression hardened, and I saw the frustration behind his cool exterior. "You don't have to understand it all right now. But you do have a wolf, Elsa. She's just dormant, waiting to be awakened. And you've already begun the change. Your bloodline is tied to the prophecy—your transformation, your power, all of it. It's why Zoran's cult has been after you. They want to use you."

I stared at him, my mind reeling. I could feel the storm brewing inside me, the anger, the hurt, the confusion. It was all too much. "I don't want any of this. I don't want to be your mate. I don't want to be a part of some damned prophecy that I had no choice in."

Kieran's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with something dark, something I couldn't quite place. "I didn't ask for this either, Elsa," he said, his voice raw. "I didn't ask to have you thrown into my world, to be bound to you in a way I can't control. But here we are. And whether you like it or not, you're a part of this pack now. You're a part of me."

My chest tightened at his words. It wasn't that I didn't feel the pull, the undeniable connection between us. It was that I couldn't trust it. I couldn't trust him.

"I don't need your protection," I bit out, my voice low, dangerous. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm not asking you to accept me, Elsa." His voice softened, almost pleading now. "But you need to accept the truth. For both our sakes."

I shook my head, biting back the tears that threatened to spill. "I can't. I can't just pretend like everything's okay. I don't even know who I am anymore, Kieran. What I am. And you… you've been lying to me this whole time. About everything."

There was a long pause, and then Kieran stepped closer, his presence filling the space between us. "I didn't lie about everything," he murmured, his voice almost a whisper. "I lied about the prophecy. About who you are. But I never lied about how I feel about you. And I never lied about the bond between us."

I swallowed hard, looking up at him, searching his eyes for any trace of the man I thought I knew. But all I saw was uncertainty, vulnerability.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked, my voice barely audible. "Why keep me in the dark?"

"I didn't want to lose you." The words hung in the air between us, raw and fragile. "I thought if you knew the truth, you'd hate me. I thought if I let you in, you'd leave. But I don't want to lose you, Elsa. I can't."

My heart twisted at his words, but I couldn't let myself give in to the feeling that was rising inside me. I couldn't. Not yet.

"I need time," I whispered. "Time to figure this out. To figure me out."

Kieran didn't answer right away, just nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "I'll give you time. But you can't run from this, Elsa. Not anymore. Zoran's cult is getting closer, and I can't protect you if you keep pushing me away."

I didn't know how to respond to that. The cult. The danger. The weight of everything was crushing me, and I didn't know if I could carry it.

But then, just as the tension between us began to settle, a sound cut through the stillness of the forest—distant, but unmistakable. The unmistakable roar of a wolf.

Kieran's head snapped to the side, his body going rigid. "They're here."

I looked at him, my heart pounding in my chest, and in that moment, I knew there was no turning back. The danger had arrived. And with it, so had the truth.